The owners of this property asked Zanna Designs to create a home with a dramatic interior that was inspired by their travels and perfect for entertaining

Every home is more enjoyable if its design makes a direct and personal connection with the people who live there. A beautiful interior can be even more enjoyable when its elements reflect a personal experience or evoke a particular memory.

Such personal details were very much part of the brief for this spacious house in Hampshire. The clients are very well travelled and the designer, Mery Zanutto of Zanna Designs, has used their international experiences to inform her design. ‘My clients wanted some element of drama combined with the wow factor,’ she says. ‘They travel widely through Europe, South America and Asia and admire the architecture and style of European cities such as Paris and Barcelona. They have international taste and love natural forms and open spaces.’

This brand new, four-bedroom house includes generously proportioned rooms that total 706m2 of living space. At the entrance, 4m-high double doors in oak and glass lead to a triple-height space, where an elliptical oak staircase makes a striking focal point beneath a decahedral skylight with a Murano glass chandelier.

Zanutto was lucky to be involved from an early stage. ‘I was able to interface directly with the architect, which allowed me to radically alter the internal design,’ she says. ‘This was important. I knew my clients wanted a sophisticated yet functional environment because they host dinner parties for up to 25 guests as well as several large social functions a year.’

Zanutto’s inspiration came from Antoni Gaudì’s Park Güell in Barcelona and, in particular, Gaudì’s combination of ‘forms and structures with natural elements and materials to achieve a spectacular effect’. She explains: ‘I did this by introducing curved walls, which are combined ith the dramatic architectural features of the double- and triple-height ceilings. This allowed me to open up the spaces to increase flow and balance in the house, giving a much more tranquil and elegant feel to the space.’

The experience of moving between the rooms on the ground floor has been devised by Zanutto in three separate phases. The first part reminds her clients of the time they spent in Paris. In the entrance hall, two perspective paintings of a beautiful French interior are flanked by nickel hurricane lamps, gracefully positioned in between to create an overall classic feel and adding movement once the candles are lit. ‘This is the first experience of the ground-floor journey,’ says Zanutto. ‘It is informed by the experience that captured my clients’ hearts in Paris, when they visited palaces and other spectacular architectural buildings. The second experience [the drawing room] was intended to enable them to reminisce about the surprising and intriguing beauty of Barcelona. Gaudì’s architectural language and imaginative work are linked with the drama and passion of South America.’ The third phase is experienced in the family room, which is ‘all about… the experience of nature’.

The rooms appear remarkably different by day and by night, producing a striking contrast that should more than satisfy the clients’ demand for drama. Zanutto explains: ‘I have used an intelligent, integrated system to add the drama and contrast that my clients longed for. It uses settings and varied lighting moods.’

More light is added through the introduction of features such as the rectangular, oak-beamed skylight above the master bedroom, which also has doubled-glazed doors that lead to a balcony overlooking the acre of garden.

By day, the palette of fresh and light materials adds to the airy, spacious feel, with white-painted walls reflecting the natural light that pours through the generous glazing. The extensive use of glass opens the design internally and externally towards the garden and surrounding countryside. Natural materials are key to Zanutto’s scheme. ‘I believe working with natural materials and colours gives the client a sense of grounding and helps to create a timeless design,’ she says. ‘For these reasons, I selected Nepal slate, crema marfil marble and oak.’

This scheme has been given considerable thought by Zanutto, who has worked hard to deliver the clients’ brief. She has created a project that feels homely despite its scale. It is a home that will impress guests with its dramatic ambition while also making them feel welcome.

This article was first published in idfx Magazine.