A 750-Square-Foot Apartment in Monza Gets Its Sky-Blue Floors

A 750-square-foot apartment in Monza, Italy, now runs wall to wall in sky-blue resin. Studio Latino, the architecture and design firm founded by Irene Nocerino and Matteo Lattuada, chose the bold color for the floor and let it drive every other decision in the home. The pigment flows without interruption through the hallway and living area, binding separate rooms into one continuous space.

The floor is usually the most overlooked surface in an apartment, a spot to lay out rugs and place furniture. Here it works in the opposite way. The blue resin covers most of the existing floor and transforms a blank surface into the signature element of the home, guiding the eye and setting the rhythm for each room.

The rest of the interior never matches the floor precisely, and that is the point. White, wood tones, red, and pink alternate and play off one another. Red tiles brighten the kitchen. Pink tiles in the bathroom introduce what Studio Latino's scheme delivers as a softer, unexpected touch. The result is a deliberately imperfect balance of contrasts and playful combinations, in which the light-blue floor does much more than cover a surface. As the design team describes it, it brings the sky into the home.

Who lives with the blue?

The residents shaped the character of the project: a young couple passionate about photography, art, and technology, who surround themselves with objects that tell a story without taking themselves too seriously. Their brief allowed the designers to mix iconic pieces with whimsy.

The inventory of the apartment reads like a short history of contemporary design:

• Super Rock rug by Bethan Laura Wood for CC-Tapis
• Swirl rug by Univers Uchronia, also for CC-Tapis
• Lampe de Marseille by Le Corbusier for Nemo Lighting
• Plia chairs by Giancarlo Piretti for Anonima Castelli
• Teddy sofa, a plush piece by OMHU
• Vintage LC4 chaise longue by Cassina
• Custom pieces crafted by local artisans

The blend of design classics, vintage items, and artisanal creations follows no specific rule except one, according to the designers: everything must have personality.

What does this change for small-space design?

The Monza apartment demonstrates that a compact floor plan can carry a single saturated color across its entire footprint without closing the space in. The continuous blue resin works as connective tissue, making distinct rooms feel like part of a single, unified whole. Accents — a pink bathroom, red kitchen tiles, and patterned rugs — meet, contrast, and interact without perfect coordination, and the atmosphere stays cheerful and personal rather than chaotic.

It is a home that embraces color, combines different shapes, and leaves room for a touch of whimsy. Because, as the project suggests, even high design can sometimes simply have some fun.

This article first appeared in AD Italia.