Apartment in the Center of Florence: Light, Quiet, and Heritage Within
Apartment in the Center of Florence sits on the ground floor of a 19th-century building in Florence, Italy, with an internal garden tucked just beyond. Designed by Sante Bonitatibus, the 150-square-meter (1,615-square-foot) apartment was reimagined for a young entrepreneurial couple who collect ancient indigenous crafts, giving their everyday rooms the quiet poise of a gallery. Light and silence shape the mood, and the plan stays refreshingly open.
Morning slides across white-gray floors, washing the rooms in a clean, even glow. Large windows pull light deep inside, softening the edges of the ground-floor rooms.
This is an apartment in Florence, renovated by Sante Bonitatibus for a couple who collect ancient indigenous crafts. The 150-square-meter (1,615-square-foot) home uses a restrained palette to foreground texture and treasured objects, setting a consistent mood from entry to garden.
Set The Tone
Walls and ceilings stay within a calm white-gray register, a quiet field for light and shadow. That neutrality continues underfoot, where pale flooring links rooms and keeps the eye on the pieces the couple brings from years in Africa. Windows are numerous and tall, so daylight pools rather than flashes, revealing grain, patina, and craft without glare. The palette invites stillness.
Balance The Floors
Two historic surfaces anchor opposite ends: mosaic floors in the kitchen and in a bedroom. Their intricate textures act like bookends, their weight balanced by the continuous neutral flooring that bridges between. Nothing competes for attention, because the quieter field lifts the mosaics and the collections into focus. The old and the new meet at grade, and the composition holds.
Black As Counterpoint
Matte black arrives where contrast matters most. In the bathrooms, resin walls and fixtures read as deep, velvety planes that sharpen the whites around them. The tone also grounds furnishings and a paneled back wall in the central hallway, giving that axis a clear terminus and a sense of depth. It’s a measured move, not a shout.
Rooms As Gallery
The plan is open, so perspectives change as you walk. Clean, essential openings align from a central hallway, framing the living rooms on one side—kitchen, dining, and lounge—and the sleeping rooms on the other, each bedroom with a private bath. Objects sit with air around them, more exhibit than clutter, and conversation flows across thresholds. The internal garden waits at the edge, a green pause for the eye.
Heritage Preserved
In the master bedroom, uncovered ceiling decorations keep the building’s story legible. A mezzanine above the wall unit catches that ornamental layer at eye level, turning a discovery into a daily sightline. Restoration stayed delicate, preserving what held value and paring back what didn’t. Old craft, new calm.
By afternoon, light withdraws and matte black takes the lead, outlining edges with a soft hush. The apartment keeps its balance—quiet surfaces, clear views, and objects with room to breathe.
Photography courtesy of Sante Bonitatibus
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