Private house
Restoration and furnishing project
Principality of Monaco, Monte Carlo, Boulevard Princess Charlotte, 2015-2017
Intended use: residence
Status: completed
Client: private
The apartment is located in the heart of Monte Carlo, the area built starting from the second half of the nineteenth century next to the historic centre of the Principality of Monaco. The construction was completed in the early decades of the twentieth century and overlooks Boulevard Charlotte with two façades characterised by the stylistic features of a “quiet and stately” Art Nouveau.
The full restoration project ordered by the new owners has set itself the objective of reinterpreting the historical style of the building in a contemporary way so as to transpose it into the new distribution: the idea was to transform an apartment which originally lacked any atmosphere whatsoever into an elegant and precious home, redolent of the styles of the early twentieth century.
The new internal distribution has placed the “living area” to the south, on the brighter fronts, creating a large lounge/dining room and a more intimate kitchen area. On the opposite side, the “sleeping area” consists of the bedroom, bathroom and toilet integrated into a single “master” space with two walk-in wardrobes. This area is completed by the two guest bedrooms.
The historical reinterpretation is evident in the design of the furnishings, starting with the wainscoting that marks out the entire “living area”, in the custom-designed, made-to-measure furniture, a veritable tribute to Art Nouveau, which separates the elegant Secession-style table and chairs from the rest of the space, and finally in the false ceilings and coverings.
Marble is the covering material which is most widely used to create this atmosphere: Silk Georgette predominates the entire floor of the apartment, the walls of the master bathroom and the sinks, whilst Arabescato Rosso Orobico has been used in the highly-adorned guest bathroom near the entrance; Nero Portoro and Travertino Rosso are used in the showers in the guest rooms’ bathrooms.
The bathtub in the master bathroom, whose original leaf shape was obtained by sculpting a monolith of Onice Verde, is remarkable.
The owners, collectors of contemporary and Oriental works of art, have contributed to the enrichment of the rooms with the insertion of Tibetan doors, Chinese screens and precious jade, which has been incorporated into the door handles with a novel solution.
A radical renovation of the floor plan assisted by a functional home automation control system completed the restoration.
