Casa Flora holiday flat in Venice Casa Flora is a short-term rental that emulates the feel of a boutique hotel and inserts contemporary design into a traditional Venetian house. The apartment was designed by Diego Paccagnella, but more than 20 Italian companies produced custom furniture for the Casa Flora. "Casa Flora is the result of these two worlds coming together, hospitality and custom design," said Paccagnella. "The final outcome is a place that didn't exist before in the lagoon, one that challenges traditional hospitality models and uses design to foster sustainable tourism." Interior designer Laura Sari and architect Matteo Ghidoni helped realise it. Traditional Venetian materials in the apartment include Murano glass by Salviati, treated briar wood by Xilia and textiles by Rubelli.TM Italia crafted a kitchen island with a green stone top, intended to recall historic palazzi facades and church alters. The heavy countertop is held up by a broad, light-blue-painted cylinder on one side and more spindly legs on the other – giving it a contemporary finishing touch. In the bedrooms, designers have married traditional parquet floors, dark-wood-framed windows and old fireplaces with lightweight contemporary furniture designs like coloured metal tables and clothes rails by Mingardo, and 3D-printed lamps by Alessandro Zambelli. For the interior design, Sari and Ghidoni focused on putting a new spin on traditional Venetian materials, like palladiana terrazzo – a common flooring in local houses, used here in the toilets. source yatzer