Look at the Mar Grande of Taranto, the 130 m2 private residence to which the Apulian architecture and interior design Studio Francesco Marrone has given a new face thanks to a major renovation. On the second floor of a building from the early 1900s, the apartment immediately reveals its potential: decorative motifs emerge from the over 4 meter ceilings of the main rooms which define the classic character of the building. A discovery that becomes the helm of the entire space recovery project consisting of an entrance hall, a lounge, a dining room, a kitchen, a bedroom with a large walk-in closet and a bathroom.
To enhance the ancient traces on the vaults, Marrone chooses to cancel the importance of the oak flooring in the living and kitchen area with black KERAKOLL DESIGN resin by LISSONI, a neutral color that gives a contemporary look and a strong chromatic identity to the entire home. The palette becomes the further illuminating "body" together with the natural light arriving from the Taranto seafront, the key to harmonizing textures and geometries in a harmonious and refined way. The stylish black dictates the chromatic score of the residence, played on tones that are never gaudy but only accompanying, like apostrophes on the furnishing accessories. The effect is that of a natural velvet which highlights the materiality of the walls treated with CalceCanapa from BANCA DELLA CALCE, an eco-sustainable coating, thermal and acoustic insulation capable of absorbing CO2 and environmental humidity. The ecological footprint guides the hand of the Studio which thus creates the perfect correspondence between the quality of life of the individual and that of the relative living space, seen as an ideal destination to return to daily also thanks to measures such as controlled mechanical ventilation (guarantees a continuous recirculation of purified air) and low consumption and high energy efficiency systems.
The convergence between interior design and green life is the basis of architect Marrone's design philosophy which refers to the conscious use of resources and the recovery of a more human-scale temporal and spatial dimension. Proof of this is the concept of the room, the focal point of the house primarily dedicated to conversation which, like each of the contemporary works of art on display - by Mario Schifano, Achille Perilli, Giuseppe Amadio, Carla Accardi, Mimmo Rotella, Michele Zaza and Luigi Ottani – demands centrality.
The Maralunga sofa by CASSINA, together with the bright orange LE BAMBOLE armchairs designed by Mario Bellini for B&B and the Wassiliy Chairs by KNOLL, form an intimate circle in which to reveal yourself under a vintage 1970s TINTA suspension lamp by LEUCOS. The relaxing atmosphere is also suggested by the skilful placement of the lights, mostly coming from the bottom of FLOS and OLUCE and from the perimeter wall lights of NEMO LIGHTING. The plum Rietveld armchair by CASSINA is the compass that orients towards the Gulf and marks the passage with the dining area through a large opening framed by exposed concrete.
The essential style supports the linearity of the PORRO sideboard and the lightness of the custom-designed rectangular table and MDF ITALIA chairs, a mix of functionality and elegance where black still defines the volumes, partly secreted by a polycarbonate glass window . Beyond the fifth, designed by the architect. Brown thinking of Mondrian with a playful intersection of lines, the kitchen opens up. The absence of wall units shifts the attention to the minimal and smooth furniture in powder blue to which a custom-made lacquered wood wine cellar is added.
It is always the craftsmanship, another identifying feature of the Studio, that makes the walk-in closet a unique and original area also exploited in height. The tailoring of the room allows, in fact, to use every corner by also creating a small mezzanine in fir wood. The oak staircase, half painted in black in pendat with the handrail and the railing, is the real graphic element that gives character to the room. Adjacent, the master bedroom where the B&B Tufty-Bed is the absolute protagonist.
The contemporary appeal of the Taranto residence is therefore in the detail, in the innovative composition of materials and colors which end up elevating a simple passage area, such as a corridor or a hallway, into a place to stop and pay attention. For example, the black plastic armchair by KARTELL by Joe Colombo, illuminated by the NEMO LIGHTING floor lamp in the space preceding the room, and the custom-made sideboard in front of the entrance door, ask for it.
