Minimalist chic in monochrome

By Tricia Wanjala

In a quiet suburb of Rome, this three-bedroom house is the home of Kenyan-Italian Susie and her husband Christian. “The house is a combination of both our tastes. I am really good at conceptualising, and Chris is excellent at putting on the final touches,” says Susie.
They chose a classic colour palette of white, gold and silver. She explains their design philosophy reflected their evolving tastes after a decade of marriage.

“Our last house had a lot of colours and objects all around the house but with this house we wanted to go for something very minimal, clean and contemporary. We decided less is more,” she explains.

Before buying any furniture, they looked carefully at magazines and TV decor shows for inspiration. The result is a deliberate simplicity that is truly sophisticated. Susie’s favourite areas are...“The master bedroom. It is big and comfy and from around 2pm the sun shines right over our bed, making it wonderful for an afternoon siesta. The sitting room and dining room are big spaces that are also hit by sunlight through the day, so we opted for decor that really played up the light.” 

Antique shop

As to their choice of furniture, they selected leather for the sofas because they found it “more elegant and practical to clean.”
Although their palette is neutral, they enjoyed injecting bright elements of colour in the way of paintings and souvenirs.

Says she: “We added some colour here and  there with accessories such as cushions and objects we found while travelling.”

They derive a lot of joy from artwork interspersed throughout the house; “Paintings are a very dominant part of the house. My favourites are from Italian painter Mario Schifano, ‘Margherite’ and ‘Onda’. Also we saw the sculpture of two people hugging in Sicily and fell in love with it.”
Their tastes combined beautifully when it came to selecting treasured pieces of furniture.
“I adore the golden baroque style chairs from the late 1800s. We found them in a antique shop and restored them with new springs and materials.”

Their eclectic style effortlessly blends modern with traditional. The dining room chairs are made from wood covered with sheets of silver — in Italy its called Foglie d’argento; it its gives a wonderful finishing.”

The black table is from designer Philip Stark, whose particular style mixes old styles with modern materials. The kitchen chairs are called Ghost Kartell; They are baroque style but in plastic.
The kitchen is done entirely in white, and Susie advises:  “If you can, buy Corian tops. It’s a wonderful material — very expensive but easy to clean and it can be renewed simply by having the top layer polished then it looks brand new.”

They are very environmentally conscious and insist on buying eco-friendly materials that will last a long time.

Tips from the Calcatelli’s:

1.Don’t overload your house with stuff. Buy just a few special items. They may cost more, but in the long run they last longer and stand out more.

2. Buy good solid pieces of furniture that will last (evergreens). Buy one piece at at time.

3. Grow with your house; once you start living in the house you’ll understand what your needs are. If you fully furnish a house immediately, there is a good chance that after a while you might not need something or you need something different.

4. Buy the main furniture in a basic colour and play around with accessories. When you want to change them, just buy few cushions here and there or other fillers and you are done.

5. Don’t buy expensive furniture when you’re young. You’ll find that your tastes change and furniture — like cars — loses most of its value once you buy it.