Rolling Hills luxury residence

Marco Piva

Project Information :
Client : Private citizen
Location : Tirana, Albania, Rolling Hills luxury residential compound.
Intervention : Interior Design, Landscape, Lighting, Styling.
●STUDIO MARCO PIVA (interiors of the main villa, general styling, interface with architecture)
●EGO Architecture di Egest Goxhaj & Partners (landscape, general fit out, guest house)
Photographer : Andrea Martiradonna

Entrance
A house entrance must give the idea of a welcoming reception, ensuring the comforts of daily life, whilst also amazing the guest. In our case, the attention is immediately drawn by two twin products (one on the right, one on the left of the door) realised by the Treviso-based company Capodopera. These are characterized by an intense mustard yellow colour and by a special resin finishing/handmade processing simulating a flow of colour on the doors, making them unique. Once again, the variety of heights of the suspended ceilings has helped the division of the consecutive spaces of the entrance, of the landing and of the living area, without resorting to visual barriers that reduce the perception of space or that could block the view of the landscape.

Living room
The space was initially constituted by one room only. We have succeeded in dividing it visually with a combination of suspended ceilings, to create a more formal part suitable to receive guests, and a more informal area for the family and children leisure.

Formal living room
Overlooking a small, covered balcony and the swimming pool, the formal living room, together with the family one, is the heart of the house, and it is for this reason that the client has decided to embellish it with some of the best artworks of his collection. Above the fireplace, there is a niche hosting a precious armour, which was given as a gift by the king of Italy to the king of Albania. Opposite the conversation area, there is a suspended display case with “metal effect” finishing, realised by Salvioni Arredamenti according to a drawing by Marco Piva. It contains a collection of ceramics and four Cascella’s paintings depicting the Albanian landscape.
The height of the suspended ceiling has been reduced to create a frame, thus giving the sense of a more welcoming and warm environment; and technically to host the air supply and return grilles.

The Family living room
The family living room is, as suggested by its same name, a space for the family, for whom we have intentionally selected large seats where two people (or even three children) can sit together at the same time, such as the Amoenus by Maxalto. We have been exceptionally asked to put a TV in this area, which we have integrated and hidden in a furnishing system by Acerbis International, i.e. the Smartwall.

Dining room
The dining room is in a very suggestive position in the bow-window, rich in windows and views on the external garden. Above the big, round wooden table covered with a layer of Calacatta gold marble, suitable for up to ten people, there is the equally big Italamp’s blown-glass suspended chandelier. A transparency is created with the use of sliding doors, to enable visual communication between the kitchen and the dining room. Very interesting, is the game of reflexions and inclusion created by the two lamps reflecting on the sliding door.

Kitchen
Essential, efficient and elegant: these are the characteristics that define the kitchen, for which we have chosen wood finishing for the columns, and lacquered finishing for the central cooking island, to make them match the dining area directly communicating through the Rimadesio wall with sliding doors.

Guest bedroom 1
Situated on the ground floor, independent and with a bathroom, the guest bedroom has required the designing of a customized headboard capable of serving contemporaneously as headboard, bedside table and wardrobe. The result has been a headboard with a filled and hide-covered central portion, intersected by an almost central niche serving as bedside table, enclosed between two single-door twin wardrobes.

Guest bedroom 2
The second guest bedroom had important architectural restrictions, which have caused us to develop striking and space-saving solutions. In this case, the restrictions were represented by the minimum height, which prevented the use of decorative suspended chandeliers, and by the presence of a ceiling beam and two pillars on the two sides of the room. Therefore, we have thought of a portal with two grooves that includes, on the one side, the bed and, on the other side, a chest of drawers which has strongly customised the interior.

Corridor on the first floor
From the landing, a small passageway leads to the family’s bedrooms. We have tried to give personality and character to this space by painting the walls with the warm colour of the sunset, which can be seen from the small balcony situated on the same floor. Two special, symmetric bookshelves enhance the access to the bedrooms of the three children, who can customize them by bringing a small piece of their room outside.

Master bedroom
The master bedroom has got the best view on the landscape of the whole villa, and for this reason the bed is oriented in such a way as to fully enjoy the view. Behind the bed, we have designed a second wardrobe through a wing coated with a special, metal-effect Elitis wallpaper. A tailor-made bookshelf, designed on the basis of the need to hide the chimney of the fireplace downstairs, completes a reading area furnished with two velvet low armchairs.

Boy’s bedroom
The little boy’s room has been designed to adapt to his evolving needs. An amusing home-shaped structure hosted a small bed some months ago, it hosts now a single bed and, as the little boy grows up, it will host a three-quarter bed. The predominant colours are blue and white, but the wallpaper with its parrots and watches is indubitably the real centre of attention.

Girls’ bedroom
For these two little sisters, we have developed the concept of a symmetric room, in such a way that each of them can have a comfortable bed and a personal desk. Therefore, the room has been ideally divided into two equal parts using two colours, pink and lilac, on the wall behind the bed headboards whose colour is, in turn, opposed to that of the wall.

Staircase
The staircase of the villa leads from the basement to the bedrooms floor and, unlike the rest of the house environments, it is finished with polished Calacatta marble. The double height between the ground floor and the first floor has inspired the choice of a very spectacular chandelier by Luceplan.

Glass balustrade by Faraone with installation and executive design by GLASS POINT STUDIO, owned by Francesco Cosola

Swimming Pool and Outdoor
The swimming pool has been designed with very low initial and final parts to favour the visual image of a very large pool and enable the villa to mirror entirely in the water. Many of the plants were purchased in Italy at Vannucci Piante.

Art gallery
The client owns a large collection of Albanian artworks from different historical periods, including medieval and contemporary artworks. Therefore, it was necessary to create an environment as neutral as possible, to better adapt to the various types of display without interfering with artworks and maintaining their undisputed central role.

Wine Cellar
Custom by Arredo Fab in traditional american matured oak