Harmonies of light and shadow

p.104 CLASSICAL MEMORIES AND CONTEMPORARY ATMOSPHERES TASTEFULLY JOIN FORCES IN A 19TH-CENTURY VILLA IN THE LOMBARD COUNTRYSIDE. AN ELEGANT, DELICATE PROJECT.

It is no small feat to transform an old house into a place that matches the personal taste and needs of new owners. A new plot line has to be developed, something that feels like a natural transition between past and present. This large villa from the late 1800s has been regenerated by Angelo Brignolli and Antonio Feraboli of Studio Linea, interior designers with impeccable taste capable of triggering interaction between classical memories and contemporary stimuli, often involving games of light and shadow with Japanese overtones. The restyling of the facade has been done discreetly, relying on strategic lighting effects created by Antonio Mazzetti (a photographer/artist who has worked with Studio Linea for years). While the exteriors have simply been freshened up, the interiors have been totally revised to meet the requirements of the clients. The house faces a large park with age-old trees, to the south, so it is flooded with light that plays its variations on pale wood and marble walls and floors. The contrast of dark brown and white flows through the spaces of the ground floor living area and the bedroom zone on the first floor. Limestone floors and ivory wall panels convey a sense of ethereal lightness, emphasized by the large ceiling cornices and the panes of glass and fabric inserted in the wooden doors – a recurring motif of Studio Linea – separating spaces while allowing light to pass. The overall effect is restful, open to the garden, classic and modern, informal and elegant at the same time without decorative excess, but enhanced by paintings from the 1960s and a number of sculptural works. Painstaking attention to detail can be seen everywhere: the fabrics of the cushions on the sofa echo the hues of the painting by Antonio Mazzetti, in contrast with the sober chiaroscuro of floors, walls and furnishings; in the music room, black and white cushions on a Baroque sofa replicate the two-tone theme of the space. In the big kitchen organized around a central island the placemats in the breakfast corner are printed with a decorative design by Mazzetti. From the dining room and living area, split between a cozy corner for relaxation with an armchair and ottoman in leather designed by Studio Linea and a large sofa for watching TV with friends, two staircases lead to the first floor, containing three family bedrooms and two guestrooms, plus a fitness-sauna zone. The master bedroom has pale walls and floors and an essential canopy bed in oak, painted to match the headboard and bench designed by the architects. The bathroom is divided in two by a partition in glass and steel – again, a question of light.