Ten rustic Italian interiors that evoke the history of the Mediterranean
CategoriesInterior Design

Ten rustic Italian interiors that evoke the history of the Mediterranean

This lookbook collects 10 interiors in Italy with a distinctly rustic feel, including homes and hotels replete with wooden beams, cool stone and other rich textures.

As well as being known for its contemporary furniture and lighting design, Italy is home to some of Europe’s oldest buildings and has numerous historic cities and villages.

From a 17th-century house in Puglia to a hotel in a 1,000-year-old castle, below are 10 examples of projects that pay homage to the Mediterranean country’s history while catering to modern tastes.

This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring chequerboard floors, lime plaster walls and Mediterranean-style interiors.


Monteverdi Tuscany boutique hotel by Michael Cioffi and Ilaria Miani
Photo courtesy of Monteverdi Hotel

Monteverdi Hotel, Tuscany, by Ilaria Miani

Restoration specialist and interior designer Ilaria Miani helped transform several crumbling buildings in Val d’Orcia into a boutique hotel that aims to balance the history of the area with contemporary design influences from Milan and Rome.

In the bedroom suites, chunky exposed beams made from salvaged wood are complemented by natural colours and textures, while nearly all the furniture is handmade by local artisans.

Find out more about Monteverdi Hotel ›


Cascina by Jonathan Tuckey Design
Photo by Francesca Iovene

Cascina, Piemonte, by Jonathan Tuckey Design

London-based Jonathan Tuckey Design was tasked with returning this 19th-century farmhouse in northern Italy to its original state following a heavy 1980s renovation.

Stone walls and wooden beams now feature prominently, with a cool chalky palette offset by brass lamps and chestnut panelling and furniture.

Find out more about Cascina ›


Casa Soleto living room
Photo by Salva López

Casa Soleto, Puglia, by Studio Andrew Trotter and Marcelo Martínez

Parts of Casa Soleto in Puglia are more than 400 years old. Architecture firm Studio Andrew Trotter and its studio manager Marcelo Martínez renovated the building without making any structural changes, leaving the irregular walls in place.

To give the interiors an authentic, natural feel, the designers used lime plaster for the walls, linen fabrics for the sofas and curtains, jute rugs, terracotta ceramics and antique furniture.

Find out more about Casa Soleto ›


Monastero Arx Vivendi
Photo by Alex Filz

Monastero Arx Vivendi, Trentino-Alto Adige, by Network of Architecture

Network of Architecture applied rippled antique-effect plaster to the walls of this 17th-century ex-monastery near Lake Garda, which is now a hotel.

The plaster is complemented by pale wooden floors, black iron furniture and earth-toned fabrics, while the original doors have been retained and restored.

Find out more about Monastero Arx Vivendi ›


Interior of Casolare Scarani in Puglia by Studio Andrew Trotter
Photo by Salva López

Casolare Scarani, Puglia, by Studio Andrew Potter

Casolare Scarani is a home created from the renovation of a long-abandoned girls’ school built in the style of a traditional Puglian villa – but still modest in size.

The vaulted ceilings were kept intact and covered in lime plaster, while the rooms were finished with earthy tones and traditional stone flooring.

Find out more about Casolare Scarani ›


Hotel Castello di Reschio
Photo courtesy of Hotel Castello di Reschio

Hotel Castello di Reschio, Umbria, by Count Benedikt Bolza

Hotel Castello di Reschio occupies a 1,000-year-old castle in the Umbrian hills that was transformed by count Benedikt Bolza and his family.

Rooms have been decorated with terracotta-brick or wooden floors, hand-stitched linen curtains, Italian fabrics and locally crafted marble and brass vanities alongside portraits sourced from nearby antique markets in a reference to the building’s rich history.

Find out more about Hotel Castello di Reschio ›


Appartamento Brolettuono by Archiplanstudio
Photo by Davide Galli Atelier

Brolettouno Apartment, Lombardy, by Archiplan

Located in a building in Mantua that dates back to the 15th century, this apartment was overhauled on a budget by local design studio Archiplan.

The studio decided to honour the interior’s timeworn aesthetic by retaining the distressed floor tiles and faded frescos, combining these features with functional light-hued wooden furniture.

Find out more about Brolettouno Apartment ›


Interior of Casa Maiora by Studio Andrew Trotter in Puglia
Photo by Salva López

Casa Maiora, Puglia, by Studio Andrew Trotter

Another project from Studio Andrew Trotter, this villa is in fact a newly built project – but carries heavy rustic influences from traditional homes in the area.

Flagstone floors, lime-washed walls and locally sourced antiques combine to create a soothing, timeless feel.

