Working Wonder

Elisabeth and Aldo Ciarrocchi’s inviting family home makes the most of its industrial heritage.

- Anna Tobin

Elisabeth and Aldo Ciarrocchi’s daughter Isabella, now 11, was a toddler when they began house hunting, and Elisabeth was pregnant with their younger daughter Piera, now eight. ‘We were living in small flat not far away, and all we knew was that we needed something larger for our family,’ says Elisabeth. ‘We both liked the idea of warehouse-style living and as soon as we walked in here, we fell in love with it.’

When the Ciarrocchis got the keys to the property, it was desperately in need of some TLC. ‘The ground floor was covered in laminate and there was a basketball hoop hanging from one of the posts,’ Elisabeth reveals. ‘The kitchen was cluttered with wall cabinets and it had a low bulkhead ceiling to accommodate the sunken bath in the bathroom above.’