In harmony with nature and the Renaissance

Firenzuola is a Tuscan town where you get the best of both worlds — a strong connection with the wild natural world and close proximity to the splendid Renaissance city of Florence.

It is here that Florentine designer Stefano Ricci constructed and designed the family’s secluded country home so he could make the most of the area’s eye-catching scenery and ensure his family could live a more simple existence.

“We’ve been looking for our family dream house for years,” said Stefano’s son, Filippo, the creative director of the family’s design business.

“When other Florentine families invest in the Chianti region for Tuscan wines, we’re more interested in wild nature so we went to explore in the Mugello region, a wide, green valley just a few kilometers north of Florence and known for its race track owned by Ferrari.”

The family bought the plot of land seven years ago and Stefano soon set about radically revamping an old country house set on the land. It took five years to complete the design and renovation.

The 2,400-square-meter house is a striking architectural design inspired by local traditions, materials and Stefano’s design identity. Firenzuola is famous for its production of pietra serena (a grey sandstone used to build several of Florence’s palaces), and the family kept the exterior of the property made of hand-carved pietra serena to show off its historical 15th century charm while building the “dream” inside from scratch.

Back in 1993, Stefano chose Shanghai to open his first mono-brand store, with a strategic vision on the future of China that was ahead of its time.

The Florentine luxury menswear brand has since progressively expanded its collections from menswear, leather accessories, perfumes to the launch of SR HOME in 2009, featuring porcelain and crystal dinnerware, silverware, furnishings, luxury linens and leather home accessories.

It shows an important investment was made to complete the range of products and the family’s faith to the values of traditional manufacturing and to its artisan roots.

“The idea of this family home was also to develop a concept for interiors that would suit anywhere in the world, using the soul of our products but also being able to adapt to different tastes,” Filippo said.

The house exterior blends naturally into the backdrop and the inside shows the family’s taste for good living and madein-Italian traditions from raw materials to every single detail of high-level craftsmanship. Pietra serena is also used to remain harmonious with the exterior.

The four-level main building is a family living area. The garage on the ground floor keeps six of the family’s vintage Ferrari race cars. “Vintage cars for our family are the works of art. We have been collecting vintage cars for years and designed a special garage just for part of our collection,” Filippo said.

The first floor is an open-plan living and dining area with large windows that frame amazing views of nature.

“Your eye is constantly drawn outside. This makes the space feel larger and you can see green everywhere,” Filippo said.

The space has a soaring ceiling in chiseled pietra serena with oak beams and the flooring in dark oak wood provides a rustic contrast to the precious silk curtains and crystal-top extra long dining table.

The family’s approach to furnishing this large, flowing space is characteristically understated.

They chose the luxury of simplicity in the living and dining area rather than opulence. It gives a modern vibe with a timeless appeal, which would meld harmoniously with distinctive local architecture.

“It’s a family retreat where we can also host friends and clients from around the world,” Filippo said.

“We use the best materials from our home concept and this family home is the first developed 360-degree lifestyle concept showing our philosophy. It also gives off a more contemporary image of Stefano Ricci.”

The Ricci family love leather material and that is evident in the home furnishings, whereas all of the fabrics are purely silk made in the family’s silk atelier.

Silk was a source of wealth and importance for many noble Florentine families in the 14th century. And around the middle of the 18th century some noble