Find out more about Casa Maiora ›


G-Rough hotel Rome
Photo by Serena Eller

G-Rough, Lazio, by Gabriele Salini

Features showcasing the building’s 400-year-old history were juxtaposed with contemporary art and mid-century furnishings at this boutique hotel in Rome, Italy’s capital.

The imperfections of age, particularly on the patina walls, combine with furniture inspired by modernist Italian designers like Ico Parisi, Giò Ponti and Piero Fornasetti for a rough-yet-refined aesthetic.

Find out more about G-Rough ›


Bedroom at the Vipp pop-up hotel
Photo by Irina Boersma César Machado

Palazzo Monti hotel, Lombardy, by Julie Cloos Mølsgaard and Vipp

A collaboration with Danish homeware brand Vipp saw interior designer Julie Cloos Mølsgaard create a pop-up hotel in a 13-century palazzo in Brescia.

To keep the focus on the building’s many historic features, Mølsgaard took a minimalist approach to the furnishings, with mattresses sitting directly on the floor and artwork propped up against the walls.

Find out more about the Palazzo Monti hotel ›

This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring chequerboard floors, lime plaster walls and Mediterranean-style interiors.

Reference

Ten rustic Italian interiors that evoke the historic Mediterranean
CategoriesInterior Design

Ten rustic Italian interiors that evoke the historic Mediterranean

This lookbook collects 10 interiors in Italy with a distinctly rustic feel, including homes and hotels replete with wooden beams, cool stone and other rich textures.

As well as being known for its contemporary furniture and lighting design, Italy is home to some of Europe’s oldest buildings and has numerous historic cities and villages.

From a 17th-century house in Puglia to a hotel in a 1,000-year-old castle, below are 10 examples of projects that pay homage to the Mediterranean country’s history while catering to modern tastes.

This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring chequerboard floors, lime plaster walls and Mediterranean-style interiors.


Monteverdi Tuscany boutique hotel by Michael Cioffi and Ilaria Miani
Photo courtesy of Monteverdi Hotel

Monteverdi Hotel, Tuscany, by Ilaria Miani

Restoration specialist and interior designer Ilaria Miani helped transform several crumbling buildings in Val d’Orcia into a boutique hotel that aims to balance the history of the area with contemporary design influences from Milan and Rome.

In the bedroom suites, chunky exposed beams made from salvaged wood are complemented by natural colours and textures, while nearly all the furniture is handmade by local artisans.

Find out more about Monteverdi Hotel ›


Cascina by Jonathan Tuckey Design
Photo by Francesca Iovene

Cascina, Piemonte, by Jonathan Tuckey Design

London-based Jonathan Tuckey Design was tasked with returning this 19th-century farmhouse in northern Italy to its original state following a heavy 1980s renovation.

Stone walls and wooden beams now feature prominently, with a cool chalky palette offset by brass lamps and chestnut panelling and furniture.

Find out more about Cascina ›


Casa Soleto living room
Photo by Salva López

Casa Soleto, Puglia, by Studio Andrew Trotter and Marcelo Martínez

Parts of Casa Soleto in Puglia are more than 400 years old. Architecture firm Studio Andrew Trotter and its studio manager Marcelo Martínez renovated the building without making any structural changes, leaving the irregular walls in place.

To give the interiors an authentic, natural feel, the designers used lime plaster for the walls, linen fabrics for the sofas and curtains, jute rugs, terracotta ceramics and antique furniture.

Find out more about Casa Soleto ›


Monastero Arx Vivendi
Photo by Alex Filz

Monastero Arx Vivendi, Trentino-Alto Adige, by Network of Architecture

Network of Architecture applied rippled antique-effect plaster to the walls of this 17th-century ex-monastery near Lake Garda, which is now a hotel.

The plaster is complemented by pale wooden floors, black iron furniture and earth-toned fabrics, while the original doors have been retained and restored.

Find out more about Monastero Arx Vivendi ›


Interior of Casolare Scarani in Puglia by Studio Andrew Trotter
Photo by Salva López

Casolare Scarani, Puglia, by Studio Andrew Potter

Casolare Scarani is a home created from the renovation of a long-abandoned girls’ school built in the style of a traditional Puglian villa – but still modest in size.

The vaulted ceilings were kept intact and covered in lime plaster, while the rooms were finished with earthy tones and traditional stone flooring.

Find out more about Casolare Scarani ›


Hotel Castello di Reschio
Photo courtesy of Hotel Castello di Reschio

Hotel Castello di Reschio, Umbria, by Count Benedikt Bolza

Hotel Castello di Reschio occupies a 1,000-year-old castle in the Umbrian hills that was transformed by count Benedikt Bolza and his family.

Rooms have been decorated with terracotta-brick or wooden floors, hand-stitched linen curtains, Italian fabrics and locally crafted marble and brass vanities alongside portraits sourced from nearby antique markets in a reference to the building’s rich history.

