Why This Groundbreaking Italian Home Designed by a Polymath Should Be on Your Radar

high style room with zebra like rug high ceilings with caramel colored tall draperies and a rocking chaise in the foreground and gilded molded and printed wallpaper in the background
Why You Should Know Carlo MollinoBart Kiggen

Welcome to “My Kind of Room,” a column in which the design world’s most influential players share the one space that they return to for inspiration again and again. Below, designer and architect Hannes Peer describes a house whose design continues to resonate for him.


“I tell all of my architecture students that they need to see Casa Mollino at least once in their lifetime. I originally visited the house in Turin, Italy, 10 years ago on a weekend trip. It is the perfect Gesamtkunstwerk and a master class in layering. Carlo Mollino was one of the first architects with an intentionally eclectic approach, putting Japanese design in conversation with Italian craft, or pairing Murano chandeliers with Saarinen chairs. He was able to tell so many stories at once in such a small space. His work encouraged me to dare with textures, to dare with colors, to go bold or go home. If you look at Casa Mollino with an open mind, it’s all there: the materials, the colors, the cinematography, the daring—the drama!”

may 2023 cover elle decor
Hearst Owned

This story originally appeared in the May 2023 issue of ELLE DECOR. SUBSCRIBE

You Might Also Like