The art of emptiness

IN AN APARTMENT IN NAPLES, SPACES ARE IGNITED BY THE VOLCANIC CREATIVE ENERGY OF THE INHABITANTS.

A dwelling of rarified spaces, calm atmosphere, unencumbered paths. It’s the home and studio of two designers, Filomena Carangelo and Monica Vittucci. «Empty space should have an artistic value, and stay empty, in the city, the home, the workplace», says Monica. The layout is not rigid, but adopts an almost micro-urban approach, with rooms and corridors treated as squares and streets. «The space takes on connotations when you use it. We like to work in the kitchen and the living room, gazing out at the Gulf and the islands». In a building from the early 1900s, the house had lost its original character over time, due to the “inventions” of the previous owners. So the designers have eliminated many doors, liberating the spaces from decorative overlays, opening new passages, putting the kitchen back in touch with the rest of the setting. The layout is now clear and fluid, the spaces versatile and subject to daily reinterpretation. Even the bedroom is not separate, and the mattress is on the floor to create a sense of greater openness. «It might seem strange, but in the winter it is cold in Naples. The buildings have no central heating, though. The ceilings had been lowered here and stuffed with old newspapers for insulation. Getting rid of it, along with layers and layers of wallpaper, was like an archaeological dig», Monica says. Today, new fabrics and wallpapers created unexpected backdrops, almost all designed by Filomena and Monica and their MUD_studio, like the furnishings based on sober forms and poised proportions, right in tune with the mood of the house.