Find out more about Hotel Castello di Reschio ›


Appartamento Brolettuono by Archiplanstudio
Photo by Davide Galli Atelier

Brolettouno Apartment, Lombardy, by Archiplan

Located in a building in Mantua that dates back to the 15th century, this apartment was overhauled on a budget by local design studio Archiplan.

The studio decided to honour the interior’s timeworn aesthetic by retaining the distressed floor tiles and faded frescos, combining these features with functional light-hued wooden furniture.

Find out more about Brolettouno Apartment ›


Interior of Casa Maiora by Studio Andrew Trotter in Puglia
Photo by Salva López

Casa Maiora, Puglia, by Studio Andrew Trotter

Another project from Studio Andrew Trotter, this villa is in fact a newly built project – but carries heavy rustic influences from traditional homes in the area.

Flagstone floors, lime-washed walls and locally sourced antiques combine to create a soothing, timeless feel.

Find out more about Casa Maiora ›


G-Rough hotel Rome
Photo by Serena Eller

G-Rough, Lazio, by Gabriele Salini

Features showcasing the building’s 400-year-old history were juxtaposed with contemporary art and mid-century furnishings at this boutique hotel in Rome, Italy’s capital.

The imperfections of age, particularly on the patina walls, combine with furniture inspired by modernist Italian designers like Ico Parisi, Giò Ponti and Piero Fornasetti for a rough-yet-refined aesthetic.

Find out more about G-Rough ›


Bedroom at the Vipp pop-up hotel
Photo by Irina Boersma César Machado

Palazzo Monti hotel, Lombardy, by Julie Cloos Mølsgaard and Vipp

A collaboration with Danish homeware brand Vipp saw interior designer Julie Cloos Mølsgaard create a pop-up hotel in a 13-century palazzo in Brescia.

To keep the focus on the building’s many historic features, Mølsgaard took a minimalist approach to the furnishings, with mattresses sitting directly on the floor and artwork propped up against the walls.

Find out more about the Palazzo Monti hotel ›

This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring chequerboard floors, lime plaster walls and Mediterranean-style interiors.

Reference

Linehouse designs Hong Kong hotel to evoke the comfort of home
CategoriesInterior Design

Linehouse designs Hong Kong hotel to evoke the comfort of home

Shanghai-based interior studio Linehouse used natural materials and a muted colour palette to give the Ying’nFlo hotel in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, the feel of an inviting home.

The hotel occupies the podium of a 24-story tower on a hilly street in Hong Kong. Its ground floor holds a series of communal spaces that Linehouse designed to provide “home comfort” for guests.

Ying'nFlo Hong Kong by Linehouse
The ground floor comprises a series of rooms referencing living rooms

The Collectors Room, which greets guests at the entrance of the hotel, has a neutral palette of hand-rendered walls, timber paneling, and linen cabinetry that display curated objects and artworks. A communal oak table serves as a counter where guests can interact.

This room also connects to an outdoor terrace through sliding glazed doors. Built-in bench seating and an olive tree sit at the centre of the terrace and invite guests to relax and socialise.

Ying'nFlo Hong Kong by Linehouse
A communal table and outdoor bench invite guests to socialise

A gridded timber screen leads further into the space through to the lift lobby and the Arcade room, where guests can gather to relax and play.

Soft-rendered walls, timber shutters and an eclectic mix of furniture create a sense of intimacy, while floor tiles in various geometrical motifs add a sense of playfulness.

Ying'nFlo Hong Kong by Linehouse
The Music Room features ceramic tiles

Adjacent to the Arcade is the Music Room, the social hub of the hotel. Here, ceramic tiles, a bespoke oak shelving system, a custom sofa and curated art and lifestyle objects were added to evoke a sense of a residential living room.

The Music Room opens up to the Garden Terrace, where undulating greenery sits behind circular seating in yellow-striped fabric, a colourful contrast to the overall neutral colour palette of the Ying’nFlo hotel.

Ying'nFlo Hong Kong by Linehouse
Yellow-striped fabric seating on the terrace adds playfulness

“The spaces are designed to have a warm, welcoming and familiar feel,” Linehouse said.

“Against this backdrop of curated simplicity is an edge of youthful attitude and local context, with vibrant elements giving the hotel its own unique flavour.”

The guest rooms of the Ying’nFlo hotel are located on the upper floor and feature ceilings painted in a muted green hue, which the same green tone used to frame window seating nooks and for the hand-glazed tiles in the bathroom and kitchen.

A clean palette of plaster, wood, white-washed oak and canvas add texture to the rooms. Seating nooks and lounge furniture serve multiple functions as spaces where guests can work, relax or dine.

