Villa Novecento | Rachele Biancalani

Archittectural Layout, Interior Design, Garden Design, Lighting Design and Direction: Rachele Biancalani Studio

Photo: Matilde Maddalena and Rachele Biancalani

Stylist: Rachele Biancalani

Year of the project: 2016

Realization: 2016-2019

This villa of the early twentieth century is located right in the center of Figline Valdarno at the gates of Florence and belonged to a well-known doctor in the country and was known by all citizens because the doctor had the surgery right on the ground floor of the Villa. My clients have decided to embark on the purchase and complete renovation of the property before we knew each other so I could not warn them of any unforeseen events that would certainly arise during such a restructuring. In any case we managed to get to the bottom of this restructuring and the result of so many efforts is really appreciable.

The villa presented many original finishes and although the overall appearance was a bit 'gloomy you could appreciate the style of the previous landlady who had made choices of retro elegance.

In order not to distort the charm of an old villa of this type, I advised my clients to keep restoring the internal and external fixtures and some coatings such as grits and terracotta hexagons on the ground floor and the stairwell. Even the stone staircase has been maintained as far as possible: the handrail has been restored and repainted while the steps have been restored and replaced only on the ground floor, floor where the staircase itself has been enlarged to make the entrance more airy.

The interiors have been designed respecting the eclectic taste of the customers who did not want a cold and aseptic house so they were used in light but warm colors and finishes with materials that characterize all the interior of the villa. Many of the furnishings were made on a project and the landlord, who has a passion for do-it-yourself, has created the fake masonry kitchen, all the beds in the house and other objects such as the corridor boisierie first floor while the other elements such as the iron and wood staircase that connects the mezzanine and the first floor were made by our trusted craftsmen.

Great attention was paid to lighting and some lamps (such as the wired lamps of the stairwell) were designed by our studio and made specifically for this house, they had to be light and ethereal like the landlady who with her elegance and lightness brought a touch of class throughout the home.

All the spaces in the villa are very spacious: from the kitchen and dining room of 45 square meters to the smallest of the three bathrooms of the house, almost 8 square meters large.

The living area on the first floor has been enlarged thanks to the abatement of the false ceiling and the idea of ​​leaving exposed the beams and the tables as well as the old bricks and white paint was immediately welcomed by the buyers but immediately found a host of opponents who do not hesitate to say their opinion is not required. Given the final result both me and my customers would redo this choice a thousand and a thousand times again!

The large kitchen on the ground floor is "L" under the window and has a large island in the middle of the room that houses the fuichi and the retractable hood. The floor of the island is covered with the same ceramic tiles of Ceramiche Caesar that have been mounted on the floor throughout the ground floor, which unfortunately due to problems of rising damp that we could not completely solve was chosen instead of traditional parquet. The wall of the kitchen furnished with ovens and pantry columns also hides a door that separates it from the ground floor hallway leading to a large guest bedroom, a closet and the largest bathroom in the house.

Just this bathroom houses an old carpenter's table, heirloom of the hostess's family, which we have cleaned up (but not too much!) And used as a huge countertop for the grandiose Nuda Flaminia washbasin with its 95 cm of length seems to disappear in such a table. The shelf that runs the full length of the mirror was made by removing the cash-box at the table that otherwise would not have entered the huge bathroom.

The recovery was the dominant theme of this restructuring: even the side table of the bathroom bowl of the master bedroom was made from an object recovered in the villa. The same applies to the pictures in the dining room and in the kitchen as a testimony to the past from the doctor's office in the country of the land of the house.

Even in the garden we tried to recover as much as possible in fact I strongly wanted to recover the original stones that were allocated in the garden and that were aligned with