Embassy of Italy Pairs Restored Grandeur with Modern Italian Craft
Embassy of Italy sits within an 1868 residence on Grosvenor Square in the City of London, United Kingdom, with interiors steered by designer Nick Vinson. The renovation refreshes the ambassadorial floors with contemporary Italian pieces while respecting the building’s restored fabric. Across private rooms and guest suites, the palette turns tactile: blue lacquer, natural oak, glass, and metal accents set a precise, deliberate tone for diplomatic life and daily routine.
Early light slides over Grosvenor Square. Inside the 1868 residence, polished metals and quiet woods catch the day, casting thin reflections across paneling and cornices.
This is an embassy, not a showroom. The project renovates the second and third floors of the Italian Ambassador’s residence in London, led by Nick Vinson with Avanti Architects, and centers on a considered interior palette and furnishing narrative. Contemporary Italian pieces converse with a restored shell, trading ornament for clarity and material rigor.
Dress Rooms in Blue
In the Ambassador’s dressing room, transparent glass doors with Iron-finish frames sit against original 1930s wardrobes, now restored. Royal Blue matt lacquer lines the structure and fittings, where integrated lighting runs through shelves, a slanted shoe rack keeps order, and a suspended chest of drawers pairs with a trouser rack.
Black metal components sharpen the edges. The composition reads crisp and tailored, the deep blue acting as a chromatic anchor that nods to national color while keeping the room calm.
Grooming and Balance
Adjacent, the grooming area stays intimate. A natural oak desk with an integrated drawer sets a warm counterpoint to the blue wall, its grain adding quiet texture to daily routines.
Across the hall, the Ambassador’s wife’s dressing room turns luminous with an L-shaped wardrobe in cuvée metal and white cherry wood. Transparent shelves and a slanted shoe rack work with integrated lighting to wash contents in a soft glow, making selection straightforward and serene.
Island, Mirror, Rhythm
At the center, a glass-topped island echoes the wardrobe’s cuvée metal and white cherry wood, its aged natural leather details lending tactility. The piece organizes accessories without visual weight, letting light pass through.
A large mirror with a cuvée frame completes the ensemble, doubling views and extending sightlines. The rhythm—wardrobe, island, mirror—sets a steady cadence that keeps the room legible and composed.
Suites and Tones
In the Ambassador’s bedroom, solid natural hemlock bedside tables bring a measured simplicity. A central aperture opens to a storage tray, a neat gesture that keeps surfaces clear.
The presidential suite shifts to magenta tones, while the guest suite leans brown. In both, the same bedside typology maintains continuity across floors, so color carries mood but function stays consistent.
Dining and Reception
The dining room takes a single, vivid stroke. A glossy console in Rosso Cina, pared to geometric lines, stands against period detailing and brings a ceremonial charge to the room.
On the guest floor, the Sitting Room holds an ivory open-pore sideboard with maple interior and metal legs in an Iron finish—quiet storage with crisp stance. Nearby, the Coat Room sets mirrored wardrobe doors against white cherry wood, with door interiors finished in a matt sugar paper blue lacquer that ties back to the ambassadorial suites.
Shadows lengthen along the corridor and pick up in the metal frames. Wood softens the glint, glass carries the light, and color sets the mood—diplomatic yet domestic, formal yet unforced.
Photography by Beppen Brancato
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