The renowned Italian design studio Dimorestudio has completed a spectacular ten-year renovation of a Georgian apartment in London's prestigious Eaton Square, transforming what the designers described as a "very real estate" box into a multi-layered interior that feels like a film set designed by Federico Fellini. The 4,300-square-foot first-floor residence, located in the heart of Belgravia, now showcases an extraordinary collection of Italian vintage furniture, rare lighting fixtures, and custom pieces from the studio's own Dimoremilano line. The project began serendipitously when the client discovered Dimorestudio online while searching for a specific light fixture, a small spark that ignited a decade-long collaboration resulting in one of London's most talked-about residential interiors. The apartment, with its stucco facades and classical moldings, bears few traces of its British heritage beyond the architecture itself, having been completely reimagined through an Italian lens.
Eaton Square's storied history provided a rich backdrop for the transformation, having housed figures ranging from former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in the 1920s and 1930s to composer Andrew Lloyd Webber in more recent decades. The address even appears in James Bond novels as the fictional home of the spy's superior, M. Yet Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci, the duo behind Dimorestudio, deliberately avoided referencing these British associations, instead creating what they call a "diffuse italianità" that draws from multiple eras and regions of Italy. The renovation faced numerous challenges, including strict planning regulations from the Grosvenor Estate, which owns most of Eaton Square, and pandemic-related delays that stretched the timeline to nearly a decade. Throughout this period, the designers relied on their network of handpicked Italian craftsmen to execute their vision with meticulous attention to detail.
The interior's design philosophy centers on creating curated moments of beauty through the careful juxtaposition of pieces from different periods. In the dining room, a massive, multicolored Venini chandelier serves as the dramatic centerpiece, while Murano glass rods arranged in rainbow hues conceal half the ceiling, creating clouds of colored light. The entry features rare Barovier & Toso wall sconces with Murano glass leaves, and a 1955 Fontana Arte pendant in pink and mirrored glass hangs in another space. Five Pietro Chiesa lamps appear throughout, alongside other midcentury treasures. Moran and Salci's own Dimoremilano pieces, including a pierced screen and a cabinet in the dining area's lounge corner, blend seamlessly with these vintage finds. The designers' ability to combine midcentury modernism with contemporary elements creates a timeless quality that defies easy categorization.
Color plays a crucial role in the apartment's transformation, with green serving as a unifying thread inspired by Tuscan Renaissance painter Giorgio Vasari. Salci, who grew up in Tuscany and gained early experience in his father's furniture showroom in Arezzo, explains that their aesthetic is less Milanese and more Tuscan in spirit. This influence manifests in subtle green tones throughout the textiles, furniture, and decorative details. In the living room, an antique Chinese embroidery is framed by hand-painted Fromental wallpaper, which is then surrounded by Sikkens wall paint in a matching hue. An anonymous Italian 1950s armchair has been reupholstered in Dedar velvet, while a Luigi Caccia Dominioni floor lamp for Azucena stands nearby. A vintage sideboard by Pierluigi Colli and a custom Dimoremilano mirror-screen complete the layered composition.
The bedroom continues the cinematic narrative with a custom headboard and Wall&Decò wallpaper, while the dressing room features bespoke rattan-covered wardrobes. In the marble guest bathroom, an Osvaldo Borsani mirror and Woka wall light create a sophisticated vignette. The kitchen showcases Dimoremilano's 047 chandelier over the island, surrounded by 1960s bar stools by Johannes Andersen. Throughout the space, Moran and Salci have created what they describe as "dramatic visual moments" that make the interior feel like a film set. This theatrical quality was perfected in their recent Milan Furniture Fair installation with Loro Piana, where visitors queued for hours to experience their fictional 1970s-80s residence complete with a curated soundtrack. When asked if they would design actual film sets, Moran responded enthusiastically, "Definitely, if we're asked," suggesting this may be the next evolution for a studio that has already mastered the art of narrative-driven interior design.
