Made In Italy Interior Design – Antique Trends for the Opulent Life
Made in Italy antiques for the home: Murano glass chandeliers, Carrara and Calacatta marble, and antique lounges reupholstered in velvet and silk.
Interior design is a true love of mine, and most of all design that is made in Italy. For me, the best of it mixes antiques with modern comfort. A good piece is furniture, and it is also a bit of history.
The farmhouse where I live is 400 years old. The pieces in the photographs are not mine. I saw them in an antique shop in Arezzo.
Chandeliers: Murano glass
Antique chandeliers are coming back. But which one? For me it has to be Murano glass, blown by hand in Venice. These chandeliers have hung in palazzos for centuries, and when the sun catches one you see why.
The newer ones are less stuffy than the ones your grandmother knew. Designers are adding gold accents, crystal details and even pops of colour. And if you want one that nobody else has, you can commission it. Bespoke.
Marble: Carrara and Calacatta
Then there is Italian marble. Sculptors and architects have loved Carrara for centuries. It has soft, smoky veins, and it is the classic choice.
If you like a bit more drama, as I do, look at Calacatta Gold. The veins are rich and golden and they run right through the stone. Imagine a dining table made of it. Your guests won’t know whether to eat or stare.
Marble works beyond the dining room too: in a bathroom around a clawfoot tub, or in the kitchen.
Refurbished antique lounges
Now, where do you sit? Antique lounges are having a moment, and I couldn’t be happier. You are sitting on a piece that other generations sat on before you.
They do need work. A good restorer will reupholster an old lounge in velvet or silk, in jewel colours: emerald green, purple, midnight blue. Look for hand-carved wooden legs and gilded details. And the best part is that nobody else has the same one.
Why antique is the new modern
Aren’t antiques old-fashioned? Not at all. Trends come round again, and right now antique Italian is the new modern. A room of nothing but sleek, minimalist pieces can feel cold. So mix the old with the new. It is like wearing your grandmother’s pearls with a couture dress.
Pieces with a story
When you choose an Italian antique, be it a chandelier, a slab of marble or a refurbished lounge, you are choosing craftsmanship and history. Fill your home with pieces that have a story.
