INSIDE THE ROME APARTMENT THAT TAKES ITS COLOUR SCHEME FROM THE CITY’S GOLDEN HOUR

‘I have always thought a house should be like clothing, something in which one must feel oneself. It’s no coincidence that there is a common root between the Italian words abitazione (dwelling) and abito (dress),’ says Giulia Cerasoli, a political journalist and the owner of this home inside Rome’s Palazzo Mazio Boncompagni.

A lover of fashion and interior design, she worked with architect Francesca Venturoni of Venturoni Studio to reshape the property, which sits on Via della Scrofa, a stone’s throw from the Mausoleum of Augustus. Together, they decided to play with contrasts, alternating between high-shine enamel and terracotta-plaster wall finishes.

In fact, the pair chose to bring colour into almost every room – preserving the building’s bones, including its original cornices, while modernising. ‘We’ve worked on various projects in Rome, and it’s impossible not to engage with classicism, especially in historical buildings like this one,’ says Francesca.

‘The important thing is to enter into a dialogue with the past without fear. After all, as [Maurizio] Nannucci wrote, “All art has been contemporary”.’

With its buttery-yellow gloss ceiling and pinkish textural walls, the living room’s palette brings to mind a hazy sunset in the capital. The kitchen, meanwhile, is a glossy blue-grey, with the reflective quality of the paint finish enhancing the light that floods into the room via glass doors framed with matte brass (a material that appears in the design of almost all of the lighting in the house).

The mood shifts again in the main bedroom, where soft blue is paired with a plum-coloured lacquered wardrobe, a bespoke piece by Venturoni Studio.

The architect wasn’t only fearless with her use of colour, though. This home’s layout also underwent a complete rethink. Originally, it was made up of small, fragmented rooms, with one of the two staircases hidden, bafflingly, within a study.

With the agreement of Giulia, who prefers large, bright spaces, Francesca eliminated the tiny office, allowing the stairs to lead directly into the now much larger and more symmetrical living room.

‘Although the lounge is wonderful, I love the intimacy and light of the kitchen,’ says Giulia. ‘In the afternoon, marble and metal shine in the sun, and the glass separates this space from the rest of the house without hiding it. I often stop here with my friends to have a coffee or sit alone to write. It’s a very elegant environment.’ Elegant, but adventurous: a very fashionable mix. venturoni.it

2024-03-12T11:15:57Z dg43tfdfdgfd