Houzz Tour: In Northern Italy, Vintage Patina and Industrial Chic
An architect renovates his family’s century-old home with original materials and an updated design
This home in northeastern Italy is part of a complex of row houses built in 1910 for employees of a nearby factory. Filippo Saponaro, who owns the home with his wife, is an architect with a passion for objects with history. He renovated his family’s home to bring it up to date while keeping elements from the past. “There’s a Japanese book that has taught me so much: In Praise of Shadows, by Junichiro Tanizaki,” Saponaro says. “It’s about the patina that objects acquire over time, a concept little appreciated in the West but fundamental to Japanese culture.”
“The house was raw and bare when my wife and I saw it for the first time, but it had a fantastic energy, an optimal division of space and a garden big enough to be thoroughly enjoyable,” Saponaro says.
“The biggest change was to tear down the support wall between the kitchen and the staircase, replacing it with a wide steel door frame. In this way, it was possible to turn the staircase around, changing from two flights to one, resulting in a bigger kitchen and creating an extra bathroom upstairs.”
Although the staircase is no longer in its original position, it was remade of wood and other materials of the period. The steps themselves are original, and therefore more than a hundred years old.
“The underlying wall was stripped all the way down to the plaster, so I could paint it to create a blackboard effect. Here my daughter indulges her imagination,” Saponaro says. The floors on the lower level, with the exception of the entryway, are in lightly bleached natural larch wood. “The whitening treatment was carried out in order to remove the reddish tinge that this wood accumulates over time,” Saponaro says.
Although the staircase is no longer in its original position, it was remade of wood and other materials of the period. The steps themselves are original, and therefore more than a hundred years old.
“The underlying wall was stripped all the way down to the plaster, so I could paint it to create a blackboard effect. Here my daughter indulges her imagination,” Saponaro says. The floors on the lower level, with the exception of the entryway, are in lightly bleached natural larch wood. “The whitening treatment was carried out in order to remove the reddish tinge that this wood accumulates over time,” Saponaro says.
The kitchen exemplifies the combination of past and present that permeates the house. The kitchen structure is made of raw concrete with built-in wooden cabinets, while the major appliances are in a contemporary industrial style, such as the pop-up cooktop by Alpes Inox, designed by Domenico (Nico) Moretto, which won the Compasso d’Oro prize in 1998.
Even the old-fashioned-looking stove hood, made of iron and designed by the architect, is hiding a hyper-technological motor. The wall tiles and chairs were salvaged from construction sites and flea markets.
Even the old-fashioned-looking stove hood, made of iron and designed by the architect, is hiding a hyper-technological motor. The wall tiles and chairs were salvaged from construction sites and flea markets.
The living room is the space where the passage of time within the house is most evident.
“When we began the renovations, everything in the house was painted white,” Saponaro says. “We started stripping it down, and we discovered drawings underneath. Then we saw that there were several layers of decorations. What a discovery! Each ‘level’ had different motifs, because they were repainted depending on the historical period. They were all over the house, but we decided to leave this testimony of the various eras of the house — like a large fresco — only in the living room. Since the paint was badly peeling, the wall was treated so as not to lose its rich chromatic effect.”
The vintage armchairs — Le Bambole di B&B Italia, designed by Mario Bellini in 1972 — once belonged to the owner’s grandparents. Saponaro’s wife made the hanging lamp. On the right is a tree caliper discovered in a flea market, used to measure the size of tree trunks.
“When we began the renovations, everything in the house was painted white,” Saponaro says. “We started stripping it down, and we discovered drawings underneath. Then we saw that there were several layers of decorations. What a discovery! Each ‘level’ had different motifs, because they were repainted depending on the historical period. They were all over the house, but we decided to leave this testimony of the various eras of the house — like a large fresco — only in the living room. Since the paint was badly peeling, the wall was treated so as not to lose its rich chromatic effect.”
The vintage armchairs — Le Bambole di B&B Italia, designed by Mario Bellini in 1972 — once belonged to the owner’s grandparents. Saponaro’s wife made the hanging lamp. On the right is a tree caliper discovered in a flea market, used to measure the size of tree trunks.
They tore out the original bathroom on the ground floor and built a new one. The architect chose hardware and faucets with a retro flair (Azzurra). The exterior of the bathtub (Gaia) was painted in a custom color, and sage green by Farrow & Ball was used for the walls. The architect’s wife made the grate with black bamboo shoots. For the floor, they laid vintage tiles to resemble a carpet.
The bedrooms are all upstairs. “We salvaged the pre-existing floors, all consisting of large planks of wood. Depending on the style of the room, we chose to treat each floor in a different way. In the master bedroom, the floor was painted white. In our daughter’s room we decided to keep it natural. And the floor of the third room has been painted to resemble a checkerboard,” Saponaro says.
“Our whole bedroom is white. We made this decision because the room is north-facing, so the sun never enters it directly. White is definitely the color that best captures the light. In addition, it’s contemplative.”
A bathroom was added upstairs thanks to the extra space created by moving the staircase. Since the only source of light for the landing was this bathroom’s window, the architect decided not to wall it in completely, but to use a partition of frosted glass instead. “That way the light can filter through and, at the same time, the necessary privacy is ensured.”
Concrete shower base; Fima bathroom fixtures
Concrete shower base; Fima bathroom fixtures
The small, grapevine-framed garden, which used to be a vegetable garden, is perfect for enjoying sunny days. Originally, the garden wasn’t accessible from the kitchen; instead of the door, there was only a window. The architect made this change during the renovations to link the interior and exterior spaces.
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Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Architect Filippo Saponaro, who renovated the house, and his wife and daughter
Location: Udine, northeastern Italy
Year built: 1910
Year renovated: 2014
Size: 1,184 square feet (110 square meters) comprising a kitchen, living room, three bedrooms and two bathrooms
It took just six months to gut and renovate the house. “We closely followed the firm that carried out the work,” recalls architect and owner Filippo Saponaro. “We started in April, and by September we were already inside.” It was an intense restructuring project that has paid off greatly with some noteworthy improvements.
The mirror seen here came from an old nightclub, and the 1950s-era hooks were found at an antiques market. The architect designed and manufactured the hanging lamp with the help of an electrician. The entryway flooring is concrete.