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    Luca Nichetto transforms Swedish villa into his own studio and showroom

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    Luca Nichetto has converted a 1940s villa in Stockholm into a studio to display his designs in a domestic setting and provide a comfortable working environment for his team.

    The Italian designer’s studio was previously based out of an apartment in the city’s Midsommarkransen neighbourhood. But when the landlord wanted to raise the rent, Nichetto decided to relocate to a larger property in a nearby suburb.
    Luca Nichetto has turned a 1940s villa into his own studio”I didn’t really need to look for another space in the city centre because it’s not that important for us as we work globally,” Nichetto explained.
    “A week after beginning to search, I saw on the real estate market what is now the Pink Villa. It was simply perfect and I made the offer.”
    A blush-pink staircase leads up to the first floorThe Pink Villa is a typical 1940s wooden house with a gabled roof and a large garden. Nichetto bought the property in 2021 and began adapting the interior to make it suitable for use as a studio.

    “I didn’t want a conventional studio space but rather a space that could be a studio, a showroom and a domestic property to be used on the weekends by my family and during the week by my team,” the designer told Dezeen.
    Nichetto’s Banah sofa for Arflex sits in the living areaThe villa takes its name from its distinctive pink exterior, which was given a fresh coat of bubblegum-pink paint to maintain its characterful presence on the street.
    The property’s existing three bedrooms were transformed into a private office for Nichetto on the first floor and a meeting room and tailor’s workshop on the ground floor, which his wife uses on the weekends.
    La Manufacture’s Soufflé mirror helps to bring character to the spaceA corridor leads from the entrance to a bright living room that looks onto the garden. An opening beyond the stairs up to the first floor connects with the simple custom-built kitchen.
    Along with Nichetto’s office, the upper floor contains a second bathroom and a large open workspace that facilitates flexible use rather than incorporating dedicated workstations.
    Bright and bold colours were used throughout the interiorThe interior features a pared-back palette of materials and colours that provide a neutral backdrop for a selection of products and furniture designed by Nichetto for brands including Offecct, Cassina, Arflex and Bernhardt Design.
    “I wanted to give a touch of warmth and I did that using colour and volumes,” the designer said. “I particularly chose materials culturally connected with the south of Europe and very deliberately mixed them with Scandinavian features.”

    Watch our talk with Ginori 1735 and Luca Nichetto about their new collection of home fragrances

    In the living area, pale-pink walls and white-painted floors contribute to the light and airy feel. Nichetto’s Banah sofa for Arflex and Soufflé mirror for La Manufacture are among the playful designs that bring character to this space.
    Upstairs, the main office spaces feature furniture such as Nichetto’s Torei low table for Cassina and Nico armchair for Bernhardt Design. His office contains the Railway table for De Padova and Robo chairs by Offecct.
    Walls in the living area were painted a light pinkOne of the key qualities that attracted Nichetto to the property is the spacious garden, which includes a terrace furnished with his Esedra table and Pluvia chairs for Ethimo.
    The basement garage was converted into a self-contained guest suite called the Chalet, which includes a living room, bedroom and bathroom with a Swedish sauna.
    The house also has a self-contained guest suiteSince the renovation was completed in April 2022, the Chalet has hosted international visitors including art directors, photographers and designers.
    The property’s location close to a park and to the water was another reason it appealed to Nichetto, who said he enjoys the proximity to nature and the good relationship he has established with his neighbours.
    Ceramic tiles provide a pop of colourA housekeeper was hired to look after the studio and to prepare meals for the team, adding to the sense of it hybrid space that is both domestic and designed for work.
    “It’s like being in a family: we all have lunch together and there are no fixed workstations to work,” he explained. “Moreover, whoever comes to visit us, if he wants, can stay and sleep. The idea is to create a sense of community.”
    Ethimo’s Esedra table and Pluvia chairs decorate the terraceLuca Nichetto established his multidisciplinary practice in Venice, Italy, in 2006 and continues to run a studio there alongside his main office in Stockholm. Nichetto Studio specialises in industrial and product design as well as art direction for design brands.
    Nichetto’s recent work includes a series of home fragrances for Ginori 1735 and his first foray into fashion accessories in the form of the apple-leather Malala handbag.
    The photography is by Max Rommel.

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      Sleeper turns Kyiv shoe factory into eclectic headquarters

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      Ukrainian architects Veronika Arutunyan and Olga Malyshenko have transformed the interior of a former factory in Kyiv into meeting and manufacturing spaces for fashion label Sleeper.

      Sleeper completed the conversion of three floors inside the 1940s industrial at the end of 2021 – months prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
      The brand’s HQ is inside an old factoryUkrainian architects Arutunyan and Malyshenko worked with Sleeper founders Kate Zubareva and Asya Varetsa on the remodelling of the interior, which was geared towards both the productivity and well-being of the company’s team.
      “Sleeper’s vision completely animated this fading industrial building in the historical part of Podil,” said Arutunyan.
      The designers fitted out the interior to accomodate specialist machineryThe workspaces, breakout areas, meeting rooms, dedicated manufacturing rooms and specialist photography studio all contain homely touches, such as soft seating, coffee tables and mismatched chairs.

      “We’re not big fans of fast fashion or corporatised, artificially-created design,” explained Sleeper co-founder Zubareva.
      “Instead, we wanted to create a place where people would feel comfortable.”
      Interiors were furnished with assorted designer furnishings from a range of design periodsAntiques and retro items are scattered throughout, with notable examples including cantilevered Marcel Breuer-designed armchairs, a 1960s chair brought from a hotel in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, and a pair of red 1970s art nouveau chiclet armchairs designed by Ray Wilkes for Herman Miller.
      “The designers referenced the mid-twentieth-century aesthetic of celebration halls and scientific institutes, with their simple futuristic forms,” the brand commented.

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      The adaptive reuse of the building allowed for original features – such as parquet floors and high ceilings – to be preserved, while providing the Sleeper team with necessary specialised facilities.
      Flexible layouts were designed to accommodate the brand’s growing team and allow for expansion, as well as its need for specialised amenities associated with clothing production.
      The interior has a neutral colour palette punctuated with pops of colourIn addition to aesthetic considerations, the designers ensured that the team was provided with ample facilities to carry out a wide range of tasks.
      A photo studio, meeting spaces, silent room, changing rooms and lounge spaces, in addition to manufacturing rooms, were created to ensure that each step of the creative process could be facilitated comfortably.
      Contrasting furniture was chosen to make the space feel more domesticSleeper is a fashion brand that designs and creates high-end sleepwear intended to be used both in the home and on the street, according to the label.
      The company has clothed notable actors, singers and celebrity personalities including Lily James, Katy Perry, Emma Roberts, Kendall Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian among others.
      Areas dedicated to garment production are clear-cutThe production of garments at the brand’s Kyiv atelier has been temporarily paused due to the war in Ukraine, which has damaged over 140 heritage sites in the country since the invasion by Russia in February 2022.
      Sleeper’s team has partially returned to their headquarters in the capital, with the remainder of its team working remotely in other parts of the world.
      “We have no doubts that the Sleeper’s home should be located in Ukraine, the country where the brand was born,” the brand told Dezeen.
      Glass walls allow natural light to enter all spacesOther reuse projects that feature on Dezeen include Chinese pastry brand Lao Ding Feng’s headquarters in a former warehouse by Neri&Hu, and a radio station in an old furniture store by Atelier38.
      The photography is by Andrey Bezuglov.

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