Over the course of Milan design week, architecture and design studio Dimorestudio transformed its gallery into “a dreamlike space” filled with lighting, furniture and textiles shrouded in plumes of smoke.
Dimorestudio founders Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci wanted the interiors to help visitors forget the difficult years of the coronavirus pandemic and instead evoke “hope and joy”.
Tucked away in a cobbled courtyard in the city’s Brera district, the hazy space was also informed by its name: oublié translates from French to “to forget” in English.
Upon entering the second floor of a nineteenth-century apartment turned gallery, visitors are met with classical music playing softly.
As they walk through the eight interconnected rooms, smoke is blown throughout, making the interior hazy and dusty.
“This year, the name of our exhibition Oublié is a clear message for our visitors: forget the past two years and embrace our poetic vision of hope and joy through the installation,” Moran told Dezeen.
“Visitors will find themselves in a dreamlike space where time stands still, where rays of light are cast through half-closed shutters and a soft haze accompanies the movement.”
The studio chose a neutral colour palette of muted beiges, browns and ivory white for the space, which the studio used for a previous installation at Milan design week 2017. Splashes of gold can be found in the lighting while the doors are painted silver.
“The space has undergone a radical change following its transformation: the warm-toned, enveloping walls have become pure, immaculate and almost celestial,” explained Salci.
To add to the dreamlike atmosphere, Dimorestudio played with light. Opting to avoid technical lights, the space is instead lit by lamps such as the Belle de Jour table lamp and the Abatjour lamp. Meanwhile, natural light pours through the open windows.
“We decided to avoid the technical lights in order to have a more natural and cosy atmosphere with ambience light.”
“We closed our shutters in order to reduce the natural summer light that in addition to the smokey atmosphere, create this oublié – forgotten environment.”
Oublié captures the studio’s signature aesthetic which it describes as “nostalgic” yet contemporary through an eclectic mix of the brand’s permanent collection and new pieces such as a chair and a floor lamp.
Previously the studio has applied its distinctively opulent aesthetic to a London art gallery and a shop in Paris that features textiles in three-dimensional patterns draped across the storefront.
The photography is by Paolo Abate.
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