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Livingetc profiles a Milan apartment designed by Gaia Venuti for homeowner Veronica Lafleur, whose residence also serves as a studio and meeting space for her real estate business. The design uses saturated colors, contrasting materials and a pair of Carlo Scarpa sofas as its starting point.
Livingetc has profiled a Milan apartment designed by interior designer Gaia Venuti for real estate entrepreneur Veronica Lafleur, showing how a home can also work as a creative studio and business meeting place. The project combines saturated colors, contrasting materials and furnishings chosen to reflect Lafleur’s new personal and professional phase.
The design began with a pair of Cornaro sofas by Carlo Scarpa for Cassina, upholstered in blue velvet and set on burgundy lacquered structures. Venuti told Livingetc that the contrast between soft upholstery and dark lacquer shaped the direction of the interior. She described the sofas as the home’s “genetic code,” rather than simply furniture selected for one room.
Across the apartment, the palette moves through burgundy cabinetry, dark marble and terrazzo flooring, as well as an ochre-yellow room and a bedroom with lavender-gray walls, chartreuse linen and a silver faux-leather headboard. Venuti said she uses intense color as an accent or to mark specific architectural volumes, and considers proportion important to keeping strong colors from overwhelming a space.
The apartment also accommodates Lafleur’s real estate business, BetterCallVero. A garden-facing work area has natural cork walls, which Venuti said help absorb light and sound, paired with metal furniture. The designer framed the combination of warm cork and cool steel as a deliberate material contrast. Livingetc’s feature includes photography credited to Monica Spezia of Living Inside and identifies GaiaHomeProject as Venuti’s practice.
A Home That Also Hosts Work
The apartment is presented as more than a residential makeover: it serves as Lafleur’s private home, creative studio and business meeting space. That mix makes the design choices relevant to readers considering how a domestic interior can support work without losing a personal character. In the feature, the cork-lined work area and metal furnishings illustrate how the same space can balance a softer, home-like finish with a more utilitarian function.
The project also shows a specific approach to color: rather than applying one strong shade everywhere, Venuti uses color in selected furnishings, surfaces and rooms, with material differences adding another layer. These are the designer’s and homeowner’s accounts of the project, not evidence that the approach is suitable for every home or work setting.
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The Sofas That Set the Palette
According to the Livingetc report, Lafleur and Venuti first met during the closing of a retail property deal. Lafleur recalled noticing the designer’s unusual color combination and said the meeting led to their collaboration. The source describes the apartment as a fresh start for Lafleur; she chose not to bring items from her previous home because she wanted the new space to mark a personal and professional change.
Venuti’s design process, as described in the feature, follows the home’s visual and emotional flow rather than treating every room as an isolated project. The corridor is intended to reveal different color choices as someone moves through the apartment. A moon motif also carries personal meaning for Lafleur, who told Livingetc it represents life’s cycles and transformation.
““The sofas aren’t just furniture — they were the genetic code of the entire home.””
— Gaia Venuti, interior designer, speaking to Livingetc
Project Details Not Provided
The source feature does not provide the apartment’s address, size, renovation budget or completion date. It also does not specify which structural changes, if any, were made, or provide independent assessments of how the materials perform in daily use. The design descriptions and personal interpretations are attributed to Venuti and Lafleur through Livingetc; the report does not include outside commentary or quantified information about the project.
Further Project Information
The source material does not identify a forthcoming renovation phase, public event or additional project announcement. For now, the Livingetc feature is the available account of the apartment’s design, materials and intended uses. Any further details about the property or its construction would need to come from the homeowner, designer or publisher.
Key Questions
Who designed the Milan apartment?
Gaia Venuti, who works under the name GaiaHomeProject, designed the apartment for homeowner Veronica Lafleur, according to Livingetc.
What is the apartment’s main color palette?
The feature describes several combinations, including blue velvet and burgundy lacquer, burgundy cabinetry, an ochre-yellow room, and lavender-gray, chartreuse and silver tones in the bedroom.
Does the apartment also function as a workplace?
Yes. Lafleur told Livingetc that the apartment is her home and creative studio, as well as a meeting space for her real estate business, BetterCallVero.
What inspired the design?
The reported starting point was a pair of Carlo Scarpa Cornaro sofas for Cassina. Their blue velvet upholstery and burgundy lacquered frames helped guide the color and material choices in the rest of the apartment.
Source: livingetc.com
