Glass Blocks, Brushed Steel, Black Leather Togo — This Milanese Brutalist-Inspired Home is a Textural Masterpiece
Material rigor meets textural warmth within this Milanese apartment, where raw concrete and 1980s influences make for a forward-thinking space for its fashionista owner
When a client from the fashion industry hands you a brief consisting of just five words — "I want a Brutalist house" — the temptation might be to lean heavily into the cold, monolithic weight of raw concrete.
But for Milanese studio FANTIBOZZETTIMENEGON, who designed this modern home on a quiet street in Milan for a young client working in the fashion industry, the prompt became the starting point for a recalibration of all that is hard and soft, organic and industrial.
"The hammered finish of the coffee table creates a sculptural surface that is luminous and ever-changing," says interior designer Martina.
"We wanted to adapt a material language for Milan's urban context and for everyday living," says Martina Menegon, who with Fabio Fanti Bozzetti founded FANTIBOZZETTIMENEGON. "We worked primarily on materials, mixing leather with glass, concrete, steel and lime, always adapting the concept to the space and to how the house would be lived in. We wanted the apartment to be deliberately Brutalist without necessarily chasing current trends."
A hammered chrome coffee table adds an industrial edge to this modern living room — this La Redoute version lacks the texture but keeps up the sleekness.
"The island was custom designed and is made of Iranian travertine with a brushed-steel countertop," says Martina. Floors are in polished resin.
The full renovation took just over six months, during which time the floor plan was reconfigured, with the kitchen opened out into the living room to transform the layout into a single, continuous space. At the center of the plan, a custom-designed walk-in wardrobe made of glass blocks acts as a luminous core, allowing daylight to travel deep into the apartment while maintaining a clear organizational role.
"We custom-designed a mirror that conceals a bar cabinet," says Martina. The pendant above the table acts as a focal point and a visual axis of light.
The main bathroom was also reconfigured, gaining a dual-access system that allows it to function as both a private and guest bathroom. It now champions ease of movement and spatial logic, balancing versatility with architectural rigor.
A tubular velvet armchair adds soft curves to a Brutalist scheme, and Westwing has a whole host of colors on offer.
A basin in Ceppo Lombardo stone brings an organic texture that chimes with the raw concrete, while the illuminated shower ceiling pools light into this windowless area of the apartment.
The entire living area scheme was cued by the black leather Togo sofa by Ligne Roset, already owned by the client. "It was an iconic object they had fallen in love with and purchased without knowing in which property it would eventually be placed," says Fabio. A subtle early 80s sensibility runs throughout the project, emerging through the glass blocks, steel elements, and neon-like lights. "We didn't want anything to feel too conventional," says Fabio.
A subtle wall sconce might not be the immediate talking point of a scheme, but one like this is perfect attached to a mirror in a small bathroom to add ambiance.
The glass bricks of the walk-in wardrobe at the center of the apartment evoke the design spirit of the early 80s.
Beyond the furnishings, light was a firm design driver, not only playing a functional role, but in enhancing textures and architectural geometries, sometimes acting as a sculptural motif itself. Prisms of light bounce around the apartment, delivered through the glass bricks, wall cuts and recessed LED strips.
Here, industrial-edged steel and glass bricks meet the deep grain of black ash in the apartment's functional and spatial design element.
Lime-plastered walls, matt and subtly vibrant, create a tactile, enveloping atmosphere, while raw concrete demonstrates the honesty of a material that in no way seeks to disguise itself. In executing this dance of opposites, FANTIBOZZETTIMENEGON has created a space that's both fiercely industrial and structural on the surface, yet resolutely organic and serene at its heart.
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