Turin Houzz Tour: Modern and Classical Meet in a Unique Home
From restored 19th-century frescos to mirror illusions, this home offers an updated take on classic interiors
This 130-square-metre home in Turin, Italy, on the first floor of a building dating back to 1870, was originally part of a larger apartment. This space was split into two and renovated by architect Jacopo Rossetti of Officina 8 A, who respected its classic original elements while placing them in dialogue with modern features. The result is an elegant home characterised by contrast: antique against modern, white against grey, wood against iron.
The 44-square-metre living area contains the kitchen and living room. Four French windows, each with an exquisitely crafted frame, define the sofa area. “I cleaned and repainted them,” says Rossetti, “opting to keep the original frames and the original structural elements.”
The herringbone flooring, dating back to 1870, was sanded and refinished. The fresco, another original detail, was restored by students from the Academy of Fine Arts in Turin. “I asked them to restore the art while maintaining a sense of its age,” says Rossetti.
“To brighten up the space, I chose simple white fixtures that would blend in as much as possible. Positioned like this, they allow the light to rise upwards and enhance the ceiling,” he adds.
The herringbone flooring, dating back to 1870, was sanded and refinished. The fresco, another original detail, was restored by students from the Academy of Fine Arts in Turin. “I asked them to restore the art while maintaining a sense of its age,” says Rossetti.
“To brighten up the space, I chose simple white fixtures that would blend in as much as possible. Positioned like this, they allow the light to rise upwards and enhance the ceiling,” he adds.
Rossetti went for a black radiator. “I chose black to resemble iron, [a] … material that I wanted to use in contrast with wood.”
The door on the left of the photo leads to the storage room. It was already there before the renovation, but had originally led to the bedrooms, which are now in another part of the home. Rossetti repainted it.
The door on the left of the photo leads to the storage room. It was already there before the renovation, but had originally led to the bedrooms, which are now in another part of the home. Rossetti repainted it.
This is what the storage-room door and fireplace next to it originally looked like.
After
A white bench underscores the fireplace and runs the length of the wall. “I didn’t want a shelving unit in front of the sofa; we were looking for something that wouldn’t draw attention. So, I had the carpenter make a simple white bench instead,” says Rossetti. “I made a frame out of plaster and iron, which would add to the fireplace and echo the French windows. I chose to leave the plaster rough to maintain the feeling of age.”
A white bench underscores the fireplace and runs the length of the wall. “I didn’t want a shelving unit in front of the sofa; we were looking for something that wouldn’t draw attention. So, I had the carpenter make a simple white bench instead,” says Rossetti. “I made a frame out of plaster and iron, which would add to the fireplace and echo the French windows. I chose to leave the plaster rough to maintain the feeling of age.”
Perpendicular to the sofa are the kitchen and dining table. The carpenter welded the walnut table top to iron legs, based on Rossetti’s design.
Rossetti also designed the kitchen: “I was looking for a solution that would make it look like a living room. Since the environment is unique, I did not want the appliances to be visible. I placed a shelf above the kitchen benchtop to look like a bookcase because I wanted to avoid the look of a kitchen per se. This is also why I thought about how I could hide everything. The dish rack is in a removable drawer on the right of the cabinet, and to the left of the elements is a panel that rotates 180° to hide the oven. It can be opened with a touch. The hood is integrated into the induction stove, drawing fumes downwards and pulling them into the flue behind the benchtop.”
The unit is made of walnut to match the floor, while the benchtop is black granite. Finally, to separate the kitchen area from the rest of the floor, “I chose a dark oak baseboard.”
Rossetti also designed the kitchen: “I was looking for a solution that would make it look like a living room. Since the environment is unique, I did not want the appliances to be visible. I placed a shelf above the kitchen benchtop to look like a bookcase because I wanted to avoid the look of a kitchen per se. This is also why I thought about how I could hide everything. The dish rack is in a removable drawer on the right of the cabinet, and to the left of the elements is a panel that rotates 180° to hide the oven. It can be opened with a touch. The hood is integrated into the induction stove, drawing fumes downwards and pulling them into the flue behind the benchtop.”
The unit is made of walnut to match the floor, while the benchtop is black granite. Finally, to separate the kitchen area from the rest of the floor, “I chose a dark oak baseboard.”
The hood that’s integrated into the stove is visible here on the right
The frame around the kitchen window is new. Rossetti says, “I created an imitation of the moulding around the four window frames in the sofa area out of plaster and iron, to make everything uniform, since it is a single room.”
The ceiling is also an imitation of that in the living room. An LED light strip was installed for indirect light.
