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Houzz Tour: A Former Garage Becomes a Beautiful Light-Filled Home
Clever space planning, clean lines and repurposed vintage finds have turned an empty shell into a welcoming modern home
A couple looking for a new home is nothing special, but if one’s an architect and the other a designer, you can assume the result is going to be original and packed with interesting, space-saving solutions and personality. The Milan home of Stefania Micotti and Matteo Dall’Amico is no exception.
Finding the right property and making it the perfect place to settle down and start a family was neither quick nor easy for Micotti and Dall’Amico. “This was originally a car garage. The first time I saw it, I wasn’t particularly impressed,” Dall’Amico says. “It was Stefania, with her architect’s eye, who spotted its potential. When we arrived, it was just a shell; it looked like an undefined box. It took a lot of imagination, but turning it into a place of our own was a really fun challenge.”
Finding the right property and making it the perfect place to settle down and start a family was neither quick nor easy for Micotti and Dall’Amico. “This was originally a car garage. The first time I saw it, I wasn’t particularly impressed,” Dall’Amico says. “It was Stefania, with her architect’s eye, who spotted its potential. When we arrived, it was just a shell; it looked like an undefined box. It took a lot of imagination, but turning it into a place of our own was a really fun challenge.”
The unit was a shell with no finishes or even window frames, but Micotti and Dall’Amico were impressed by the huge space and its industrial feel. The large windows and the facade’s overall look hinted at the non-residential nature of the building. Dall’Amico and Micotti chose to emphasise these elements, using them as a motif for the project.
They balanced this theme with more domestic architectural and stylistic choices. “We didn’t want to exaggerate the industrial feel of the building, because that would have made it too trendy and not very liveable,” Micotti says.
The new steel windows and doors have large panes that echo the original windows in a more contemporary way.
Windows with painted steel frames, Jansen.
They balanced this theme with more domestic architectural and stylistic choices. “We didn’t want to exaggerate the industrial feel of the building, because that would have made it too trendy and not very liveable,” Micotti says.
The new steel windows and doors have large panes that echo the original windows in a more contemporary way.
Windows with painted steel frames, Jansen.
The pair found some of their vintage and antique furniture at antiques markets. Others pieces are heirlooms. The walls are decorated with original sketches by Mario Botta, works of art by Sergio Pappalettera and photos by Masiar Pasquali.
The sofa in the living room repurposes parts of Dall’Amico’s grandmother’s bed. The other half will be placed in their daughter’s bedroom. The armrests were made out of the foot of the bed.
The living room and kitchen are separated by a blue wall.
Another part of the bed was made into a low bookcase, pictured here on the right.
Living room floor, concrete with Ultratop System natural finish by Mapei, enhanced with brass strips. Atollo table lamp, designed by Vico Magistretti and manufactured by Oluce.
Another part of the bed was made into a low bookcase, pictured here on the right.
Living room floor, concrete with Ultratop System natural finish by Mapei, enhanced with brass strips. Atollo table lamp, designed by Vico Magistretti and manufactured by Oluce.
The recovery and restyling of vintage furnishings were key parts of Micotti and Dall’Amico’s design process. In fact, most of the pieces were custom-made, with the couple not only designing the spaces and furniture, but also upcycling various pieces or making them from scratch.
“This choice was driven by the desire to surround ourselves with family heirlooms, which bear the warmth of memories, as well as by an ethical and anti-consumerist desire to preserve what already exists, rather than buying new pieces,” Micotti says. This also translated into savings on renovation costs.
“This choice was driven by the desire to surround ourselves with family heirlooms, which bear the warmth of memories, as well as by an ethical and anti-consumerist desire to preserve what already exists, rather than buying new pieces,” Micotti says. This also translated into savings on renovation costs.
The finishes and coatings throughout the house have a subtle retro feel. One example are the hexagonal ceramic tiles on the kitchen floor.
Hexagonal ceramic floor tiles, Quintessenza. Mustard-coloured epoxy grout, Kerapoxy by Mapei.
Hexagonal ceramic floor tiles, Quintessenza. Mustard-coloured epoxy grout, Kerapoxy by Mapei.
Steel is a recurring theme throughout the home, and was used for the structures of the table, worktop and kitchen stools. Steel never feels cold in this home, because it’s always paired with wood. Pale timber in the custom-made furniture is matched with darker vintage pieces.
The white metal structure in the kitchen was a stroke of luck. “An acquaintance of Stefania’s was dismantling part of an exhibit at Expo 2015, and I promptly took it, cut it apart and re-welded it together,” Dall’Amico says. He then used the same material for the handrail on the stairs, the frame of the bed upstairs and the table on the terrace.
The white metal structure in the kitchen was a stroke of luck. “An acquaintance of Stefania’s was dismantling part of an exhibit at Expo 2015, and I promptly took it, cut it apart and re-welded it together,” Dall’Amico says. He then used the same material for the handrail on the stairs, the frame of the bed upstairs and the table on the terrace.
The ground floor is made up of a living room, kitchen and this bathroom.
Basin; toilet, both Ceramica Flaminia. Vanity unit, bespoke based on the owners’ design.
Basin; toilet, both Ceramica Flaminia. Vanity unit, bespoke based on the owners’ design.
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The etched-iron spiral staircase was already in the building. It’s covered in fabric by Kvadrat to make it more homely and less slippery.
The upstairs houses the bedrooms and a second bathroom. Here, the ground floor’s industrial concrete yields to a light-coloured wood floor.
Oak floor, Noesis.
Oak floor, Noesis.
Curtains, Kvadrat. Table lamp (foreground), C’hi by Umberto Asnago for Penta. Table lamp (on shelf), Eclisse by Vico Magistretti for Artemide.
The steel motif continues here in the bed frame and the covering on the step to the terrace. Birch storage containers have been fitted into the frame.
The walls in the second-floor bathroom are finished in classic metro tiles. The vanity unit and the vintage mirror were recovered by Micotti and Dall’Amico.
Ceramic floor, Quintessence. Basin, toilet and shower, Kaldewei and Catalano. Tiles, Ceramica Vogue.
Ceramic floor, Quintessence. Basin, toilet and shower, Kaldewei and Catalano. Tiles, Ceramica Vogue.
The second floor opens out to a terrace. This open-air living room is a good match with the interior spaces. Here, too, Dall’Amico’s touch can be seen in the unique iron table: the top is decorated with majolica tiles recovered from the nearby building.
The plant life on the terrace is constantly evolving, turning this terrace into a serene corner.
Tell us…
What do you like about this converted garage home? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
The plant life on the terrace is constantly evolving, turning this terrace into a serene corner.
Tell us…
What do you like about this converted garage home? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
Who lives here? Architect Stefania Micotti and designer Matteo Dall’Amico, with a daughter on the way, plus their dog, Giulia
Location Milan, Italy
Renovation year 2016
Size About 2,155 sq ft (200 sq m) spread over two levels, the first with living areas and a bathroom, and the second with two bedrooms, a laundry-bathroom, an office and a terrace
Contractor MGM
Photos by Angelita Bonetti of Monad Visual
Micotti and Dall’Amico bought the building in 2016. The former garage is located inside the inner courtyard of a building and had been part of a larger redevelopment of the entire property. The firm that had handled the redevelopment, Baroni + Piscone, had already rezoned the structure for residential use.