Going by INSTINCT
MILAN. The sight of the five letters together conjures thoughts of craftsmanship intrinsically tied with passion. A celebrated hub for fashion and design, home to both innovative professionals and traditional artisans alike, Milan harnesses creative spirit and runs with it wholeheartedly. Behind the aged façades of the city’s buildings lay an incredible number of enchanting spaces, courtyards and gardens hidden from view. Then there are the one-of-a-kind showrooms and galleries, such as the world-renowned Nilufar Gallery founded by the instinctive gallerist Nina Yashar. And if you happen to be friends with Yashar and are renovating a new home, magic can happen.
For Annamaria Enselmi, a former ballerina-turned-pilatesteacher, her home is nothing short of style sorcery. She and her long-time friend Yashar have collaborated on homes in the past but this time around, the duo have given into their deepest design desires. “I’ve been collecting design pieces for years — with Nina but also with some others — so with this home I wanted to include all the pieces I loved the most,” Enselmi says. “It really was a fantastic experience and we formed a great team.” Decorating homes is “one of my biggest passions”, adds Enselmi whose past projects allowed a similar turn to further complementary style expertise. “I was able to call on Barbara Ghidoni of local design firm Storage Associati, who I’ve known for a while, to study the structural elements throughout, like the movable storage system in the living area, my closet space and other elements in the home,” she says. “But the most fun was with Nina in selecting the pieces to place — we really enjoyed this process and could express ourselves to the fullest.”
The 19th-century building belonged to Citibank until a few years ago when the entire property was sectioned into apartments and completely renovated. Upon completion of the development, Enselmi could begin creating her newest home. “In reality, I’m a bit of a gypsy,” she says. “I have three apartments in Milan that are really close to each other so I tend to jump around from one to the other. I continue to create these wonderful homes but then living in them becomes complicated, moving from one to the other. Even getting dressed in the morning can be a challenge.”
Ensconced in the chic and historic neighbourhood of Brera, the 150-square-metre, one-bedroom apartment is located close to the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine. The interiors are a refined exercise in precision: the finishes faultless and the walls a brilliant white, allowing the curated furniture pieces to be exhibited at their best. A unifying element is the mirror-polished chequered marble floor, one of Enselmi’s favourite features. “The floors are in absolute black and white marble, which was very difficult to source,” she says. “The inspiration for these floors was the Saturday night shows I’d watch in the 1970s, which had incredible scenography – I always dreamed of one day having a floor with the same grand effect. I was so happy to finally do it and when we found these slabs of marble, I knew we could.” The fit and finish is millimetre-perfect, satisfying Enselmi’s exacting eye for detail.
“I wanted every corner of the home to be something wonderful to be discovered,” says the homeowner. “It’s why even in the bathrooms, we’ve put lamps that usually would never be found in a bathroom.
I wanted everything to be special.” Enselmi’s home reflects her performance past — her life as a ballerina evident with an instinctual sense of storytelling that has turned this apartment into a stage spotlighting impeccable taste, quality execution and high design. “I dreamed of this house as a set for my passions,” she says.
Enselmi is now taking this approach on the road, to Lecce in Puglia, where she and Yashar are collaborating on a much larger and more complicated restoration of a 1500-square-metre palazzo in the city’s historic centre. “The idea is to create a home for art and design with seven suites where guests can come and be surrounded by contemporary art and get to live among great design pieces,” says Enselmi. “The project is vast and we’ve involved different artists and designers who will each create a space. For example, there is Martino Gamper who worked on the bar and breakfast room as well as placing some of his works, which dialogue with the Gio Ponti pieces present.” Should Enselmi’s grand vision come to life, she would be articulating an experience similar to the one she lives every day. An integral part of that success has been observing her good friend Yashar. “I have always appreciated Nina’s great artistic vision,” she says. “I have tried to follow her over the years to learn from her and her simple ability in combining pieces from different eras. She has always been my point of reference.”
“I have tried to follow her over the years to learn from her and her simple ability in combining pieces from different eras” ANNAMARIA ENSELMI OPPOSITE PAGE homeowner Annamaria Enselmi (left) with Nina Yashar in the living area; custom panelled storage wall system by Barbara Ghidoni of Storage Associati; Flora floor lamp by Gunilla Zamboni of Gupica for Edizioni Nilufar; vintage 1950s wall sconce (on rear wall) by Angelo Lelii.