Italian gentlemen with London registrationprefer respectable classics, contemporary art and a bit of humour. We looked at the home of a luxury British property expert and realised that there is much to learn from him. In our article - a luxurious interior in brown and turquoise tones from the most fashionable London decorator The famous holographic portrait of Elizabeth II with closed eyes, taken during a break in an official photo shoot by artist Chris Levine (Lightness of Being), is called "Lightness of Being". At one time, the image caused a lot of trouble for the royal press service, and now it defines the style and spirit of one of the most fashionable London interiors. Elegant neoclassicism with signature English irony and Italian soul.
The owners of the apartments are Sofia and NikoloThe Barattieri di San Pietros are the kind of people you go to after parties at Buckingham Palace. Niccolo is the managing director of Northacre, a leading English luxury property developer, a keen yachtsman and football fan. His clients include half the British aristocracy, Arab sheikhs and Russian billionaires. His wife, Sofia, is the owner of a dynamic start-up in the high fashion industry. Both grew up in Italy, share a love of the Mediterranean and historic palazzos, but prefer to live in cosmopolitan London.
Sofia Barattieri, owner:— Like all British Isles, we share a need for both moderation and variety. But as Italians, we love the kind of luxury that allows us to kick off our shoes and relax. For this, we needed someone who could bring an element of worldly playfulness. And we found Paolo Moschino. He has decorated most of our friends’ homes beautifully. He understands us. And his taste is impeccable.
Paolo Moschino, art director at Nicholas HaslamLtd: Paolo Moschino, art director and co-owner of Nicholas Haslam Ltd., a devoted student and protégé of British design guru Nick Haslam, comes from the famous Moschino family. Over time, Paolo became a co-owner of a firm specializing in interior decor, part of his teacher’s growing design company. Wealthy aristocrats, billionaires with taste, and Hollywood stars resort to his services. It was Moschino who decorated the house in Surrey where the Chilean dictator Pinochet was kept under house arrest. Later, the estate was acquired by banker Pyotr Aven, and English newspapers savored the details for several months: the largest atrium in Europe, an underground bunker with Russian art, and a fireplace worth one hundred and sixty-five thousand pounds. Moschino prefers to work in Art Deco, although he does not like to consider himself a fan of these styles. The “correct” English interior, of which he is considered a master, involves mixing the best that has happened in the vastness of the empire, and therefore cannot be attributed to a specific style. “For many years now, I have been able to afford to choose my clients,” says Moschino. “That’s why I work only for like-minded people. This is how the best result is achieved. Now almost all my clients are my close friends, for whom I create interiors not for a minute, but forever.” nicholashaslam.com Design But for this project, good taste alone was not enough. Serious engineering work was required. And it was entrusted to the architectural firm Tyler Mandic. Before the renovation, the Barattieris lived in a duplex overlooking the famous gardens in the center of Kensington, a historic and prestigious area of London located between Notting Hill, Chelsea and Belgravia. When the couple had their third child, they were desperately short of space, so they bought the apartments next door, tripling the square footage. Now the Barattieris owned two floors in adjacent Victorian houses. The only question was how to combine the buildings. To solve this problem without destroying the elite historical property and without breaking the law, the architects came up with a very complex project.
Gordana Mandic, Tyler Mandic:— It was very dangerous and quite scary. The engineers had to transfer the weight of the old 5-story building to special columns and beams without the slightest shift. Otherwise, cracks could have appeared in the 15 comfortable apartments above. Fortunately, everything went off without a hitch. tylermandic.co.uk
Moschino took over the internal planning.And I didn’t complicate it. The two-story apartment opens up like a palace suite — all the rooms are located one after the other, along a long corridor, softly and evenly lit. Paolo Moschino, Nicholas Haslam Ltd: — I always try to make the space open up from the general to the particular, beautifully and fluidly. Then you get a balanced composition without flaws. The ideal interior is the interior in which you can change all the furniture in one day, and it will not lose from this. And this approach implies simplicity and the absence of excesses. nicholashaslam.com
The composition is based on classicalproportions, basic geometric shapes and symmetry. But this simplicity is deceptive. In the living room, it turns into a complex game with simple forms: the rhythmic squares of the frames on the walls, the rectangles of the French doors and tables, the carpet on the floor, the fireplace turn the space into a chessboard, and the viewer into a player, then a piece. Dark doorways against the light walls are like a frame. And behind each one is a new painting.
Color and light The basis of the color composition is set bythe same Elizabethan portrait. . And complements the "ebony" oak of the luxurious floors. This warm dark color - of the floor and furniture - softens the cold luxury of turquoise shades. Against the neutral background of very light grayish-beige walls, this combination emphasizes the respectability of the interior and allows you to "sell" art and antiques mixed with massive modern furniture at a high price.
The depth and complexity of color is achieved throughthe richness of tonal transitions from rich dark blue spots in the furniture upholstery through the pearlescent grey-blue color of the curtains to the transparent green shade of the vases.
The most important and signature Most interesting find:panels made of so-called "mercury glass" create a shimmering shine and a vintage patina. The mother-of-pearl glow is achieved by a silver layer inside a thick glass layer. The theme is supported by the turn-of-the-century floor lamps made of glass pipes at the entrance, Murano balls in the living room and vases of complex shapes. All this glass diversity creates additional reflections and reflections and enhances the impression of the color scheme.
Italian spirit Despite the luxuriousfurnishings and a classic approach to filling the space, the house is very far from museum-like. And it owes this largely to the frivolous Italian spirit that has penetrated British primness. Simple jute carpets, carved staircases and marble lines of the kitchen and bathrooms remind us of sunny Tuscany. A series of French doors, which are not usually closed here, lead to a small private terrace and a large public garden where the local children play. The Barattieri say that this reminds them of their cheerful Roman childhood and the courtyards-wells from which their parents called them to dinner.
The kitchen is a gift to Sofia, a great lovercook. High-tech, bright and spacious, it is planned in a traditional Italian style, although it consists almost entirely of ultra-modern furniture. Most of it is concentrated on the lower tier. Almost everything you need fits inside the island and in several high “columns”, designed in such a way as to protrude minimally from the plane of the wall. This allows you to reduce the number of upper cabinets to the necessary minimum - along one wall - and completely free up the remaining space, turning the kitchen into a family dining room or a place for receiving your closest friends.
Paolo Moschino, art director at Nicholas HaslamLtd: — It’s a typically Italian approach. In Italy, you can have a huge palazzo, but you’ll serve mozzarella and tomatoes for lunch, and your guests will laugh and talk. It’s a relaxed attitude to the historical grandeur of a place that helps to escape the pressure of centuries and ancestors. And it appeals to all of us: to me, to Sofia, to Nicolo. nicholashaslam.com
What interiors do European businessmen prefer? etk-fashion.com
