Frari
Apartment

This flat was bought in 2013, for 8 months I had been scanning Venice, visited 50 flats and at last I found what I was looking for. The first time, when I opened the entrance door I was overwhelmed by a view that I had not expected: in front of me the Gothic church of the Frari and the campo surrounded by beautiful buildings. I was a spectator of a magnificent picture! The dining room and one of the two bedrooms enjoy the same spectacular views with a slightly different perspective. Also the back of the flat enjoys a good view of a wide and airy campiello and you can see the internal courtyard of palazzo Zen.

A famous French writer lived in this apartment for over ten years. She told me that unwillingly she had to go back to Paris because her job is to write books about people, but she liked living in this flat so much that she never went out and lost touch with the people. She preferred to watch from the large windows everything that was happening in the campo, "like being at the theatre". Before her the flat was occupied by a German gentleman who invented table games. I have noticed that those who come here say that they feel well in this place, I like to think that it is a reflection of the positive energy of the people who lived here before.

Interior design is one of my passions and in this case I had to make sure that the external view was predominant. As time goes by I have become more and more tired of the fake style of the 1700s you see everywhere, I wanted to do something different but still using Venetian features. I wanted to give a new life to pieces of furniture that had already a story of their own. The French lady had left me sone Murano chandeliers and two pieces of furniture in wood as dark as the doors. I started to paint the walls and the doors white and to stencil the two pieces of furniture with the skyline of Venice Grand Canal in 1700s. I transformed the chandeliers into upright lamps.I reupholstered the settees like the old fashioned mattresses, in fine natural linen, brightened by orange cushions. I enlarged a photo that I had taken of water reflections and put it under glass and there it was, transformed in a small table between the settees. I bleached an old Persian rug and dyed it into a pink salmon colour, I also put a few pieces of antiques here and there to give warmth to the ambience. I built the two sitting room lamps like two clouds of white material and for a more intimate light there are the Murano lamps.

I like to sit on the small terrace sipping prosecco and watching the sunset through the old glass windows of the church. I can understand the French writer, this flat charms you and you do not feel like going out. The light is incredible in this flat, a very difficult feature to find in Venice where the houses are close to each other and you can hardly ever see the sun. The flat is south facing and this is why the large red canvas blinds are indispensable. Every room has air conditioning.