We have the good fortune to collaborate with top Architectural Studios from where many unique, original projects originate.
To do this we provide architects and designers with a service that meets their specific design requirements: custom made models, a selection of upholstery in leather and co-ordinated fabric and materials and finishes which, when matched to suit the style of the project, result in real masterpieces.
In the BertO service dedicated to professionals, the sensitivity of the customers and the creativity of the designers find a system of design and decorative elements which are able to give a new meaning to the rules of comfort and design in their homes.
The collaboration with the prestigious studio casatibuonsante architects started in this way: from listening to the requirements of the project and the sensitivity of the customers right up to the creation of a splendid apartment with unique characteristics. This particular apartment, situated on the first floor of a 1970s building not far from the historic centre of Milan, belongs to a young couple.
The project was called Casa con Sala da Musica (Home with a Music Room). The renovation took into consideration the daily requirements of the owners helping them to create their ideal environment for their “everyday life”.
Founded in Milan in 2017 by Antonio Buonsante and Federico Casati, “casatibuonsante architects” deals with architecture and design at all levels ranging from private homes to urban developments.
Aware of changing social, cultural and economic conditions and the limits and new dynamics which today define urban and domestic areas, the studio gracefully accepts a certain level of compromise which they see not as renunciation but as a starting point for a richer and more embracing vision.
We asked the architects to tell us about their work in this interesting interview.
How was this project born?
The project began as a disinterested suggestion to the customers who were considering the possibility of buying their first home.
In this delicate moment, so important in the life of each of us, we certainly couldn’t hold back so, jumping on our scooter, we crossed the city to see this proposal and to give our opinion.
We believe that it is extremely useful to advise and assist anyone who is considering buying a house right from the first moment. Homes are like people and they have their own particular characteristics which must be recognised, understood and indulged.
If you find the right house (and there are so many to choose from but none are perfect) we are already half-way there. In this way you will be able to save time and a great deal of money.
What were the customers’ requests for the realisation of this project?
One of the most amusing moments of an architect’s work is meeting the client, getting to know them and seeing their reactions.
We have to use a scientific method, rather like a researcher or a detective, in order to understand the clients immediate impressions which, when there is more than one person, are often contradictory (as in this case the clients were a young couple).
In these situations we need to have a great deal of patience and empathy because we are faced with a group of people, up to now complete strangers, who find themselves having to share intimate and personal details which sometimes emerge for the first time in a disruptive way.
The project is always the result of a compromise between these factors and the ideas of the architect who however must always consider that he is not designing the house according to his own taste but considering the ideas of the client, often quite different from his own.
Therefore this project becomes the result of discussion which will enrich the initial ideas of everyone, clients and architects included.
How was the furnishing scheme for the living area chosen?
The purchase of the home was extremely advantageous for the client because the market value was far superior to the actual asking price considering the size and number of rooms.
The living area however had very poor illumination as it was situated in the darkest, most internal part of the apartment facing a badly lit courtyard.
Starting from this fact we tried to move in the opposite direction bringing in as much light as possible by removing the existing internal walls and eliminating the smaller, enclosed spaces.
The house gives a feeling of continuity with the exception of the more private areas: the bedrooms and bathrooms remained more secluded by means of a door and a secondary corridor.
In this way a solid wall became a panel which could be opened allowing the light from the sunny side of the building to enter and illuminate the living area.
This created the necessary space for a music room communicating with the main living room but which could be closed off when necessary to become a guest room.
For the furnishing we chose the Ring table by BertO and we positioned it near the French windows.
The light was increased by the luminosity of the white marble table top which became focal point of light in the room.
In the centre of the living room the Joey modular sofa became a large island of relaxation which has allowed us to utilize the spaces by designing the movements of people going from the entrance to the other areas of the apartment.
For the fabric upholstery we chose warm, smokey tones which would match to perfection the warm tones of the olive wood flooring and the few, simple custom-made furnishing elements in rosewood.
What additional value has been added to the project by the choice of suppliers and in particular BertO?
For this project we imagined a reference to interiors in Milan in the 1950s, interiors which were fairly sober where finishes, details and top quality materials could give an air of elegance to the home.
However, the general feeling of the home had to take into consideration the young age of its inhabitants resulting a more modern environment rather than severity.
For this reason the choice of furnishing was fundamental selecting, above all, elements in which the clean lines and the quality of the materials became the strong points of the furnishing scheme with a balance between tradition and innovation.
With Berto we found items of furniture with fitted perfectly into this scheme.
We have written a book called THE SPIRIT OF 74: 74 key words to live happily the passion for our chosen profession. Seeing this marvelous home it is evident that so much passion and work has gone into its realization.
If you had to choose just one word to describe your work, what would it be?
On our web site, in a brief introductory paragraph, we define our work as “romantic”.
When our studio opened three years ago, we didn’t want our work to be simply and exclusively described as a rigid, scientific operation.
This word was intended to indicate all that part of our work which couldn’t be considered part of a logical interpretation, which encompassed something more intangible and difficult to describe.
Whether we wanted it or not, these three years of activity have led us to towards interior decorating projects and we have realised that these projects cannot be undertaken exclusively with scientific instruments.
Planning a house means taking into consideration also a poetical dimension (an ambiguous word), the clients’ expectations and fears: in other words it means that we have to imagine a life inside the spaces we have designed.
Per Ignoring the more negative meaning of the word, we believe that our work can also be considered “romantic”.
Find out how to book your personalised consultation to realise exclusive projects and receive all the BertO services reserved for professionals.
Book your consultation with one of our interior designers by phoning +39 0362-333082 or by writing to servizio.clienti@bertosalotti.it.
Ask now for your personal consultation and create your own furnishing project with one of BertO’s Made in Meda interior designers