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The most convincing way to modernize a vintage apartment is not to erase its age. In Vincenzo Ferrieri and Stefania Faraone Ferrieri’s Milan home, designer Lucrezia Calvi of LC Atelier treated the existing architecture and furnishings as the starting brief: original marble floors, selected inherited pieces and 1960s character remain visible, while custom walnut, colored stone, resin and retro-style fittings give the rooms a present-day rhythm.
The result is a practical lesson in mixing eras. Keep the elements with emotional or architectural weight, make new work respond to them, and use repeated materials to connect rooms rather than forcing every surface into the same period.
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A neglected 1960s apartment with a strong point of view
The apartment occupies the second floor of a 1960s building in Milan’s Sant’Ambrogio neighborhood. The owners, a young Milanese couple working in catering and fashion, commissioned Lucrezia Calvi of LC Atelier to renovate it. Architectural Digest’s feature, published March 15, 2026, describes a dwelling that had been neglected but had not lost its identity.
That distinction shaped every major decision. Stefania Faraone Ferrieri explained, “It had been neglected for years, yet it retained its soul, which led us to decide to keep some of the furnishings,”. The couple also valued the apartment’s original marble flooring. Rather than clear the rooms and start with a neutral shell, Calvi fitted new materials around what was already present.
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Calvi described the method as follows: “We updated the space with new materials, but always with much careful thought, shaping the project around what was already there. The old and the new are woven together in a dialogue that takes place throughout the home.” That “dialogue” is visible in the repeated use of Canaletto walnut, the relationship between the purple marble portal and kitchen island, and the decision to place contemporary custom work beside objects from earlier decades.
The renovation’s material language
The apartment does not rely on one dramatic finish. Its coherence comes from a small group of materials that recur in different roles. The following palette is the clearest way to understand how the rooms relate.
| Element | Where it appears | Design role |
|---|---|---|
| Purple Cipollino marble | Portal leading toward the kitchen and the kitchen island | A colored architectural anchor that makes the transition between living and cooking spaces legible |
| Canaletto walnut | Living-room bookcase, principal-bedroom closet edge and other custom work | A warm, continuous wood note that gives new joinery a relationship to the older apartment |
| Straw wallpaper | Hallways | Adds texture to circulation spaces without competing with the marble and furniture |
| Cream-colored tiles | Kitchen walls | Provides a quiet backdrop for the purple stone and walnut |
| White resin | Kitchen floor | Introduces a deliberately contemporary surface in the most technically demanding room |
| Original marble flooring | Existing apartment floors retained where possible | Preserves the building’s history and supplies a visual reference for new finishes |
The palette works because each new choice answers an existing one. Walnut warms the hard surfaces; cream tile keeps the kitchen from becoming visually heavy; straw wallpaper gives the hallways their own identity; and the purple marble is repeated rather than isolated as a single decorative gesture.
How to preserve character without freezing a room in time
Start with an inventory, not a demolition plan
Before deciding what to replace, identify the features that carry the apartment’s memory. In this home, those included the original marble floors, some existing furnishings and a 1960s headboard. A useful inventory separates elements by type: architectural finishes, movable furniture, lighting and sentimental objects. The goal is not to keep everything. It is to determine which pieces deserve to remain visible and which can be repaired, relocated or quietly removed.
For the Ferrieris, retaining furniture was tied to meaning rather than nostalgia for its own sake. Stefania called the decision “not simply a design decision, but almost a sacred passing of the baton.” That approach gives a renovation an emotional hierarchy: a chair or headboard can matter because of its history even when it is not the newest or most technically sophisticated object in the room.
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Let new materials frame the old ones
Calvi’s custom work does not imitate every 1960s detail. Instead, it creates frames and thresholds around the retained elements. The living-room bookcase is the strongest example: it is made in Canaletto walnut and designed around an artwork by Emilio Isgrò, a gift to Vincenzo for his 40th birthday. The joinery gives the artwork a precise setting while still reading as a contemporary intervention.
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The same principle appears in the principal bedroom, where a restored 1960s headboard sits with a custom upholstered closet edged in Canaletto walnut. The headboard remains unmistakably of its era; the closet does not pretend to be vintage. Their shared wood detail is enough to make the contrast intentional.
Room by room: where the old and new meet
The entrance and hallways
Circulation spaces often receive the least attention in a renovation, yet they control the first impression of every room. Here, straw wallpaper gives the hallways a tactile surface and a distinct identity. The entrance chandelier is identified as Gino Sarfatti’s model 2042/9, credited to Astep. Its period reference establishes the apartment’s interest in 1960s design before the visitor reaches the living area.
Window shades by C&C Milano, rugs credited to Nordic Knots and textiles from Dedar are among the other decor credits named in the feature. They are presented as part of the finished interior, not as evidence of current stock, pricing or a shopping list.
The kitchen as a visual destination
A purple Cipollino marble portal leads toward the kitchen, and the same stone echoes in the island. Repeating the marble turns a doorway into an architectural sequence: the material announces the kitchen before the room is fully visible, then returns as a working centerpiece.
