Casa Chiara: Open Plan Living on the Ligurian Coast
Casa Chiara sits inside a Liberty-style residence in Italy, where ornate facades and wrought iron balconies frame a newly pared-back interior. Designed by Davide Andracco, the 90-square-meter (969 sq ft) apartment becomes an airy, open home with light pouring through original French doors toward the sea. The renovation brings clarity to a compact plan while honoring the building’s historic shell.
Morning clears the rooms like a tide. Sun threads in through the original French doors, catching terrazzo underfoot and the soft white that wraps walls and frames.
This is an apartment, 90 square meters (969 sq ft), within a Liberty-era building on the Ligurian coast, reworked by Davide Andracco. The renovation pursues subtraction and clarity, making an open living core and a quieter bedroom suite while preserving the historic envelope. The story centers on palette: light, measured surfaces that let daylight and daily rituals lead.
Terrazzo Underfoot
The flooring carries the eye from entry to sea. A contemporary take on Ligurian terrazzo uses generous formats and pared textures to create continuity without noise. Neutral tones mute boundaries between rooms, so thresholds read as a single plane that steadies circulation and brightens corners. Under sunlight, fine aggregate glints lightly, a quiet counterpoint to the ornate exterior just beyond.
White, Light, Air
Walls, window frames, and built surfaces hold a soft white that amplifies daylight. The choice reduces visual clutter and gives the compact plan breathing room, letting shadows, art, and furniture mark rhythm. French doors open to the coast, and their tall proportions bounce light deep into the interior, smoothing the transition from balcony to living. The historic frame remains present, treated as a calm border rather than a motif.
Open Room Life
Kitchen, dining, and sitting gather in one luminous volume. The kitchen tucks along the quieter side, read as cabinetry that recedes so conversation and movement can center on a generous square table (the heart of entertaining). Removing partitions restores flow, trims circulation paths, and lets views extend to the sea-facing doors. Everyday routines find simple routes, from morning coffee to late supper with guests.
Bedroom Toward Sea
The master bedroom faces the water with three openings. Light lands softly across the room, and the restrained palette keeps focus on horizon and breeze. Furnishings remain spare to preserve calm, so texture—terrazzo edging, woven textiles, painted timber—does the quiet work of comfort. The result is unforced and clear, a room that rests as much as it frames view.
Art, Memory, Tone
Contemporary artworks cue color and mood without breaking the apartment’s even register. Pieces are chosen for chromatic and emotional resonance, anchoring moments along the white field and tempering brightness with depth. The historic building gives context; the interior palette threads that memory into daily use—measured, bright, and adaptable. Nothing shouts, and everything can shift as life moves.
Evening cools the terrazzo and dims the white to cream. From the balcony, the sea throws back a last silver line, and the rooms answer with a low glow from within. Craft meets restraint, and the building’s past sits comfortably alongside the present.
Photography by Anna Positano
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