A surprising name: AmmazzaCheCasa!

The location. Carnago: a large, hard-working village with a population of 6,500 inhabitants located on the southern slopes of a glacial morainic hill between the Arno and Olona valleys but at the same time close to Varese (12 km) and Gallarate (less than 10 km).
The players: On the one hand a young woman whose grandmother had left her an apartment and basement dating from the 1980s, consisting of an entrance hall/living room, kitchen, hallway, bathroom, single bedroom and double bedroom with walk-in closet on a single floor of about 90 sqm, which she wanted to renovate to suit her tastes and needs and those of her future husband.
On the other, a young architecture firm founded by former university friends Davide Sironi, Sara Tommasi and Silvia Villa (Sara and Davide are also married). « The name Seimanistudio (literally « Six-handed studio ») reflects the importance of this partnership, » says Sara Tommasi, who is in charge of the interior design department and oversaw this particular project. « Playing a musical instrument six-handed is difficult not so much due to the small size of the keyboard but because the three performers need to read and interpret the score in the same way. Playing six-handed requires not just skill and teamwork but also spiritual affinity and artistic harmony. »
The brief: To enlarge the living area and improve the functionality of the spaces while respecting the constraints of a tight budget.
The project. « The clients had the idea of demolishing a loadbearing wall and closing off the staircase leading down to the basement level, which would have been a complex and costly procedure, » explained Sara Tommasi. « My task was to find an alternative approach that would avoid costly structural work while achieving the same visual appeal and functionality. The solution we came up with involved demolishing just a section of the partition wall between the kitchen and living room so as to create a brightly lit open-plan kitchen. By reorganising the spatial layout and installing a multifunctional wall, storage and furnishing unit capable of accommodating an electric fireplace, wall mounted television and shelving, we succeeded in expanding and customising the living area. »
The carefully-designed colour scheme based on white and two shades of grey further enhanced the apartment’s character, as in the case of the dark coloured eye-catching strip in the hallway. A sense of visual continuity is provided by the floor covering chosen for the entire apartment. The twentieth-century-style herringbone parquet in an innovative plank size consists of Arborea collection wood-effect porcelain tiles from Blustyle by Cotto d’Este, a solution that combines aesthetic appeal with ease of maintenance, durability and hygiene, making for simpler housework. The Vesta colour, chosen in a palette of 5 shades each inspired by a different type of timber, further enhances the warm, welcoming atmosphere.
Conclusion. The house is called AmmazzaCheCasa! (a typically Roman expression meaning « What a home! »), apparently based on comments made by friends from Rome who came to visit… When questioned, the architect couldn’t confirm this, leaving room for speculation…