Surrounded by vineyards of Sangiovese grapes and olive groves just a few miles from Vinci (birthplace of the famous Leonardo) is a little earthly paradise where visitors can get back in touch with nature, enjoying breath-taking views of the Tuscan landscape: it is The Olive Grove in Tuscany, a farmhouse of modern design converted into a holiday location.
The farmhouse - created by redeveloping an old late 19thC wine cellar - has been designed to be subdivided into three apartments, two intended to accommodate holidaymakers - “La Tinaia” and “La Cantina” - and one as the owners’ home, called “L’Uliveta”.
All three apartments partially break with the rustic style typical of Tuscan farmhouses to embrace more contemporary aesthetics such as boho-industrial and Nordic-country. As a result, the floor and wall coverings chosen are more high-performing and trendy, including porcelain stoneware: the result is a tasteful, timeless interior design scheme in relaxing, neutral colors.
La Tinaia is characterised by floors in Ragno Ceramiche custom bleached oak-effect porcelain stoneware (also used to cover the kitchen backsplash) and white, Nordic-inspired furniture. There are also vintage features, such as antique furniture including the table and the splendid wrought iron bedhead in one of the bedrooms, salvaged from a late 19thC bedstead found in the winery’s lumber room. However, the most impressive design feature is in the bathroom: the cement tile-effect 20x20 cm tiles of the Ottocento collection, with Talco Tappeto 7 decor, give an old-fashioned air to the shower area, while the washbasin zone is finished with the same collection in a solid-color variant.
The Scandinavian and Tuscan moods also blend to perfection in the owners’ apartment on the first floor - L’Uliveta - thanks to the furnishings and fittings, especially in the kitchen, finished with Ottocento stoneware cement tiles in the Talco Decoro Mix variant on both the floor and the backsplash. The Ottocento collection, in the Tappeto 4 and solid-color Cobalto versions, provides the linking feature and also dominates the interior design of the bathroom, the perfect backdrop for highlighting the vintage bathtub with claw feet.
In the La Cantina apartment, on the other hand, the mood is much more industrial, echoing the hand-built brickwork arch: here the coverings and furnishings are in darker colors, with a more “masculine” air.
Each of the three apartments has an outdoor space - two verandas and a terrace - all paved with natural-looking porcelain stoneware which resembles the local “pietra serena” sandstone: the material used is the Stoneway Ardesia collection in 30x60 cm size in Grigio finish and Structured version, high-performing and resistant to thermal shocks and frost, making it ideal for outdoor installation.
Ph: Leo Bastreghi
