A
cheerful and playful home for a dynamic modern family. On the arrival of their first daughter, mammy and daddy, two young managers, decided to buy a small apartment in the Isola neighbourhood in Milan and to turn it into the open-plan home they’ve always wanted. To do so, they turned to architect Cristiana Vannini, trusted family friend, who understood their ideas and skilfully executed the project.
Our parents’ main specification, the father’s especially who’s a great cooking enthusiast, was to open the small kitchen towards the narrow living room, which could not but benefit from this extension. The partition wall was removed, now there are two French windows on the same side as the kitchen/ living room with garden view terrace, and this fills the home with light. A matter of light, but also a matter of function, because cooking is finally a convivial experience, with their young daughter or with their many friends who live in this dynamic neighbourhood.
Without a doubt, as you enter, the different colours are what capture your attention. Pure and bold, they reflect the determined and dynamic character of the lady of the house. There’s a succession of red, lime green, lilac and orange, grouped in focal points on a background of white walls and parquet flooring in industrial teak.
Storage in various sizes and colours is used for the Hi-Fi system (red) and the home office (silver). Paintings and small sculptures are displayed on the long shelf, which runs the entire length of the living room, emphasizing its size. This solution is perfect for finding a space for everything, as well as adding rhythm without cluttering the room up. If you’d like to borrow this idea, you ought to remember than the shelf has to be close to the ground (no more than 60 cm high) and in a neutral colour to enhance each individual piece.
This renovation project revolves around the idea of a free-flowing space with visual continuity between each room. Walls and doors have been replaced by large floor-to-ceiling sliding doors, which disappear completely in the bespoke walls/cupboards. In any case, they have never been closed, as our owners, happy to move freely around the space, have completely forgotten about them. However, it’s impossible to forget that the walls are actually well-equipped cupboards. There’s room for everything, and the home, liberated from the kind of stuff you bring out only twice a year, can breathe again.
Instead of walls, floor-to-ceiling storage, so you can put everything away. Sliding doors disappear completely in cupboards, adding visual continuity to the space. Classic Linestra ceiling lights by Osram show the way. Left-hand side, a view towards the entrance door before the refurbishment. Centre image, a current view from the entrance, and to the right is a view from the bedroom towards the living room.
Even the bathroom has a cheerful note of colour. Sicis mosaics designed by Cristiana Vannini helrself. Piper washbasin by Antonio Lupi. Left-hand side, the bathroom before the remodel.
A young and functional apartment, remodelled by architect Cristiana Vannini, who was inspired by the American “ready for use” principle. This home only needs one or two designer pieces to be complete. Walls/ cupboards in the corridor and every room, a well-equipped kitchen, bespoke shelves and storage in the living room, all wired up and in working order, a real “machine à habiter” just like Cristiana says. For Cristiana, the greatest reward was indeed to be told by the owners “I’m happy every time I come home”.
Design project
Interior design Interior design of a city apartment
Location: Milan, Italy
Size: 100 sqm. approx.
Interior design project and furniture sourcing:
Architect Cristiana Vannini
via Oxilia 23, Milan, Italy
Design team: Vito Ruscio, Ornella Suriano, Rui Pereira
Tel: 0039 02 2680 9419
Email: info@cristianavannini.it
www.cristianavannini.it
Photos: Courtesy Cristiana Vannini
