An old villa finds rhythm in the silence of the lake.
The brief
Villa Serena is a nineteenth-century stone house on Lake Como, inherited by a Milan-based family who wanted restraint, not spectacle. The house had three layers of wallpaper, worn marble, and lake-facing windows that drew every eye outward.
I kept the structure quiet and layered into the interior through soft contrasts: hand-painted linen drapes, oiled oak floors sanded back to the raw reveal, and a kitchen island carved from a single pale stone block.
The palette draws from the water: cream, slate-grey, and a muted sage - anchored by the lake, which does all the talking, even on calm days.