ENGLISH TEXTS.

Glamour redux

NEON ARTWORKS, BRIGHT COLORS, FINE CRAFTSMANSHIP ARE THE DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF A RESIDENCE IN LONDON. Outside, it’s a classic 19th-century London house, chic, a bit austere. Inside it is a decorative jubilee on six levels, including a home entertainment room, a swimming pool and sauna. To generate contemporary elegance without losing any of the charm of the past, interior decorator Federica Squillante Montoro has transformed the rooms while conserving their nature. Several walls have been eliminated to open up and rationalize the layout, while new openings improve the lighting on the staircase. Color takes on an architectural role, bringing a sense of identity to the various rooms. The walls have a blue dominant, joined by emerald green for the curtains and fabrics, for a clear contrast with the oak floors. The decorator has designed the casements, the ceiling decorations, the brass ramp of the staircase made by Officine Sandrini. The Ghiggo company has handled the lighting design, creating sensual, warm settings. The owner of the house, Alessandra Lo Savio, is a producer of musical events, and discussed all the design choices, examining different finishes and fabrics. The furnishings combine custom contemporary pieces with antiques, mostly from Morland Fine Art in London. Squillante Montoro has covered sofas and armchairs in velvet, and applied cowhide for the benches, crocodile skin for the stools, creatively reinventing the function of certain materials, like the menswear flannel used to cover chairs. Art is a vivid presence, thanks to the owners fine collection of Flemish and Italian paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries, including hunting scenes, still lifes, and several masterpieces by Guercino.