216 INTO THE BLUE

In Treviglio, a dancer’s art nouveau villa is a performance piece in which colour and classicism flow together. Neon, palazzo flooring and Gio Ponti share the stage

The Studio 2046 founder, Daniele Daminelli, posed a provocative question, at least in design circles, to his client Melissa. «What about baby blue? ». In a beat, the dancer responded, «Baby blue for life». But she confessed that «convincing my husband, however, was much more difficult». The family ended up in a house in which the inner walls are covered in a shade a bit darker than cornflower. «Some said blue, others baby blue, yet others emerald green. Coming to an agreement with the painters was quite an ordeal», she laughed. Eventually they made it work, and a few short months ago (in August to be precise), Melissa, Federico and little Leonardo and Pietro moved in to the pretty art nouveau villa they now call home. In the centre of Treviglio, Italy, it was built in 1924 by a forward-thinking owner who opted for large, industrial-looking glass windows instead of the more classic style in vogue at the time. Fast forward to today, with the creative mind behind the interior design and remodel being the aforementioned Daminelli of Studio 2046. After honing his skills at Dimore Studio, Daminelli has been working solo for a year now. His interiors are a sort of gym to flex his creative muscles in while enriching 2046, his line of furniture launched last year during Milan’s Fuori Salone. «It’s a parallel path, one that forces me to evolve on multiple levels», he explained. While the work was being done, Melissa saw the light, so to speak: a tube-shaped neon lamp, installed as a tribute to Dan Flavin, runs along all three floors of the staircase, creating a space that echoes the American artist’s installation at Villa Panza, in Varese. Just about everything in the baby-blue abode is the result of intersecting ideas from Daminelli and Melissa, who is a choreographer and director as well as a dancer. «Dance is my life, everything that can be expressed through movement interests me», she said. And that’s more or less what happened with the house. For a few months, it was choreography to be written freely, starting from a plotline of large rooms, shiny grey and red cementine tiles and palazzo flooring, destroyed and rebuilt with hi-tech materials that are incredibly true to the originals. Daminelli added his unbridled passion for collecting vintage items, found in every corner of the house. Along with his partner for the project, Alberto Zordan, he went furniture hunting around Europe, eventually bringing back a trove of booty, including the pièce de résistance: «It was the headboard for a bed designed by Gio Ponti for the Hotel Royal Continental in Naples. It decorated the room on its own», Daminelli said. As a designer, he’s careful to balance signature vintage pieces with leaps into the present. «In the main living room, for example, Josef Hoffman sofas from the early 20th century and Arne Jacobsen floor lamps