Design Notes: A Milanese Study in Italian Modernism
I have been collecting copies of Architectural Digest for over a decade. Not casually. Intentionally. Stacked, saved, revisited. Certain projects become references you return to again and again because they carry a point of view. I have always loved Italian design, the discipline of it, the sensuality, the confidence in material and proportion.
This Milanese pied à terre designed by Giampiero Tagliaferri is one of those projects.
It reads like a study in twentieth century Italian masters. Names like Mario Bellini, Gio Ponti, Gae Aulenti, Osvaldo Borsani, Afra and Tobia Scarpa, Joe Colombo, and Angelo Mangiarotti appear throughout. But what makes the apartment compelling is not the list of names. It is the edit.
In the dining area, Gigi Sabadin chairs pull up to an Angelo Mangiarotti table beneath a vintage nineteen sixties Stilnovo pendant. The proportions feel effortless. Each piece carries history, yet together they feel immediate. This is what Italian modernism does so well. It allows iconic forms to coexist without competition.
A folding screen of rosewood, stainless steel, and fluted glass conceals a television. I love this move. Function acknowledged but elevated through materiality. Warm wood against polished steel. Transparency playing against reflection. Nothing feels decorative for decoration’s sake.
The primary bedroom leans fully into the nineteen seventies mood while remaining disciplined. Tubular pendant lights by Mangiarotti hover above the bed. A Roberto Pamio table lamp adds another sculptural layer. The shower and vanity enclosure is composed of clear and fluted glass, a structure within the bedroom that nods to the work of Nanda Vigo and her experiments with light and spatial perception. Inside, a custom travertine sink grounds the glass and steel with stone. It feels architectural and sensual at the same time.
The floor plan was opened for flow, yet the existing beam configuration was retained. Irregularity is celebrated rather than concealed. Built in sofas float within the living room, encouraging conversation and music. A sculptural glass fireplace with a chrome hood anchors the space. Every element feels considered. Nothing feels accidental.
This is why I continue to collect Architectural Digest. Because occasionally, a project reminds you that great design is not about novelty. It is about composition, material dialogue, restraint, and confidence. Italian design has always understood that balance. It does not shout. It seduces quietly through proportion and craft.
