Elisabetta Rizzato and Denis Stoppiglia have created an atmosphere in their home that reflects not only their homelands, but also the essence of them both. Elisabetta explains to us how they have achieved this.
For a first insight: What three words would you use to describe your home and why?
Cosy, colourful, and Mediterranean, because the whole space is very bright and in warm neutrals, with pops of colour in some parts. We also used a lot of tiles, curtains, and finishes which are typical of our native homes. We wanted a place where we could always feel a bit like it is summer and vacation time!
Which colours do you prefer for living areas and which ones for the home office?
I like colours which are warm and not too bright, even if I also love working with pops of bold colours. Our living area is a semi-open space towards the kitchen and there we painted one part of the ceiling in a very bright blue – that is my favourite colour. We also added some green in the arch in the living area – that is Denis’s favourite colour, and we completed the palette with terracotta – a tone we both like because it is very warm.
The boundaries between home and home office are sometimes blurred. How do you manage to separate your private and professional lives?
I keep my home office corner tidy and clutter-free as much as possible. I organise my things in a cabinet and use the upper area of the desk to hide my agendas and working materials when they are not in use. At the same time, I also want the home office to fit in well with the rest of the room. That is why, for example, we chose a similar type of wood for the desk surface that we also used for our flooring. This way, the work area is harmoniously integrated into the living area.
You are currently planning your own studio, but now you mainly work from your home office. How have you created an environment in your home that inspires you?
We curated every corner to reflect our own taste with many custom-made elements. The most important factor for me is natural lighting. So, I chose to put my home office corner in front of the large, glazed door-window, so I can also look outside to the garden when working. It ended up being so bright that I had to put curtains up too, but I really love them.
(Copyright: Bernadette Trepte)
How do colours and structures influence our perception?
Colours can totally change the perception and feeling we have of a space and are also one of the smartest and more affordable ways to reimagine a space. We should not be afraid of using them!
What do you prefer in terms of decoration, colours, and materials: minimalism or more is more?
I am a colourful minimalist – I love clean and tidy spaces, but at the same time I also like playing with colours and textures. My husband is even more minimalist than I am, but luckily he has accepted that we use colours and decoration in our interior design, and now he likes them too.
(Copyright: Bernadette Trepte)
Who works here?
Elisabetta Rizzato is an interior designer, colour and trend expert and founder of the blog “Italianbark”. On her bilingual interior design blog, Elisabetta discusses architecture, design and developments in the interior design industry. She reaches an international readership with her monthly trend reports, with subscribers from the United States, Asia, Australia, the United Kingdom and the European Union.
