HIGH DRAMA

Paolo Castellarin and Didier Bonnin's Milan apartment is filled with the type of spectacle and artistry that deserves a standing ovation

- JULIET BENNING

SITTING ROOM

The porthole windows were a style in the 1930s and have been attributed to the architect Piero Portaluppi. For a similar paint, try Atomic Red by Little Greene

DINING ROOM

An exaggerated variation of a desk lamp, the modern chandelier has a wonderful interplay with the classic ceiling. Moooi Dear Ingo chandelier Saarinen Tulip table by Knoll, source both at Chaplins. Source Eames DSR side chairs by Vitra at Heal's. Sculptural artwork by Luigi Belli

SITTING ROOM

The large 17th-century religious painting of the annunciation evokes the reverence of a church while the modernist furnishings provide a deliberate note of stylish discord. Sofa, Poltrona Frau. Arco lamp by Flos, source at Heal's. Wassily chairs by Knoll, source at Chaplins

The joyful and life-affirming tone of Paolo Castellarin and his husband Didier's Milan turn-of-the century apartment owes much to the restrained lockdowns of the preceding years. We'd been staying in the countryside during the pandemic but returned to find this property on the market and although we weren't looking to move at the time we knew we had to view it,' Paolo recounts. Mesmerized by the four-metre-high coffered ceilings and stucco work, the pair immediately identified its potential. The floor plan had been broken up to provide smaller bedrooms for the two children who had lived here and we realized we could open up the reception rooms and dispense with the corridor to create a more palatial sense of flow, Paolo explains.