Back to Basics: 16th Century Venice Apartment by Ilaria Di Carlo.

This Venice apartment sounded like a dream on paper. Located on the top floor of a sixteenth-century palace in San Polo, with the Grand Canal at its doorstep, the home has views out to Venetian landmarks such as the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari and San Pantalon churches and the Accademia di San Rocco.

And yet it was not love at first sight for architect and now owner Ilaria Di Carlo, who describes her first viewing of the property as mortifying. This was thanks to a circa 70s renovation that removed the original timber floorboards, replaced them with fake marble and, for reasons hard to guess, lowered the room heights with a series of plasterboard ceilings.

Ultimately the view and the historic nature of the building won over the architect’s decorative misgivings and renovations got underway. Demolishing the plasterboard led to a big, beautiful space with generous 3.8m high ceilings and beautiful seventeenth-century chestnut beams and brick walls—including some masonry dating back to the Roman era.

Subdivision of the space was limited to maximise its volumetric qualities. Apart from the service areas—think bathroom, dressing room and entrance—the apartment was left open with a large open living, kitchen area and adjacent bedroom.

Gianni Botsford Architects' Refurbishment of a 14th-Century Palazzo in Venice.

In addition to uncovering the many frescos and exposing its historic timber structure, the project juxtaposes new architectural insertions...

In terms of finishes and materials, Ilaria worked by subtraction. Bricks were left exposed, including some ‘scars’, plaster was dialled down to a minimum and oak parquet was used for flooring in a reference to the original floorboards. The rough shell was embellished with bespoke detailing—a black kitchen with a lava stone top, a pink onyx table, a cylindrical sink carved out of a single block of walnut travertine and a large shower with fluted glass.

Contemporary, vintage and antique design pieces have been carefully curated, from Muller van Severen’s “installation small” armchair, Isamu Noguchi’s rice paper lamps, original Danish chairs from the 1960’s and a dining table by Carlo Mollino that was a family heirloom.

What was once an unforgiving renovation of a Venice gem is now a personal sanctuary and home away from home for Ilaria and her family.

Window to the Water: Venice Apartment by Eligo Studio.

A focal point of this Venice apartment is the unfettered vista of the waterfront but proved to be a double-edged sword for Alberto Nespoli...

[Images courtesy of Ilaria Di Carlo. Photography by Dario Borruto.]