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Casa Olivo

A lakeside house where sage tones, lime plaster and pale oak dissolve the boundary toward the olive grove.

Casa Olivo interior opening toward the olive grove

Brief & objectives

A family retreat above the lake, used across three generations and every season. The clients asked for interiors that would defer to the landscape without disappearing into it.

The existing house was sound but introverted: small openings, dark floors, rooms that turned their back on the garden.

  • Reorient the main rooms toward the grove and the water
  • Use lime plaster and pale oak to hold the changing lake light
  • Furnish for three generations: robust, comfortable, unprecious

Process

  1. 01

    The site

    A season of visits mapped how light, wind and family life actually moved through the house.

  2. 02

    Openings

    Three enlarged openings and one new loggia rebalanced the plan around the garden.

  3. 03

    Calibration

    Plaster samples were left on site for a month to be judged under every weather before committing.

Studies & material

Material and colour mood boardFloor plan studyConcept sketches

From the client

“The house finally breathes with the garden. Even winter feels generous now.”

Famiglia Bassi — Homeowners, Lake Como