Casa Continua

Casa Continua, a small apartment nestled within Rome’s Flaminio district, has been sensitively reimagined as a contemporary home that respects its layered architectural history.

WORDS Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Serena Eller/Ellerstudio

Located within a character-filled residential building, the 115 sqm apartment was purchased by the owner more than thirty years ago and, over time, fell out of step with its occupant’s lifestyle. The rooms were small and disconnected, lacking the social atmosphere the owner had envisaged. Local architecture studio STUDIOTAMAT was brought in to improve the flow and breathe new life into the interiors.

“The key focus of the project was to correct what the client described as ‘the most significant mistake’ of the house’s previous life: the downsizing of the kitchen. We reversed that logic, transforming it into the engine of conviviality – a dynamic volume from which movement can be observed, and the life of the house can be joined without ever feeling apart from it,” says Valentina Paiola, an architect at STUDIOTAMAT.

On entry, the apartment reveals itself through a continuous sequence of rooms connected by visual and physical thresholds. At the centre lies the kitchen – the heart of the home – enclosed by custom-made burgundy-glazed partitions.

It is the material and visual choices that create a sense of flow throughout the apartment. The original panelled parquet flooring has been carefully restored and runs uninterrupted across the space, while above, a fine burgundy line traces the walls, marking their height. The apartment’s original geometry is embraced rather than concealed: structural columns are integrated into custom oak joinery with bookshelves and built-in seating, transforming a constraint into a functional element that organises space and encourages interaction. Mario Bellini’s Camaleonda sofa in green velvet and bespoke benches upholstered in Relief fabric by l’Opificio echo the geometry of the kitchen’s terrazzo floor, introducing a motif that reappears in a different chromatic variation in the reading room. The custom terrazzo flooring, with its geometric pattern, adds another layer of continuity between surfaces and furnishings.

The dining room acts as a visual break. The table and vintage Libellula chairs by Giovanni Carini occupy a room visible through reeded glass and burgundy metal partitions that separate without enclosing, allowing natural light to move freely throughout the apartment.

The reading room, a more intimate space, houses the owner’s extensive book collection. Here, deep tones and tactile finishes help to create a secluded, quiet atmosphere.

In the bedroom, large bespoke oak wardrobes wrap the space, incorporating central panels upholstered in Filigrana fabric by l’Opificio. In contrast, the rear wall is finished in Harlequin’s Elsworthy Wide Width wallpaper, whose subtle organic pattern forms a backdrop to a Flou bed in ochre velvet – a chromatic accent that echoes the tones of the living spaces.

“The challenge was to give a home to thousands of accumulated books. We were not interested in creating an undifferentiated open-plan space, but rather a tailored sense of fluidity. From the custom terrazzo to the oak joinery embracing the structural columns, every detail was conceived as a prototype allowing the memory of Flaminio to coexist with a new everyday dynamism,” says Valentina.

What emerges is a home that adapts naturally and welcomes those who enter – a convivial space that holds memories while making room for new ones. | studiotamat.com

Don’t forget to sign up to our weekly newsletter for the latest architecture and design news.