THE ART OF ILLUSION

Innovative design ideas and clever concealed storage make this Milan apartment feel much bigger than it is

Located on the second floor of an Art Deco palazzo, this 90-square-metre home is

a modestly sized but typical Milanese city apartment. Fashion designer Valerio Leone, who lives here with his wife, model-turned-stylist Nastya Shershen, and their six-month-old daughter Chloe, commissioned architect Hannes Peer to renovate their bijou home. Over the course of five months, Peer reorganised the interior, designing multipurpose furniture and architectural details that distort perspective and create an illusion of spaciousness.

One of the most significant structural changes Hannes made was removing the dividing wall between the living room and the bedroom, replacing it with a multifunctional stainless-steel partition. On the living room side it provides deep, leather seating, while on the side facing the bedroom, it houses concealed storage. The use of stainless-steel is Hannes’ homage to Gae Aulenti’s iconic Altana Palazzo Pucci apartment in Florence, which was designed in the 1970s (see below). It has visual impact, but also reflects light, increasing the sense of space. The mirrored cabinet in the living room has a similar dual purpose: it creates depth in the long, narrow room, and hides the television. In the dining room, which doubles as the couple’s workspace, the original marble-framed doorway has been cut in half to open up the dark corridor behind it. Half the doorway has been left in-situ and the door behind it is clad in mirror (see below and previous page). Viewed from afar, the doorway appears complete. Suspended from the ceiling, a Calder-inspired pendant light in oxidised aluminium (designed by Hannes) epitomises the owners’ style and personality. ‘It is definitely the most Brutalist and radical design piece we have, but I love it. It’s as uncompromising as I am when I design clothes,’ says Valerio. hannespeer.com