My Houzz: Theater and Photography Take Center Stage in Rome
Collections of drama books, photos, CDs and records reflect the apartment owners’ artistic passions
This apartment in Rome belongs to photo editor and creative director Irene Alison and theater director Marcello Cotugno. With the help of architects from Matca Studio, who carried out the renovation and designed the interior, it fits the owners’ views on life and style. The spaces are bright, interconnected and open, with few doors in sight.
The decor reflects the couple’s creative passions while incorporating elements of the apartment’s past. Having become friends with the previous owners, Alison and Cotugno tried to do justice to the original layout and functions of the spaces and to use some of the items the previous owners had left behind.
The decor reflects the couple’s creative passions while incorporating elements of the apartment’s past. Having become friends with the previous owners, Alison and Cotugno tried to do justice to the original layout and functions of the spaces and to use some of the items the previous owners had left behind.
Then their agent stumbled on this apartment. It was love at first sight, thanks to the light, the high plaster ceilings, the arrangement of the spaces and the fact that it could be adapted to their — and pooch Zazie’s — needs. It was just what they wanted, except that it was outside Pigneto in neighboring district Tor Pignattara.
The living room is the best reflection of Alison and Cotugno’s story and passions. The two met at a theater school, and Cotugno is a theater director, so the stage holds great significance for them both. Its influence can be seen in the standing spotlight and the theater encyclopedia by Alberto Lionello, which borders the dining area like a curtain at the edge of a stage.
The living room is the best reflection of Alison and Cotugno’s story and passions. The two met at a theater school, and Cotugno is a theater director, so the stage holds great significance for them both. Its influence can be seen in the standing spotlight and the theater encyclopedia by Alberto Lionello, which borders the dining area like a curtain at the edge of a stage.
Alison is the creative director of photography studio Der Lab, so photography is a narrative element throughout the apartment. Each print represents a history, a relationship, a moment in life, a project Alison completed or an event she handled. “They are not just decorative elements,” Alison says.
The dining table was bought by Cotugno’s grandmother in Naples. Even though it is an antique, it is paired with Eames DSR chairs. “I adore them! And we like unusual combinations,” Alison says.
The dining table was bought by Cotugno’s grandmother in Naples. Even though it is an antique, it is paired with Eames DSR chairs. “I adore them! And we like unusual combinations,” Alison says.
There is something for everyone here — even Zazie has her own spot in the living room.
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Cotugno’s office is on the other side of the living room’s gallery wall. Since his work involves a lot of video editing, he had to make space for three monitors. The models were selected for both functionality and aesthetics. They sit on a desk that dates to the 1930s and once belonged to his grandfather.
A Billy bookcase from Ikea covers an entire wall and holds his CD collection (mostly indie, electronic and post-rock) and theater books.
A Billy bookcase from Ikea covers an entire wall and holds his CD collection (mostly indie, electronic and post-rock) and theater books.
The bedroom is on the other side of the living room’s TV wall. Except for the two bathrooms, the rooms in the apartment, including the bedroom, don’t have doors. Alison and Cotugno specifically requested that spaces shouldn’t be separated so that there could be unity in all life in the home.
The wall behind the bed conceals the walk-in closet. The headboard is from the 19th century. The neon sign spells “closer,” the title of an English play by Patrick Marber that Cotugno adapted for an Italian audience.
Neon sign: Seletti; table lamps: Ikea
The wall behind the bed conceals the walk-in closet. The headboard is from the 19th century. The neon sign spells “closer,” the title of an English play by Patrick Marber that Cotugno adapted for an Italian audience.
Neon sign: Seletti; table lamps: Ikea
The dresser in front of the bed was manufactured in Sorrento, Italy, in the 1950s. The couple bought it from a junk dealer in Naples, Italy, who turned out to be a former student of Alison’s mother’s.
The long side of the living room opposite the windows opens to an entry hall with a small reading corner. An overhead shelf houses books on photography and theater alongside Cotugno’s vinyl collection.
Wallpaper: Flamingos, Cole & Son
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Wallpaper: Flamingos, Cole & Son
World of Design: 11 Book Lovers and Where They Like to Read
Across from the comfy chair, a table holds a mirror and a tin car Alison bought on a trip to Angola. The table was once part of a Necchi sewing machine. Alison bought it from a junk dealer and restored it with her mother’s help.
A metal staircase leads from the reading corner to the upper floor, where Alison’s office, the kitchen and the terrace are located.
Great Vintage Find: Antique Sewing Tables and Cabinets
A metal staircase leads from the reading corner to the upper floor, where Alison’s office, the kitchen and the terrace are located.
Great Vintage Find: Antique Sewing Tables and Cabinets
The main bathroom is modern and functional. Although it wasn’t renovated for Alison and Cotugno, it’s in line with the style of the rest of the apartment. The owner’s passions again make an appearance through photos and posters on the walls.
A deep and spacious shower is finished in a pearly tile mosaic that Cotugno immediately fell in love with.
Faucets: Flaminia
A deep and spacious shower is finished in a pearly tile mosaic that Cotugno immediately fell in love with.
Faucets: Flaminia
Alison’s office and the kitchen are on the top floor of the building. The two spaces are divided by a metal-and-glass sliding door.
Tropical-themed wallpaper sets the tone for the room. Alison chose it because it reminds her of the Beverly Hills Hotel, which she fell in love with on a trip to Southern California when she was just a little girl.
Matca Studio architects tried to preserve the original functions of the apartment’s rooms as much as possible. Alison’s office, which the previous owners had used as a dining room, is one of the spaces that was reinvented.
The pink chair is from a flea market. The stall’s owner explained that it had been the teacher’s chair at a school. Alison restored and repainted it.
Wallpaper: La Havane, Nobilis; coffee table: Chele, Atipico
Tropical-themed wallpaper sets the tone for the room. Alison chose it because it reminds her of the Beverly Hills Hotel, which she fell in love with on a trip to Southern California when she was just a little girl.
Matca Studio architects tried to preserve the original functions of the apartment’s rooms as much as possible. Alison’s office, which the previous owners had used as a dining room, is one of the spaces that was reinvented.
The pink chair is from a flea market. The stall’s owner explained that it had been the teacher’s chair at a school. Alison restored and repainted it.
Wallpaper: La Havane, Nobilis; coffee table: Chele, Atipico
The kitchen is simple and functional. White surfaces, including the beamed ceiling, amplify the light coming in from the windows to create a bright and airy space.
Kitchen: Snaidero; stools: Ikea
Kitchen: Snaidero; stools: Ikea
Alison’s office opens to a cozy terrace. The bench is another repurposed element from the previous owners. It had been a desk.
The apartment’s charm isn’t limited to its interior. The facade of the 1940s building features a final surprise, a mural by the German artist duo Herakut, inscribed with words of wisdom: “When we are in need, we trust people as though they were family. It would be nice if we could remember these ties even in our best moments.”
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Irene Alison, Marcello Cotugno and their dog, Zazie
Location: Tor Pignattara area of Rome
Size: 1,615 square feet (150 square meters), plus a terrace of 431 square feet (40 square meters)
Architect: Matca Studio
Cotugno and Alison, pictured, had lived in the buzzing Pigneto district of Rome for years and didn’t want to leave the neighborhood. However, when they decided to move from their old apartment, they had trouble finding a new home in the area.