Ying'nFlo Hong Kong by Linehouse
Muted green and selection of wood furniture create a warm feeling for the guest rooms

Linehouse was founded by Alex Mok and Briar Hickling in 2013 and the duo went on to win emerging interior designer of the year at the 2019 Dezeen Awards.

The studio has recently completed a Mediterranean restaurant with natural, tactile materials, as well as a space-themed cafe decorated with real meteorites, both in Shanghai.

The photography is by Jonathan Leijonhufvud.


Project credits:

Design principle: Briar Hickling
Design team: Ricki-Lee Van Het Wout, Lara Daoud, Justin Cheung

Dezeen is on WeChat!

Click here to read the Chinese version of this article on Dezeen’s official WeChat account, where we publish daily architecture and design news and projects in Simplified Chinese.

Reference

Morris Adjmi designs Grand Mulberry building to evoke historic New York
CategoriesArchitecture

Morris Adjmi designs Grand Mulberry building to evoke historic New York

US architect Morris Adjmi took cues from tenements that once housed Italian immigrants to create a new mixed-use building with a decorative brickwork facade.

Rising seven storeys, Grand Mulberry is located on a storied site in Manhattan’s Little Italy neighborhood.

Exterior of the red-brick Grand Mulburry building by Morris Adjmi with a textured facade
The seven-storey building was informed by New York tenements

To design the new building, architect Morris Adjmi – who leads an eponymous local studio – took cues from the area’s history and architecture, including its tenement buildings dating to the 19th and early 20th centuries.

For the street-facing elevations, the architect designed a rounded corner and a grid of rectangular, punched windows surrounded by red-orange bricks. A distinctive “Morse code-like” pattern was created using bricks with domed extrusions.

Exterior of the red-brick Grand Mulburry building by Morris Adjmi with a textured facade on a street corner in New York City
The building has a rounded corner and a grid of rectangular windows

The domed bricks are arranged in a way that evokes the tripartite facade of a building that once stood on the site, making it a “ghost of the past building”, said Adjmi.

The ground level contains space for retail and a new home for the Italian American Museum, slated to open in 2024. The upper portion of the building holds a total of 20 condominiums.

Exterior of the red-brick Grand Mulburry building by Morris Adjmi with a textured facade
The exterior is covered with domed brickwork

“Given the project’s setting, the objective from the onset was to design a building that was contextual yet unmistakably contemporary,” the firm said.

“With a nod to the traditional Italianate tenement embedded in its bones, Grand Mulberry is a brand-new building that does not completely erase the site’s history and that doesn’t necessarily make passersby mourn for the New York that was.”

Exterior of the red-brick Grand Mulburry building by Morris Adjmi with a textured facade
The domed bricks were arranged in a pattern that references a building that previously occupied the site

At the base of the building, the ornamental bricks – hand-moulded by Glen-Gery– form horizontal bands. At the middle and top levels, they are arranged to evoke pediment windows and arched widows, respectively.

“Looking carefully, one can see the mark of the traditional tripartite façade that consisted of a base, a middle and top layers, with differing details and brickwork used for each portion,” the architect said.

“At the same time, the bricks’ path and dimensionality create a visual texture that adds energy to the block, building on Little Italy’s distinct flavour.”

The rear elevations are faced with a combination of metal panels, concrete and bricks.

The building is topped with a cluster of volumes that is set back from the streetwall and wrapped in light grey cladding.

Within the building, the team drew upon traditional materials and techniques, the architect said.

Interior of a kitchen with wood flooring, white kitchen units and a white marble island
Traditional materials were used in the interior

In the lobby, one finds black-and-white, mosaic-style flooring and plaster finishes. The residential units feature wooden flooring, marble countertops and decorative tile backsplashes.

Overall, the building “encapsulates traces from historical architecture while engaging with the neighbourhood”, the architect said.

Interior of a white bathroom with a walk-in wet room and wooden vanity units
Grand Mulberry contains retail space and apartments

The building is named after its location on the corner of Grand and Mulberry streets – a site once occupied by brownstones that partly dated to the 1830s.

The site was famous for housing a bank that operated from 1882 to 1932 and was used by Italian immigrants.

Domed brickwork on the exterior of the Grand Mulburry building by Morris Adjmi
Bricks with domed extrusions decoration the exterior facades

Born in New Orleans, Morris Adjmi began his career working with the Italian architect Aldo Rossi in the 1980s. After Rossi’s death in 1997, Adjmi established Morris Adjmi Architects in New York. The studio also has an office in New Orleans.

Its other projects include a 25-storey, glass-and-steel tower in Philadelphia that contains apartments and a hotel.

The photography is by Morris Adjmi Architects.

Reference