Project year: 2019
Realization: 2020-2021
Sqm = 62 apartment + 2 small balconies

Architectural Project, Interior Design, Lighitng Design, Construction Practice and Works Management: Rachele Biancalani Studio
Collaborators: Arch. Alessio Agnoletti, Geom. Andrea Peebes, Ing. Andrea Caldini
Photo: Studio Daido
Styling: Studio Daido + Rachele Biancalani
Construction company: Impresa Edile Marco Gori - San Giovanni Valdarno

Refurbishment of a small apartment near Florence with attention to the smallest details from the drafting of the building practice to the design of the furnishings (home shopping service) and the study of the lighting. The pre-construction situation of the house was so dramatic that if the client had asked the architects for their opinion BEFORE the purchase, it would almost certainly have been directed elsewhere. At first glance it was clear that consolidation would be required to renovate a dilapidated apartment. Furthermore, being this in load-bearing walls, it seemed impossible to exploit a corridor of almost 12 square meters without major interventions After careful analysis, the stroke of genius: close the huge corridor near the entrance (well 12.3 square meters wasted) to transform it into three much more useful environments, especially when there is little space available: a wardrobe at the entrance, a pantry adjacent to the kitchen and a walk-in closet adjacent to the bedroom recovering 10 square meters and leaving a small hallway of only 2.3 square meters to distribute the bathroom, living area and sleeping area.

A good Architectural Project made it possible, with a few simple changes, to rationalize the spaces by creating service environments adjacent to spaces with a primary function that add value to the entire home. The living room has a small entrance equipped with a large built-in wardrobe, the kitchen has its own pantry / closet where there is also space for the washing machine and dryer, the large bedroom has a walk-in closet accessible from the small adjacent hallway. The kitchen is divided from the living room by a large smoked glass door consisting of two sliding doors on a two-way track embedded in the plasterboard false ceiling.

Many of the furnishings in the house were custom made, such as the living room bookcase, all in lacquered wood in three different colors and in which the vertical bookends have a rounded shape so as to appear thin as if they were made of metal. The conversation area consists of a linear sofa with folding backrests and armrests and an armchair in Italian pink leather and pink metal.

The entrance area opens onto the open-space living area; to make it more functional, a large closet-cloakroom was created facing the entrance with a laminated MDF console in front of it made according to the designer's design.

The house has plenty of space for books both in the bedroom and in the living room, as expressly requested by the client. In the bedroom a large Home Office corner has been designed for possible Smart Working through open shelves / bookcases and a large desk with drawers completed by a powder pink back-painted glass top.

The kitchen is developed by optimizing the equipped wall with double row of wall units up to the ceiling and hides the access door to the hallway sleeping area made in carpentry. The extendable dining table has a RAL1013 painted steel base and a light matt travertine effect stoneware top.

As for the finishes, a bleached oak parquet was chosen which was laid throughout the house with the exception of the bathroom, in which, on the other hand, there is stoneware on the floor and very fine white-body majolica as a covering. The wall painting is uniform throughout the house and is pinkish beige, the ceilings are white with the exception of the bathroom whose ceiling is also pinkish beige