Officina Abitare is an architecture firm in Florence specializing in designing energy-efficient buildings and renovations that incorporate sustainable and innovative materials.
In this project of renovating an apartment in the center of Florence, overlooking the Boboli Gardens, the firm worked for a young couple who, despite living outside Italy—between India, Morocco, and Senegal—purchased the home as a point of return and connection to their hometown.

The project combines the tradition of materials, typical of historic buildings in the city center, with a search for materials evocative of the countries where the clients have lived and to which they are connected. Therefore, the project began by recovering the original features of the spaces hidden by subsequent interventions, bringing to light the original wooden ceilings, cleaned and restored.

The designers focused particularly on the southern area of the house, which includes the kitchen, dining room with fireplace, and living room. The result is a very bright and functional space where the kitchen was entirely custom-designed and includes a wall area and a central island with additional pantry and drawer units. The kitchen is made of wood with tops and cladding in 3 cm thick Botticino slabs with a strong acid-etched finish, completed by subsequent water polishing.

Adjacent and connected by a regular-shaped opening is the living room, intimate and essential, with wooden beam ceilings present throughout the apartment.

The rooms are distributed around a long corridor that extends from the entrance to the sleeping area, which enjoys windows and views of the Boboli Gardens. In particular, the master bedroom has an en-suite bathroom with shower and double sink.

In this area of the house as well, the use of natural materials such as stone and wood is predominant, forming the basis of the intervention, along with natural lime for plasters and paints, untreated and reclaimed wooden floors, solid wood furniture, and again, reclaimed pieces.

In the bathrooms, custom-made furniture is paired with 3 cm thick Botticino countertops that are properly treated. The spaces are characterized by neutral tones that recall earth colors and contribute to recreating welcoming and vibrant spaces. It is precisely these atmospheres, with almost essential furnishings, that create the ideal setting to host the collection pieces acquired during the clients’ travels to exotic countries.