This Once-Dark Rome Apartment Has Been Transformed Into a Spirited Retreat Filled With Color, Memory, and a Few Delightful Surprises

Travel may broaden our world, but home remains the place we return to for grounding; an intimate refuge shaped by comfort, memory, and the rituals of everyday life. For the husband-and-wife owners of this 110-square-meter apartment in Rome, that sentiment rings especially true. After years spent traveling, the couple was ready to put down roots, and their evolving ideas of belonging and home became the starting point for Marco Rulli, cofounder of 02A Studio.

“We imagined the apartment as a kind of treasure box; a home that could be both a refuge and a reminder of their roots, while also containing and showcasing the objects, memories, and experiences that are part of their life elsewhere,” shares Marco. The resulting modern home became a richly layered canvas for color, bespoke artwork, and carefully considered spatial interventions.

Rooms are shaped and connected, some without relying heavily on doors, creating a sense of enclosure and intimacy while still allowing the apartment to flow — a balance that gives the owners both a feeling of cocooning and a reassuring sense of groundedness.

The entrance was originally a dark, dull space, which Marco and Matilde Masi, also of 02A Studio, transformed with a specially commissioned mural by artist Chiara Cataldi. The beautifully yellow hallway paint is layered with images of botanicals: cypress-covered hills unfold alongside palms, fruit trees, and banana plants, creating a dreamlike landscape that captures the spirit of the apartment itself.

"The home originally had a beautiful old solid timber parquet floor, nailed rather than glued, although it was quite worn," shares Marco. "We decided to preserve it in the kitchen and bedroom, while replacing it throughout the rest of the apartment. Here, we laid the new parquet in perpendicular bands, almost like a carpet. This allowed us to avoid creating a single dominant direction, which would not have worked well with the various curves that characterize the floor plan."

The passageway opens onto the modern kitchen. In fact, the apartment was originally conceived as one expansive, open space, with rooms flowing into one another. The challenge, then, was to carve out distinct functional zones without compromising the home’s sense of ease and continuity.

Anchored by a large Klein blue pantry wall and a central kitchen island topped with Jakarta Pink marble, the space is deliberately kept free of technical functions. "Seen from above, the marble’s veining recalls a satellite view of remote landscapes, forests or mountain systems, reinforcing once again the project’s themes of travel and inner geography," adds Matilde. Used more like a table, it serves as a place for food preparation, casual meals, and conversation.

"The kitchen, which was previously used as a study, had these original ceiling moldings," shares Marco. "We decided to preserve them and emphasize them by painting the ceiling in a desaturated terracotta tone, giving the space a stronger sense of identity while highlighting one of its original architectural features."

Right next to the kitchen, the tiny dining room feels almost tucked into a corner. "The dining area, positioned between the opening to the kitchen and the wall of the guest bedroom, is quite limited in size," explains Marco. "We decided to make the most of the space with a round dining table, whose shape responds to and echoes the curve of the surrounding wall."

Overhead, the Gropius Lamp Hula Hoop Dolce Vita XL in velvet brings a playful burst of color and energy to the petite space.

Rather than oppose the home’s original curving layout, the architects embraced it as a soft, defining gesture. "It generates a narrow passage between the dining and living areas, almost like a natural isthmus: a fluid constriction, as if carved by the wind, preserving the organic continuity of the apartment," shares Marco.

Following that logic, all of the bespoke joinery was designed to trace the apartment’s existing curves and rounded forms, avoiding rigid interventions or geometries that might feel imposed. Here, the guest bedroom, separated by a thick curtain, functions as a hybrid space: part study, part guest room and, when the large velvet curtain is drawn back, an extension of the living room itself.

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In keeping with the home’s continuous, uninterrupted flow, the modern living room opens directly onto the guest bedroom, dining area, and kitchen. This is, in many ways, the heart of the apartment. "Like an internal piazza, it has been shaped by placing the sofa at the center of the room and freely arranging the seating around it, allowing circulation paths to remain fluid," avers Matilde.

A ceiling painting, commissioned by the apartment’s former owner, Italian director Ettore Scola, from an artist friend, adds grandeur to the room. To heighten the artwork's presence, the architects introduced a custom-designed mirrored coffee table that reflects the scene overhead.

"The approach to the living room, as throughout the apartment, was to enhance the existing elements that are part of the home’s history — such as the wooden window frames, the original ceiling moldings and the old painting — while integrating the various pieces of furniture and objects collected by the owners during their travels, particularly in Asia," says Marco. "Rather than following a specific style, we wanted to create a dialogue between these different elements and allow the owners’ personal history to emerge through the interiors."

A subtle shift in floor level marks the transition to the primary modern bedroom, a remnant of the room’s later incorporation into the apartment. Instead of concealing the difference, the architects turned it into a deliberate design moment, introducing an open-pore lacquered timber platform that doubles as both a step and an informal seating space in the living area.

"This bedroom is dominated by a large built-in wardrobe covered in wallpaper that once again evokes distant landscapes and exotic imagery," shares Marco. "Inside the wardrobe, both the air-conditioning system and the entrance to the ensuite bathroom are concealed."

Petite but highly functional, the small bathroom has an almost cinematic atmosphere, shaped by its richly veined surfaces and delicate lighting. Practicality was equally important: double basins make the compact space unusually accommodating.

"We worked with glass, polychrome marbles and more precious materials: pink onyx and Emperador marble for the vanity top, clouded Bardiglio marble framing the shower, molded sanitary fixtures and Murano glass lamps," adds Marco.

Close by, the lush, leafy urban garden is grounded by terracotta flooring and relaxed seating, creating an easy connection to the outdoors and a quiet sense of being immersed in nature.

Deeper into the apartment, a suite of service spaces and storage is concealed behind velvet curtains. Clad in blue timber paneling and punctuated by mirrored surfaces, the area feels considered rather than purely utilitarian, with reflections helping to visually expand its compact footprint. "One of these panels also conceals the second bathroom, which once again incorporates the decorative motifs and exotic suggestions found throughout the apartment," adds Marco.

Ultimately, the home feels less like a collection of rooms than a deeply personal map of the owners’ lives — one where travel, memory and familiarity are joined together into a place that finally feels grounding.

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