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A Livingetc report profiles a Milan apartment designed by Gaia Venuti for real estate entrepreneur Veronica Lafleur. The feature highlights burgundy-and-blue sofas, bold color in different rooms, and a home office used for Lafleur’s business.
Interior designer Gaia Venuti has designed a Milan apartment for real estate entrepreneur Veronica Lafleur, using vivid color and contrasting materials in a home that also functions as a studio and workplace. A Livingetc feature describes how a pair of blue velvet and burgundy-lacquer sofas served as a starting point for the design.
The apartment’s palette and material choices take cues from the Cornaro sofas, designed by Carlo Scarpa for Cassina. Venuti says the contrast between their soft blue velvet and firm lacquered structure captured Lafleur’s personality. The designer calls the sofas the home’s “genetic code,” a starting point for choices elsewhere in the apartment.
Venuti describes thinking about emotional transitions and visual flows between rooms. Burgundy cabinetry, dark marble and terrazzo appear alongside an ochre-yellow room and other distinct color combinations. She says she uses strong hues as accents or to define particular architectural volumes, and notes that proportion is important when working with color. She also says tactile contrast can prevent color from feeling flat.
The residence also accommodates Lafleur’s professional life: it is her home, creative studio and a meeting space for BetterCallVero, her real estate business. In a garden-facing work area, natural cork walls sit beside metal furniture. The bedroom combines lavender-gray walls, chartreuse linen and a silver faux-leather headboard in a palette the source describes as restful.
A Home Designed for Work and Rest
The feature describes the apartment as Lafleur’s private residence, creative studio, workplace and meeting space for her business. In a garden-facing work area, cork walls sit alongside metal furniture; Venuti says the cork absorbs light and noise.
The feature also presents Venuti’s approach to color and materials through her comments about emotional transitions, visual flows and tactile contrasts. Its descriptions offer readers examples of the palettes and finishes used in different areas of the apartment, including burgundy cabinetry, dark marble, terrazzo and an ochre-yellow room.
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The Sofas That Set the Palette
Lafleur and Venuti met while a retail property deal was closing, according to Livingetc. Lafleur recalled that the designer wore a color combination she would not have imagined putting together, but that it worked. That encounter led to their collaboration on the apartment.
Lafleur chose not to bring objects from her previous home into the new residence. She described the decision as part of a personal and professional fresh start. The moon, which she says represents life cycles and transformation, is another personal reference in the home. The source does not give a location more specific than Milan or provide details about the property’s size, cost or renovation timeline.
“The sofas aren’t just furniture — they were the genetic code of the entire home.”
— Gaia Venuti, interior designer
Project Details Not Reported
The source is an interiors feature, not a technical account of the project. It does not state when the apartment was completed, how long the work took, what it cost, or whether the space underwent structural renovation. It also does not provide measurements or a full inventory of the furnishings and finishes.
The article presents the design rationale through comments from Venuti and Lafleur, but does not include independent assessments of how the apartment performs as a workplace or how its materials hold up over time. Those questions remain outside the scope of the reported feature.
No Further Project Milestone Given
Livingetc’s report does not announce a forthcoming renovation phase, sale or other next step for the apartment. It describes the residence as Lafleur’s private home, creative studio, workplace and a meeting space for her business. The source does not specify any future changes to the property or developments in the designer-client collaboration.
The feature describes a design organized around strong color, tactile contrasts and Lafleur’s need for a place that serves as both a residence and a setting for work.
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 inspired the apartment’s color scheme?
A pair of blue velvet and burgundy-lacquer Cornaro sofas, designed by Carlo Scarpa for Cassina, served as the design’s starting point. Venuti says their contrast informed the rest of the home.
Does the apartment also function as an office?
Yes. Lafleur told Livingetc that the apartment is her private residence, creative studio and a meeting space for BetterCallVero, her real estate business.
Why did Lafleur leave her previous home’s belongings behind?
Lafleur said she wanted the apartment to represent a fresh start personally and professionally, so she chose not to bring items from her previous life into the home.
Source: livingetc.com
