The ground floor of a 1980s building in Via Tamburini, Milan, is a tasteful haven dictated by modern elegance

Arriving at the 6,500 square-foot verdant garden of this abode, you might on first instance think you've accidentally stumbled into the wonderland that Alice encountered. A closer look reveals that this urban oasis is actually the home to an entrepreneurial couple and their children. Dainelli Studio - a Milan-based practice founded by designers and architects Leonardo and Marzia Dainelli in 2007 - have transformed the approximately 2,700 square feet of interior space into a classic yet contemporary creation. The residence encompasses four bedrooms, a spacious entrance hall, hallways and corridors with large wall wardrobes and a large living room connected to the dining room.

Dainelli Studio is known for realizing interior projects for public and private spaces, as well as active collaborations with prestigious companies in the furnishings world, including Arketipo, Fendi Casa, Fiam, Frag, Fratelli Boffi, Gallotti&Radice, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna and Giorgetti, to name a few. One of the studio’s distinctive aspects is their ongoing research on image and form, which leads to concrete results of refined design, based on perfectly gauged proportions and harmony between forms, materials and finishes. Every project embodies in-depth design culture with knowledge of industrial production techniques and craftsmanship. The ability to establish dialogue with the environment and the individual product – thanks to the various areas of expertise of Leonardo and Marzia – permits the creation of every element required for the construction of a completely personalized project: from the individual object made to measure to the total look of a complete habitat.

This elegant home is a testament to the designer’s talent, integrating a style that mixes aristocratic with Haussmannian details (such as the large wood panelling, mirrors and Versaille oak parquet) together with extremely contemporary elements (such as the resin floor in the kitchen, the tropical wallpaper and the architectural lighting). The choice of furnishings and objects also confirms this harmonious ambivalence, mixing custom elements with design icons, family heirlooms and Faces self-productions by Dainelli Studio: marble sculptures, ceramic sculptures and paintings.

The entrance is characterized by custom furniture by the designers: the bookcase boiserie, the black-stained ash wood cabinet and the brass partition separating the entrance from the living area. Furnishings include a black leather armchair by Vitra and two custom lamps with built-in brass light fittings and Dedar Tiger Mountain fabric - a jacquard velvet inspired by Tibet. In the living room, a Flexform fabric sofa takes centre stage, together with Capitol armchairs by Cassina - in black-stained ash and moss green aniline leather. The look is completed by modern antique tables and Flos lamps. Separated by just a few steps with elegant brass details, the dining room opens onto the large custom table with a black-stained ash base and White Beauty marble top. The chairs, bar cabinet and lamp in glass and metal are from Gallotti&Radice. In the bedrooms meanwhile, a mix of classic details with contemporary elements return. The bedside tables in gunmetal and Georgette marble and the bed with a quilted headboard are both by Conte, and these stagger characterfully with the custom-designed piece of furniture in black-stained ash, the console table by Gallotti&Radice and the wallpaper by Taplab.

The kitchen and bathroom embrace a decidedly contemporary philosophy. The kitchen is by Poliform and the bathroom by Boffi, with iconic furnishings by Kartell and Vitra. The wellness aspect of the home extends in the garden decked out with furniture from Kettal, which is accessible from both the living area and the bedrooms. 

Truly an oasis of peace in the heart of the city, many fine days and nights have been spent here entertaining loved ones. In such a charming little kingdom, a perfect reprieve is offered to its residents, to relax and recharge at the end of every day with new hope, before facing the battles of the outside world yet again.