One by one

First one floor then another, uniting dwellings to create one large unit, combining different eras and worlds

Cécile Gavazzi calls her apartment on three levels overlooking Cornwall Gardens in Kensington «my little cloud». It is filled with an almost Mediterranean brightness. In London since 1989, Cécile and her husband Roberto Daccò moved in 2000 into what was a simple duplex. «At first we bought the fourth floor, then the fifth. We were living with two kitchens, in a sort of patchwork layout». Twenty years of work in progress have produced a bigger cloud, with five bedrooms for the couple and their three children. «First we added the third floor, and then a studio flat on the fourth floor of the building next door, which has a tiny lift», Cécile says. «Until my daughter was born, 14 years ago, we didn’t have that part: three pregnancies, up and down the stairs with groceries, were quite an effort».

At that point the need arose for a major renovation, «to unite the many spaces into a single house with its own “flow”», and to reorganize the many collections Cécile constantly expands with new acquisitions. «I needed help to put the puzzle together». She called on lifelong friends Nathalie and Virginie Droulers, experts on such projects. The relationship goes beyond friendship, extending to a series of aesthetic affinities. Cécile confirms this: «I enjoy brainstorming, in a spirit of cocreation», and she has an important “genetic” background for the task: the Gavazzi company was the leading importer of silk from China and Japan from the 1700s to the 1900s.

Today, with her brand Morpho + Luna, Cécile creates elegant silk nightwear and homewear collection, on view at Via Melegari 4 in Milan. «I have my own precise tastes, but I am always open to new ideas. Without Nathalie and Virginie I could never have made this house».