The concept behind its design is to do as little as possible and as much as needed to create a comfortable house. By carefully restoring its many beautiful details, the architecture tells a story about the passing of time.
The design has been completed by a curated selection of vintage and custom made furniture pieces, and objects to create a holistic experience that finds inspiration in the hand made.
The project is the result of the collaboration between Georg Kayser Studio and the architect Alessandro Venneri, of Apulian origins but who lives in Barcelona and has been collaborating with Kayserstudio for several years now. The project can be considered as an exemplary project, since we would like to make this beautiful region known as much as possible to people from outside and to be able to help them realise their dream of having an Italian home, with taste authentic and refined, and the same time help the regions with developing a sustainable form of developing tourism.
Georg Kayser had already had the opportunity to fall in love with Salento ten years ago, when he visited it for the first time on the occasion of a wedding and was immediately captivated by the charm of this region. Alessandro, enthusiastic about being able to work on something special in his land, did not miss the opportunity when the two found this splendid abandoned building in a small village in the Salento hinterland.
Neviano (or Nianu, in the local dialect) is a small village, where life flows slowly and relaxed. There are several empty and abandoned buildings, waiting to be brought back to life. The house is an example of how you can make something simple and inexpensive, paying close attention to the few materials used, especially local materials with which the locals are used to working, such as cocciopesto for floors and walls, an ancient waterproof coating technique.
The intention was to restore the building while preserving the original patina of the ceilings and walls as much as possible. Internal openings have been created that establish new visual axes between the rooms placed on different heights and at the same time let in more light and connect the interior spaces more with the terraces. During the first visit of the building, the most important discovery was the view offered by the terrace: with the mother church of S. Michele Arcangelo in the foreground, from here you can appreciate the roofs of the neighbouring houses, located on a hill, and the typical Salento landscape that surrounds the town.
We tried to make the most of this space by managing to insert a small plunge pool with a view of the church dome.
The entrance, with vaulted ceilings about 5 meters high, is the environment in which we have managed to preserve the appearance and spirit of the building as much as possible, using it as a living area with masonry seats, vintage chairs, as well as the lamp placed in the niche, and a couple of decorative objects.
Going up the staircase you arrive at the dining room with its original floor tiles. We designed the table and had it made by a local craftsman, as are the two lamps. Chairs and paintings are vintage, as much as the other little decorative objects.
In the bedrooms we opted for a mix of cheap furnishings from typical shops such as Ikea, Zara Home, Sklum etc. and vintage pieces, such as Alessandro’s grandmother's armchairs upholstered in white.
In the small reading room, with the fireplace, we kept everything to a minimum: a triangular masonry seat was created and a few decorative objects were placed.
The kitchen was built in masonry and covered in cocciopesto, with custom made wooden doors made by a local carpenter.
Even in the bathrooms we have tried to create fixed furnishings as much as possible and cover them in cocciopesto, and even the fittings are locally made by the installer.
The first terrace, which communicates directly with the kitchen, can be considered as the second dining room of the house, with a large dining table and a hammock. It is shaded by a light structure.
The terraces located on the upper level are divided into a first area used as scenic dining table, from where you reach an area with an outdoor sofa and armchairs placed around a brazier. Finally, you go up to the solarium area, from which you enter the plunge pool which dominates the view around the house and around the village.
Team:
Architects: Georg Kayser Studio + Alessandro Venneri
Contractor NEW TECHNOLOGIES GROUP (Casarano, LE)
Photographer: Carlo Romano
Materials used:
Bedrooms:
In the rooms we have used IKEA mattresses, with their bases. Some tables (in the blue room) the bedside tables and table lamps are from Zara Home.In the white room we have bought the wall sconces from La Redoute. The nightstands are vertically placed cement sinks, we bought them from a local sink manufacturer. In the yellow room we have reupholstered Alessandro's grandmother's armchairs. The round rugs are from Zara Home too, as are the folding stools for suitcases. The alabaster wall sconces in the bathrooms are by Containestudio from Mallorca. The white wall light in the hallway is by Tonia Fuster, also from Mallorca, as is the lamp hanging on the veranda of the open-air dining room. In the bathrooms we have manufactured taps with the installer of the work.The mirrors are vintage from a store in Gallipoli.
Dinning room:
The travertine dining table is designed by us and made locally, the chairs are vintage, the pair of lamps above the table are from a Gallipoli man who handcrafts them in his small workshop. They are fishing baskets that we have adapted to be screens. The paintings are vintage.
White reading room:
In the small reading room with the fireplace, the lamp above the triangular sofa is from Sklum, the other black cone lamp is from Contain, the round table from Zara Home.
Kitchen:
In the kitchen we have used IKEA appliances, the kitchen is made locally, the fronts are painted MDF. The folding chairs are from Zara Home, the table from Maisons du Monde. The two paintings are vintage, just like the wall sconces.
Terraces:
The outdoor dining table is designed by us and manufactured locally. The folding chairs are by Sklum, the lamp by Toni Fuster. The first roof terrace on the roof terrace you can find the round table and vintage chairs of Alessandro's parents. On the second terrace, the sun loungers and the outdoor sofa by Sklum.
