Taking on the surrounding beauty, capturing it through light and material, surfaces and colour, before giving it back with a harmonious and evocative overall design featuring a geometric, fluid and sleek architectural design, which expresses itself through the refined linearity of the whole and the continuous perspective interplay of its components.
These are the distinctive features of La Casa Millerighe, the most recent renovation and interior design project by architect Valentina Autiero, founder of the eponymous architectural practice based in Vico Equense, Naples: the property in question is a residence with sea view of 100 m2, formerly a vacation home to spend limited periods of time in, but now a family home for year-round daily living, located in the evocative context of the Sorrento peninsula.
On the first site visit, the living space proved to be ideal for a typical Mediterranean vacation home for rest and relaxation, conviviality and time spent in company: limited common living space, lots of beds and the integrated use of the large panoramic wrap-around terrace.
The presence of a square floor plan free on three of its four sides allowed for a total redistribution of the spaces with a strong and constant focus on the dynamic dialogue between the environments and the natural light they receive, an essential priority for their correct functional distribution in the new architectural and design context. The design thus tore up the old floor plan, delineating a space marked by fluid and interactive open-plan areas, where the customer's various different needs and requirements are answered perfectly thanks to unconventional interpretations of the spaces and custom made-to-measure furniture.
The regular and consequent flow of parallel lines emerges as a common thread in the entire design interpretation of the space and its individual rooms and areas, which it suggests and defines through constant reference to geometries, alignments and projections: what emerges is a residence set apart by a fluid and dynamic scheme, inside which the different spaces follow on from each other with continuous connections and visual references, stylistic and chromatic.
The living area emerges as a particularly large and welcoming space, its volume standing out with the large panoramic window which dominates the entire wall and visually extends the residence towards the maritime landscape and its infinite splendour. Impalpable delimitations make it easy to define and identify the spaces dedicated to the entryway, the living area itself and the dining room, in a constant, fluid manner free of interruptions.
Visually inscribed in a smaller volume but in direct spatial dialogue with the day area, the entrance hall is delineated by the storage/divider represented by the glass and wood "floating" bookshelf, and completed with the presence of large full-height cabinets, camouflaged in the same colour and finish as the walls, with the function of coat and jacket storage.
In the living area itself, the slatwall panelling which occupies a significant area emerges as the undisputed protagonist of the new interpretation – architectural, stylistic and formal – of the entire residence: it is the focal point of the design and tangible common thread between the various spaces, making it possible to view the corridor leading to the bedrooms as an extension, both visual and functional, of the living area, a characteristic which is highlighted by the ceiling track lighting system.
The "millerighe" slatwall panelling is structured as furnishing with an entirely containing function, as a small bar is hidden inside it: this strategic transformative design makes it possible to define a complete, accessorised space to meet numerous needs, while taking up a depth of just 10 cm. The specific position in which this piece of furniture is located – its presence also partially marks out and delimits the corridor area – lends functionality to a passageway which could otherwise be easily overlooked and makes it a focal point, at the same time completing the visual triangulation of conviviality composed of the sofa and dining table.
Surrounded by the "millerighe" panelling, the TV appears in close visual dialogue with the sofa, which features soft forms and is in turn strongly connected with the panoramic view of the sea: both elements, together, define a precise relaxation subspace within the large spatial volume and scenic structure of the day area.Finally, located between the entrance and the sofa area, perfectly aligned with the large window which enjoys a spectacular view of the hills surrounding Vico Equense, is the living room table, with sleek, simple lines, at the same time enhanced and embellished by the imposing chandelier.
Brutally interrupting the rhythmic and regular progress of the slatwall panelling's "millerighe" pattern are two large openings – one a doorway, the other a hatch – making it possible to insert the kitchen area into the fluid, dynamic spatial layout.
This is located in the "box" formed by the slatwall panelling with a symmetrical yet inverse stylistic and visual projection: like the inside of a clean room, the colours become much lighter and the formal matrix of alignments is resumed following the same formal plot, nevertheless unwinding through new and different stylistic motifs.
This environment first and foremost presents a clear, sharp simultaneous presence of different materials, suggesting and identifying the precise and clear distinction between the most purely functional area and the more strictly convivial zone. Enclosed in a white monochromatic box, the white worktop of the cooking area, containing an inset hob facing onto the living area in a mark of sharing and conviviality, is bordered by an area of large-format white porcelain tiles – interrupting the stack-bond parquet present in the rest of the space – and a white slatted soffit feature. In the context of this chromatic absolutism, the presence of the bright-orange cooker hood ducting and kitchen tap are deliberately discordant elements which lend the environment a touch of carefree vivacity.
