Apartment for a Russian couple in Milan on the site of the former office

There has been an office in this space for the last half century, and nothing remains of the original decoration. Ekaterina Rezepina raised the ceilings, connected the rooms with arches and filled them with masterpieces of Italian designers to make the apartment look homely, cozy and, importantly, well-lived

Living room. High chest of drawers with pink Storet facades, designed by Nando Vigo for Acerbis. Menhir coffee table, Acerbis. Yellow Dudina chair, Marta Sala. Chrome-plated steel floor lamp, designed by Franco Albini, Nemo.

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Valentina Sommariva

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Valentina Sommariva

GENERAL PARAMETERSProperty type: Apartment

Where it is located: Milan, Porta Venezia district

Square footage: 120 m2

Style: Modern eclecticism

The author of the project: Ekaterina Rezepina, k.rezepina@gmail.com , www.katerezepina.com , T. +39 (345) 219-78-47  

Ekaterina Rezepina was born in Russia in 1988, in her second year at the University of Architecture, she won a competition for urban planning ideas, which allowed her to go to Milan for an internship at the Piuarch architectural studio.

After receiving a degree in architecture, Ekaterina decided to continue her design studies in Italy, began her career in the design and product development department of Giardini Wallcoverings, while continuing her textile studies at the Lisio Foundation in Florence, later worked at the Fasten Seat Belt event agency in Milan, where she developed a corporate identity for fashion presentations, and in 2020 year opened an interior design studio.

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Valentina Sommariva

Ekaterina Rezepina designed this apartment for a Russian couple who purchased a former office space in the Porta Venezia — this area is located near the center, and travel agencies usually recommend it to those who want to have fun in the evening. There are many inexpensive and cozy cafes and bars, and here is one of the main shopping streets of Milan — Corso Buenos Aires.

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Valentina Sommariva

The house was built in the twenties of the last century, but nothing remained of the original finishing of the apartment — it was completely trampled by the office. Catherine had to expel the official spirit from the rooms and let the warmth of the hearth into them.

Living room, fragment. Menhir console, Acerbis. On the console there is a vase and a biscuit bowl, Bitossi. Dudina swivel chair, Marta Sala Edition.

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Valentina Sommariva

This task excluded any form of remodeling — the apartment had to look as if for the last half century no flocks of office ladies had been running through its rooms, but a respectable Italian family who knew a lot about good design lived.

In the dining room, the retro theme sounds more clearly thanks to the curtains with motifs from the 1970s.

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Valentina Sommariva

After a global renovation, during which suspended ceilings were dismantled and plaster cornices were re-created, the apartment acquired a kitchen-dining room, living room, two bedrooms and three bathrooms. Catherine decided to refuse the doors — the rooms, built in an enfilade, are connected by open arches.

Dining room, fragment. On the table are hand-painted terracotta vases, designed by Daniele Giannetti.

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Valentina Sommariva

In the decoration, the designer focused on natural materials that ennoble the room and create a decent frame for furnishings — such as vintage light, a mix of modern and vintage furniture, as well as works of art that are delicately inscribed in the interior.

Dining room, fragment.

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Valentina Sommariva

The batteries were covered with custom-made rattan and oak panels, oak parquet was laid on the floor with a classic "herringbone". All storage systems were designed by the designer specifically for this apartment and made to order.

Dining room, fragment. In the center of the composition is a round NVL table made of reconstructed black marble, designed by Jean Nouvel for MDF Italia. Neil chairs, designed by Jean-Marie Massot for MDF Italia. On the parquet floor is the RD Braque carpet, designed by Rodolfo Dordoni.

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Valentina Sommariva

"I think the most important thing in this project is open spaces and playing with color and materials," says Ekaterina. To make the built-in kitchen look lighter, it was divided into parts: the interior, lighter, slightly "recessed" and framed by darker cabinets made of Bolivian rosewood.

Kitchen, fragment.

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Valentina Sommariva

View from the kitchen-dining room to the corridor, painted with shiny green enamel.

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Valentina Sommariva

The color palette, according to Ekaterina, did not develop immediately. Since the rooms are connected in a suite and there are no doors between them, it was important to create a harmonious combination of colors. The first link in the chain was Verde Alpi green marble, one of the favorite materials of the great Italian architect Joe Ponti (Gio Ponti). It's funny that in the end he became the final chord, although it all started with him.

View from the corridor to the kitchen-dining room. The cabinets in the hallway are partially hidden behind bronze mirrors.

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Valentina Sommariva

Light greens and light yellows flow through the rooms of the suite: from the green living room we pass through a sunny kitchen-dining room with rosewood cabinets to a corridor with walls painted with shiny green enamel; it leads us to a bedroom the color of a tea rose, from which you can get into a bathroom decorated with green marble.

The Ellisse wall lamp, designed by Federico Palazzari for Nemo, supports other rounded objects selected by the designer for this apartment with its ideal shape.

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Valentina Sommariva

Bedroom. Since the rooms are connected in a suite, it was important for the designer to link their colors together. So there was a tandem of green and yellow, which ends with this pale pink room with a bathroom decorated with green marble.

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Valentina Sommariva

Bedroom, fragment. The role of a bedside table is played by a low chest of drawers Storet, Acerbis, with burgundy facades. Vases made by Daniele Giannetti.

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Valentina Sommariva

Bedroom, fragment.

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Valentina Sommariva

If the bathroom is an homage to Joe Ponti, then the furniture of the apartment is a gift to every connoisseur of Italian design. There are many iconic names here, there are objects that have already gone down in history, and most importantly, there is no pathos, but there is a sense of simplicity, harmony and lightness, for which we love Italian design.

Bathroom attached to the bedroom. The palette of colors of this interior began with the Verde Alpi marble, chosen by the designer for the bathroom.

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Valentina Sommariva

Bathroom, fragment.

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Valentina Sommariva

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