The frame around the kitchen window is new. Rossetti says, “I created an imitation of the moulding around the four window frames in the sofa area out of plaster and iron, to make everything uniform, since it is a single room.”
The ceiling is also an imitation of that in the living room. An LED light strip was installed for indirect light.
The wooden boards used for the kitchen floor date to 1870 and were recovered from the adjacent apartment. Rossetti kept the original boards in the living room, having first re-sanded and re-finished them.
The white cabinet at the far end of the kitchen hides the fridge and pantry. The arched doorway, which was already there, leads to the bedrooms and bathrooms.
The bedroom doors are on the left, the bathrooms are on the right, surrounded by mirrors.
“The original entrance, as was standard for the upper-class houses of that era, was a generous 20 square metres,” the architect says. “I chose to divide it in half, keeping one part for the entryway and using the other part for bathrooms. I put mirrors next to the bathrooms to create the feel of a larger space.”
“The original entrance, as was standard for the upper-class houses of that era, was a generous 20 square metres,” the architect says. “I chose to divide it in half, keeping one part for the entryway and using the other part for bathrooms. I put mirrors next to the bathrooms to create the feel of a larger space.”
View from the entryway
The entryway, as seen from the dining room.
The built-in bookcase in the background decorates the entryway (on the right and around the corner as seen in the photo).
This is what the space the bedrooms now occupy looked like before the renovation.
The iron structure at the top of this photo of the master bedroom is the bed. “I chose to put it in a loft because those who enter the house must cross the hallway to get to the living room, passing in front of the bedrooms,” says Rossetti. “I did not want the beds to be visible, as I think that, since the hallway has a dead end, the doors of the bedrooms should be kept open so that it can seem more spacious and brighter.”
The bedroom measures about 17.3 square metres. The flooring and the fresco are original. The art students recovered the painting from beneath layers of dirt collected over the century, which can be seen in the ‘before’ photo. The bed in the loft is made of fir and iron, raised over a framework to allow light to pass underneath.
The other bedroom (not pictured) is a bit smaller but has the same design.
The other bedroom (not pictured) is a bit smaller but has the same design.
The flooring in the bathroom was purchased from a shop that recovers and sells old flooring materials. The boards were sanded so that the finish would match the rest of the apartment as much as possible.
The ceiling in this room is about 2.4 metres high. “I was able to create an area with a metal-hinged trapdoor to be used as a storage room. I then closed it off with wood panels. I chose fir because it is cheaper than oak or walnut.”
The ceiling in this room is about 2.4 metres high. “I was able to create an area with a metal-hinged trapdoor to be used as a storage room. I then closed it off with wood panels. I chose fir because it is cheaper than oak or walnut.”
The vanity benchtop is black granite just like the kitchen bench. The splashback and shower walls have been covered with 2 x 2 centimetre mosaic tiles.
As in the rest of the house, the colour scheme here alternates between bright white and elegant grey.
As in the rest of the house, the colour scheme here alternates between bright white and elegant grey.
For the smaller bathroom, Rossetti deliberately designed a vanity that resembles the kitchen cabinets. It houses the washer-dryer. The vanity area is unusual. Where a mirror would usually be, the architect instead placed a window to the neighbouring entrance hallway, with mirrors on either side of it.
Though the walls are grey throughout the apartment, the ones here are slightly darker: “This room is a smaller, more intimate space, so darker colours seemed more appropriate,” says Rossetti.
The architect also installed a false ceiling made out of iron and fir. “It is lower on the left because that side leads to the [central] hallway, and I wanted it to be the least imposing possible; in contrast, I kept the full height on the right to make that area feel more comfortable.”
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More
Want more international design? Check out last week’s Bavarian Houzz Tour: A Childhood Home for Three Generations
Though the walls are grey throughout the apartment, the ones here are slightly darker: “This room is a smaller, more intimate space, so darker colours seemed more appropriate,” says Rossetti.
The architect also installed a false ceiling made out of iron and fir. “It is lower on the left because that side leads to the [central] hallway, and I wanted it to be the least imposing possible; in contrast, I kept the full height on the right to make that area feel more comfortable.”
Tell us
What do you love about this home? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to like the story, save your favourite images and join in the conversation.
More
Want more international design? Check out last week’s Bavarian Houzz Tour: A Childhood Home for Three Generations
Who lives here: A young couple
Location: A residential district in Turin, Italy
Year built: 1870
Year of renovation: 2016
Architect: Jacopo Rossetti from Officina8A
Size: 130 square metres
Cost: 750 euros (about AU$1,170) per square metre, excluding the furniture