A kitchen decorated with cement tiles

The main aim of the project to renovate the four-room apartment in Monza was to open the kitchen onto the living-room and ensure that it would integrate successfully with the existing floor, a small-strip natural oak parquet.

Style and convenience were the keywords: the intention was not for the kitchen to remain discreetly in the background – in fact, it was to be clearly visible to guests in all its splendour, while at the same time making the best use of the space available.

Pale colours were chosen: the matt white of the kitchen helps to eliminate the impression of gloom from a room which tends to be dark due to the apartment's exposure. What's more, the simple lines of the kitchen provide the air of modernity considered important, in partnership with the lighting design, which includes lowered ceiling areas to accommodate LED strips and spotlights.

When it came to the floor and wall coverings, the hexagonal tiles from the Clays line by Marazzi were chosen; the kitchen's modernity is rendered less harsh by this material, with its combination of concrete and terracotta-looks, emphasised by strong colours. What's more, Clays tiles are highly suitable for laying on both floors and walls, and stoneware is ideal for use behind the kitchen worktop and sink.

The hexagonal tiles were laid in a random pattern, simply limiting the number of the whole-colour grey tiles, which would otherwise have made the design scheme excessively dark.

The most distinctive feature is the way in which the hexagonal tiles end next to the peninsula which gives onto the living-room: the suggestion was to finish the tiled wall with a "transitional" area, with isolated tiles, separate from the rest, creating a kind of fade-out effect.  

 

Kitchen and lighting design:

Elisa Monico – Easy Relooking, Industrial Engineer and Interior Designer