Hotel Cabaret: Clio De Maria’s Interior Design Atelier Set in a 20th-Century Palace Near Lake Maggiore.

The atelier of interior designer Clio De Maria is appropriately styled to perfection, set inside a historic apartment within a 20th-century palace on the shores of Lake Maggiore. The niece of well-known post-war painter and graphic designer Eugenio Sguazzotti, De Maria grew up surrounded by oil paints, canvases, colour and textiles.

Her inherited passion for images and interiors is expressed through the atelier, a collective destination for art, antiques, modernism and design. The location also serves as HQ of her design and décor practice Lacomune.

The palace apartment is a former boutique hotel, so De Maria kept the name Hotel Cabaret. The pre-existing courtyard and heritage interiors are preserved, each room featuring a unique tiled floor. High ceilings and intricate wall mouldings create a simple yet nuanced backdrop for the eclectic wares on display.

Disjointed elements are brought together in timeless and evocative vignettes comprising furnishing, accessories and objects. Each has its own identity, yet unite under an all-encompassing ambience.

De Maria’s research and curations are detail-focused, seeking sophistication, reflective of the ethos of her Lacomune brand. Decorative moments are dictated by form over function throughout the atelier, with a random yet beautiful presentation of objects including un-plumbed claw foot bathtubs and paper umbrellas propped atop radiators. The atelier is a safe space for aesthetics to unapologetically take precedence over practicality.

[Images courtesy of Lacomune. Photography by Marco Bertolini.]