When we think of Italian interior design, several images come to mind: romantic hillside villas decorated with rustic, old-world charm (a la the Cortana fixer-upper in “Under the Tuscan Sun”); iconic furniture designs by Gio Ponti and Ettore Sottsass; and bright, airy living spaces with terra-cotta tiled floors and distressed walls.
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“La Vita e Bella,” by Jill Foulston, is a new book that deepened our understanding of Italian style and aesthetic principles. Amid recipes, short articles on Italian customs and wistful quotes printed on vellum (we admit to kinda skipping over that stuff), the book looks inside 15 stunning homes, from an 18th-century palazzo to a stone farmhouse to a modern Palermo apartment. We poured over the text and full-colors photos and now plan to steal the following design ideas:
Tables should make a statement. An iron table with weathered planks makes for the perfect outdoor picnic table. And coffee tables look especially sleek when they’re large, white and low: a perfect setting for Neoclassical sculpture (or, in our case, the TV remote).
Design should embrace contrasts, whether, say, uniting the aforementioned modern table with Neoclassical art or pairing the rustic and polished. Think: a wooden pallet, perched upright on the kitchen counter, repurposed as a display case for colorful pottery. Or an antique table paired with 1970s-style lucite stools and chairs.
Comfort is key: Whether through warm, earthy paint colors; soft blankets or a well-placed chaise-longue, home design should prioritize functional elegance. You actually want to live in these places, not just admire them in a book.
La Vita e Bella, 208 pages, $35, rylandspeters.com
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