my new earth home living spaces
Photos by Massimo Grassi except where noted House at a Glance Who lives here: An Italian family when on vacation from their current home in Paris Location: Ostuni, Italy Size: 3,229 square feet (300 square meters), with a half-acre (one-fifth of a hectare) of gardens; five bedrooms, four bathrooms Architect: Studio Talent This house is typical of a 19th-century Apulian masseria. Historically, the first floor would have been used for work, and the owners would have lived on the second.
a simple white plaster with a milk-of-lime finish for the walls. The floors throughout are paved in cocciopesto — a material consisting of broken tiles and fragments of bricks mixed with lime mortar, which was traditional at the time the masseria was built. The light sand hue matches the stone floor outside. The floors conceal underfloor heating, and the house gets some of its energy from solar panels installed on the roof.
formal living room was designed to feel light, casual and comfortable. Unlike many formal living spaces that end up as museum-like showpieces touched by little besides a vacuum, this family actively enjoys the room for entertaining and lingering over cocktails before moving to the family room after dinner. The designer echoed the rustic wood mantle of the family room and propped one of the wife’s finest paintings on it as the focal point
DeForest Architects There’s also a guest bedroom and bathroom up here. A simple platform bed tucks snugly beneath the gable
DeForest Architects A curve crafted of translucent polycarbonate panels encircles the sitting area and provides contrast to all the sharp angles. And it encourages exploration and games of hide-and-seek.
Attic Highlights Antique Architecture in a Modern Way The attic underwent a complete renovation that included creating a sitting area and a guest bedroom and bathroom; a big skylit room, with a loosely defined central seating area around a wood-burning fireplace; a modular sofa similar to the one in the living room encourages lounging, climbing, perching and flopping; to play off the Tudor-style geometry, DeForest opened up the drop ceiling and added a skylight and he clad all the surfaces in fir plywood with a light white stain to accentuate the angles of the multigabled roof
DeForest Architects Unique Beds for Each of the Twins The twins’ rooms received new built-in platform beds and surrounds; loaded with storage and display space, which frees up floor space for playing; Baltic birch plywood has a light Scandinavian modern feel
DeForest Architects each girl has her own Japanese soaking tub-shower combo; the 3D tile has a traditional pattern similar to the ceiling tracery on the main floor, while contemporary accessories provide pops of green inspired by the stained glass windows
goal for ensuite bath was for it to be a quiet space and sanctuary that plays with light and texture DeForest says Now the room is calm and serene, with the neutral color palette putting the focus on texture. The 3D tile mimics some of the home’s original geometric millwork in a modern way. Light washes down from a recess at the top of the wall to emphasize the dimensionality of the tile. Family members love their Japanese soaking tubs. This one is crafted from Port Orford cedar. So are the vanity top and a small countertop in the water closet.
DeForest Architects A comfortable sitting area in the master bedroom with curved sofa and planters to balance out strict lines of built-ins
love the plain, long, built in desk with a view and space for projects; Baltic birch plywood, or Europly, was used to delineate any new built-ins;rectilinear canopy bed and built-ins add modern lines
Houzz range hood replaced the previous renovation’s polished marble floor, which felt out of place; the oak matches the rest of the flooring in the house and the chevron pattern is unique to the kitchen; find a traditional range hood in the Houzz shop
completely renovated the powder room but salvaged original light fixtures; found a local shop to rewire them and replace the original tubes with LEDs
original picture windows framed by stained glass sidelights and arched transoms; built-in bench and a trio of poofs provides kid-size seating in playful geometry and colors
love the carved columns, picture boxes, stained glass, radiator and white interior; I would perhaps consider using two tones of white for the walls and the window frames
love the white moulding, ceiling and sofas; this is how I want my new home to look
beautifully restored italian home
Q