Art, mastery and beauty

The architect and designer Barbara Vucusa renovated an 82 m² apartment located in the historical building known as Palazzo Tornaforte in the historic center of Cuneo, Italy.

Built in the mid-17th century by the architect Francesco Gallo, the building hosts the apartment on the first floor. Before the design and renovation intervention, the large living room was divided into a corridor, living room and kitchen, with the presence of false ceilings and diversification in the tiled flooring dating back to the 70s. By eliminating the false ceiling, frescoes from the 18th century were discovered and rediscovered and have been accurately restored to their original design and colouring. There was no longer any trace of the ancient pavement. Which is why Barbara creating a new resin floor, inserting natural aggregates in order to obtain a floor as close as possible to the ancient grit, which could interface with the frescoes of the vaults, without either of them prevailing over the other. The effect obtained is particularly pleasant as it gives the apartment a fresh and light appearance. This flooring is present throughout the apartment, without interruption or changes in material or colour.

The entrance opens directly onto the living room with a view of a sofa with soft, enveloping lines, for which particular shades and textures have been chosen for the covering fabrics. Glimpses and cracks between the various rooms of the house intrigue and go beyond their simple function of passage, hosting customdesigned furnishings and guaranteeing lively perspectives. The boiserie in the living room and the lamps positioned on the sides of the TV frame the area, giving it a particular artistic connotation.

The project, while respecting the needs of the client, wanted at the same time to bring the apartment back to its original and sumptuous appearance, restoring the characteristics of elegant halls to the living room, allowing those who enter to breathe a little of the atmosphere of period buildings.

The kitchen, the dining table and the furnishings have been tailored for the client and designed on the spaces, in order to almost not perceive the passage from one area to another while maintaining each of them its function. The clean lines of the custom-made furnishings alternate with the fuller and more sumptuous forms of the design furnishings, such as the Louis XIV chairs by Kartell and the golden and ashlar sideboard by Cattelan, chosen to balance and fill the rooms with their presence. Every little detail has been taken care of.

The guest bathroom is a blend of strong and delicate, masculine and feminine elements that harmonize with each other. As a cladding in the bathroom, on the entire wall behind the shower and sanitary fixtures, strips of different sizes and color shades have been made of resin, creating the right scenography in a bathroom with an irregular plan with indirect and almost liquid natural light, but scenically very present. Behind the pair of customdesigned washbasins, two full-height backlit mirrors amplify and expand the space.

The plan distribution of the bedroom is unusual; due to its conformation, it was divided, through two wings, into three distinct areas: bed, walk-in closet, private bathroom. The partition behind the bed hides the walk-in closet. From the bed you can enjoy the view of the free-standing tub enhanced by wallpaper (limited edition series by Inkiostrobianco), to recreate an elegant and cosy ambiance with a reference to what were once the bathrooms of stately homes of the time. Behind this second backdrop we find the private bathroom with floor sink and antique mirror.