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The rest of the kitchen is intentionally restrained. Cream-colored wall tiles, credited to Kaufmann Keramic, sit above a white resin floor. The floor was not an obvious choice for Stefania. “The most difficult decision was using resin for the floors,” she said, explaining that she was unfamiliar with the material before Calvi showed her how it could work in the apartment.
That story is useful beyond this particular finish. When a material is unfamiliar, judge it in relation to the whole room rather than as an isolated sample. In this kitchen, resin supplies a clean counterpoint to veined marble and textured tile. Its selection was a design decision made in context, not a claim that resin is universally preferable.
The living area and kitchen in conversation
The living area is planned to connect closely with the kitchen instead of functioning as a separate formal salon. A mirrored wall expands the visual field, while a custom table anchors the seating area. Chairs retained from the previous owner add another layer of continuity.
The Canaletto walnut bookcase is the room’s most personal piece of custom work. It was composed around Emilio Isgrò’s artwork, which Vincenzo received for his 40th birthday. Designing storage around a specific artwork reverses the usual sequence of buying furniture first and finding art later; the object becomes part of the architecture.
The principal bedroom, study and nursery
The principal bedroom combines the restored 1960s headboard with the upholstered closet edged in Canaletto walnut. The contrast is gentle because the wood edge repeats a finish used elsewhere, while the headboard remains the room’s historical reference.
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A compact study uses a sofa integrated into paneling. This is a space-saving move that also keeps the room visually calm: seating is treated as part of the wall rather than as a freestanding object competing for attention.
The nursery is described in cream and rose tones. Its restrained palette continues the apartment’s preference for layered neutrals and selective color rather than a different theme in every room.
Bathrooms with retro fixtures and custom details
All of the bathrooms combine retro-style fixtures and furniture with custom elements. One walnut-paneled bathroom is captioned with a Devon & Devon mirror, a Sbordoni sink, Stella faucets and sconces by Sergio Mazza. The combination shows how a period-looking fixture can be integrated without turning the bathroom into a theatrical reproduction of the past.
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Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A practical method for mixing eras in your own apartment
The Ferrieri apartment suggests a sequence that can be adapted to other vintage homes. These are design decisions distilled from the project, not technical specifications supplied for a particular building.
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- Record what is worth saving. Photograph original floors, doors, trim, built-ins and furniture before work begins. Note condition, dimensions and the reason each item matters.
- Choose one architectural anchor. It might be a marble floor, a stair, a fireplace or a distinctive opening. Let that feature influence the colors and materials introduced elsewhere.
- Map the sightlines. Decide what can be seen from the entrance and from connected rooms. In this apartment, the marble portal and island create a visual link between living and kitchen areas.
- Repeat one custom material. Canaletto walnut appears in several pieces of joinery, allowing different rooms to feel related without matching exactly.
- Use a contemporary surface where it solves a real design problem. The white resin kitchen floor provides a clean field for the marble and cream tile. Test an unfamiliar finish in samples and view it beside the retained materials.
- Commission around a meaningful object. The living-room bookcase was designed around Isgrò’s artwork. A built-in can give a treasured painting, chair or collection a deliberate place.
- Add period references selectively. Retro bathroom fixtures, a 1960s headboard or a vintage chandelier can carry the historical note. More pieces are not automatically more authentic.
- Finish the transitional spaces. Hallways, entrances and landings should receive the same level of thought as the main rooms. Straw wallpaper and the entrance chandelier make the route through the apartment part of the experience.
Deciding what to retain, adapt or replace
A simple decision framework can prevent a renovation from becoming either indiscriminate preservation or total erasure.
| Question | Retain | Adapt | Replace or add |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does the element carry architectural or personal meaning? | Original marble flooring, inherited chairs or the 1960s headboard | Repair, restore or move it to a stronger location | Add new work around it rather than hiding it |
| Can the element support the new plan? | Keep it visible if circulation and function still work | Reframe it with joinery, paneling or a new color relationship | Introduce custom pieces where storage or seating is missing |
| Does a new finish clarify the old one? | Preserve the original reference point | Use a related tone or material nearby | Choose a contrasting finish only when it creates a clear connection, as the resin floor does with the kitchen palette |
| Is the period reference becoming costume-like? | Keep the strongest vintage object | Balance it with plain contemporary surfaces | Avoid adding multiple decorative replicas simply to signal an era |
What the apartment’s approach gets right
The renovation succeeds because preservation is treated as an active design discipline. Original floors are not background leftovers; they influence the new palette. Existing chairs are not obstacles to a finished scheme; they provide continuity in the living area. The 1960s headboard is not disguised; it is restored and given a contemporary partner.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsJust as important, the new elements are specific. The purple Cipollino marble portal, Canaletto walnut bookcase and custom upholstered closet are not generic “modern updates.” They respond to particular rooms, objects and sightlines. That specificity is what keeps the apartment from looking like a showroom assembled from unrelated retro references.
Calvi summarized the emotional value of the retained pieces by calling them “real time capsules, creating a connection between today’s owners and this home.” The broader lesson is straightforward: a vintage apartment feels current when its history remains legible and its new interventions are confident enough to stand beside it.
The Architectural Digest feature does not state the apartment’s floor area, renovation budget, technical specifications for the resin or marble, or current availability and pricing for the credited products. Those details would be needed before translating any element into a construction specification or purchase plan.
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