A rustic yet contemporary home

Leaving aside the differences of scale and context, this apartment in the municipality of Manziana, a quiet town north of Rome, has all the atmosphere of an American designer home. It alludes to the sophisticated geometric sculptures set amid lush vegetation typical of Frank Lloyd Wright’s works, or the rustic style yet contemporary structure of 1960s and 1970s Californian architecture. But these references are most evident in the interiors, in the large, fluid, linear spaces clad with a single porcelain tile surface in oak tones. The texture and varied shades of oak wood are the dominant feature in all the rooms in the home, from the living room to the kitchen, bathroom and even the terrace. 20×120 cm porcelain tiles with a 9.5 mm thickness were chosen for the interiors and 40×120 cm tiles with a 20 mm thickness for the outdoor area looking out over the town’s rooftops. The main collection chosen for the project is the Nuance series from Panaria Ceramica in the colour Tabac, which was also installed on the bathroom wall behind the sanitary fixtures to create a striking contrast in terms of materials and colours. The floor and wall tiles come in colours ranging from warm, mellow shades of brown through to cool grey tones, creating a varied colour effect reminiscent of a living material. The wall opposite the ceramic sanitary fixtures serves as the backdrop to the washing area complete with elegant oval bathtub and features oxidised-effect tiles in large-format square modules. While this eclectic touch might appear to be at odds with the location’s more urban and industrial style, we know that in interior design nothing is ever left to chance. And here too the design choices have been weighed up very carefully to fit in with the rustic style of the architecture, as evidenced by the wood-beamed living room and kitchen ceilings and the stone fireplace. However, they avoid conforming to a stereotype and clearly stem from a desire for uniqueness and originality. The furnishings are simple and understated, as in the case of the tables, chairs and accessories that blend together wood and metal with geometric rigour. These qualities are particularly evident in the finishes, the floor and wall tiles and the solutions chosen for the outdoor space protected by a wood-beamed roof, which complements the colour of the oak-effect porcelain floor tiles.
In the living room the surface coverings once again define the spirit of the interior, as in the case of the bottle green wall that functions as the backdrop to the room and combines the typical local rustic style with modern aesthetics. The opposite wall in the dining area is painted white and features a large map of the world, as though to remind us that the influences behind the interior design and certain aesthetic choices have distant roots in both space and time.