The other half of the geometrically defined space – in which the parquet flooring tightly laid in stack bond continues uninterrupted – houses generous cabinetry, ideal for storage of appliances, and also incorporating the pantry. Inside of this closed layout, fully visible from the living area and bordered and defined within a tiled area featuring discontinuous geometric motifs, an open space frames the custom kitchen table, which is a direct extension of the shallow countertop over the lower cabinets, supported by a glass leg.
In the corridor, a tight structure of wooden slats – completely in perspective with and mirroring the "millerighe" pattern of the slatwall unit – identifies and defines a stylistic component with a strong personality which leads to the bedrooms, whose flush access doors are perfectly integrated in the decorative scheme which represents the overall design key to the environment.
The bedrooms zone in turn follows two clearly distinct formal scores.
On the one hand, the master bedroom and its bathroom – facing each other at the end of the corridor and nestled inside the wooden slats – clearly maintain the stylistic and formal link to the living area; on the other, the girls' bedroom and en-suite, with access in the section of corridor where the wall is without panelling, make reference to the visual codices of the kitchen – located directly opposite the passageway – and reinterpret its compositional elements according to different stylistic rules.
The master bedroom features minimalist forms with sleek, essential lines. Two large custom wardrobes extend parallel along the entire surface of two opposing walls; in this context, the sand coloured high-gloss doors are sharply interrupted by two contrasting matt black openings, the first corresponding to the bedroom door, the second containing the large window offering a sea view; as an extension of the windowsill there is a further, highly functional design element here, which can be used as a desk for home working or as a vanity top.
The "millerighe" slatwall panelling which is the core design feature of the whole residence is also repeated in the master bathroom. Here, rectangular wall and floor tiles – alternating in matt and gloss finishes in an overall effect composed of nuances ranging from blue to brown – create a geometric pattern of great visual impact; the space emerges in its unusual square form, with the presence of totally unencumbered walls, while the sanitaryware is installed in the middle of the room behind a half-height partition. Leading directly on from the door, the vanity under the basin continues the "millerighe" slatted panelling, completed with a mirror hanging from the ceiling which makes the design of the entire room fluid and free. Located to the side in its own area, on the other hand, is the shower with bench: here a reeded glass partition, in keeping with the theme of vertical lines, partially screens off the generous compartment, making the connection between the different functional spaces more fluid.
The girls' room, with access door opposite the kitchen, returns to its aesthetic and formal choices and colour scheme. A series of orange lines define and emphasise the custom built-in furniture created for this room, once again featuring modular and adjustable storage spaces. Finally, the second bathroom is an en-suite to this bedroom, in which green dominates, a clear tribute to the Mediterranean vegetation visible outside, further highlighted by the ironic presence of an animal light fixture attached to the mirror.
Team:
Architectural and interior design: Valentina Autiero
Photographic Credits: Carlo Oriente
Material Used:
Day Area
Living Space
1. Parquet flooring: Mardegan Legno
2. Wooden slatwall panelling: CP Parquet
3. Entrance hall/living area bookshelf: Lago Design
4. Living area speaker: Bang&Olufsen
5. Living area table: Rimadesio
6. Living area chandelier: Flos
7. Living area sofa: SABA
Kitchen
1. Kitchen parquet flooring: Mardegan Legno
2. Kitchen floor tiles: Florim Ceramiche
3. Kitchen wall tiles: Ceramiche Bardelli
4. Kitchen ceiling: Orac Decor
5. Kitchen tap: Gessi
6. Kitchen cabinets: Arredo3
Sleeping Area
Master Bedroom
1. Bed: FLOU
2. Bedside light: Foscarini
3. Bedroom stool: Kartell
Master Bathroom
1. Floor and shower tiles: 41 Zero 42
2. Bathroom mirror: Ceramica Cielo
3. Sanitaryware: Ceramica Cielo
4. Bathroom taps: Bongio
5. Bathroom heated towel rail: Tubes
Children's Bathroom
1. Bathroom flooring: 41 zero 42
2. Bathroom wall tiles: Mutina
3. Basin: Ever Life Design
4. Bathroom taps: Zazzeri
5. Sanitaryware: Ceramica Cielo
6. Bathroom heated towel rail: Tubes
7. Bathroom lamp: Seletti
