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Livingetc has published a feature on a Milan apartment designed by Gaia Venuti for real estate entrepreneur Veronica Lafleur. The home combines bold color and contrasting materials, and also serves as Lafleur’s workplace and meeting space for her business.
Livingetc has featured a Milan apartment designed by interior designer Gaia Venuti for real estate entrepreneur Veronica Lafleur, presenting a home where bold color, mixed materials and daily work share the same space. Lafleur says the apartment was created as a personal and professional fresh start; it is also used as a studio and meeting place for her real estate business, BetterCallVero.
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 fabric and dark, firm lacquer helped guide the rest of the interior. She described the sofas as the home’s “genetic code,” making them more than a furnishing choice in the design concept.
From that starting point, the apartment brings together burgundy cabinetry, dark marble and terrazzo flooring, alongside rooms in ochre, lavender-gray and chartreuse. Venuti said she uses strong colors either as accents or to define specific architectural volumes. Her approach, as described in the feature, treats movement through the apartment as a sequence of visual shifts rather than a collection of rooms designed in isolation.
The work area overlooks a garden and has natural cork walls, which Venuti said absorb light and sound. She paired the warm, textured surface with metal furniture, including steel elements. In the bedroom, lavender-gray walls sit with chartreuse linen and a silver faux-leather headboard. Lafleur said she wanted the room to evoke peace, energy and positivity. The feature credits photography to Monica Spezia and Living Inside.
A Home That Also Hosts Work
The apartment’s design is tied to how Lafleur says she uses it: as a private residence, creative studio and business meeting space. That combination makes the layout and finishes relevant beyond appearance. The cork-lined work area, for example, is described as serving both tactile and acoustic purposes, while metal furniture sets it apart visually from the warmer wall treatment.
The project also offers a specific account of how a designer translated a client’s goals into a home. Lafleur described wanting a fresh start that reflected her identity, while Venuti said she approached the interior through emotional transitions and color relationships. Those are the designer and homeowner’s stated intentions; the source does not provide independent evaluation of how the apartment performs as a workplace or how it affects its occupants.
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The Design Starts With Sofas
Venuti, who works under the name GaiaHomeProject, and Lafleur met during the closing of a retail property deal, according to the Livingetc feature. Lafleur recalled noticing the designer’s unusual color combination and said the encounter led to their collaboration. The article does not give a date for the meeting or for the apartment’s completion.
Lafleur said she chose not to bring belongings from her previous home into the apartment, describing the decision as part of a new personal and professional phase. The source presents this as a deliberate choice by the homeowner, rather than as a general design recommendation. It also reports that the apartment’s palette and materials were developed around the Scarpa sofas, with the designer using contrasts in color, texture and finish across the other spaces.
““I wanted this space to represent a complete fresh start, both personally and professionally.””
— Veronica Lafleur, homeowner
Project Details Not Reported
The Livingetc feature does not state when the apartment was designed or completed, its location within Milan, its size, or the project’s budget. It also does not provide a full inventory of the materials, furnishings or makers beyond the named sofas and selected details. The account relies on comments from Lafleur and Venuti and does not include independent assessments of the design or the apartment’s work functions.
While the article describes the apartment as a residence and work space for BetterCallVero, it does not say how often the business uses the home for meetings, whether clients visit regularly, or whether any areas are dedicated exclusively to business activity.
Further Project Information
The source presents the apartment as a completed home tour and does not announce a new project milestone or future development. Readers seeking more detail can consult the original Livingetc feature, which includes photographs credited to Monica Spezia and Living Inside. No additional timeline or follow-up for the apartment’s design has been reported in the supplied material.
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 used for?
Alongside serving as Lafleur’s private residence, the home is described as a creative studio and a meeting space for her real estate business, BetterCallVero.
What inspired the apartment’s design?
Venuti said a pair of Carlo Scarpa-designed Cornaro sofas, made for Cassina, provided the design’s starting point. Their blue velvet and burgundy lacquer informed the palette and material contrasts elsewhere.
What colors and materials appear in the home?
The feature describes burgundy, ochre, lavender-gray and chartreuse, with materials including velvet, lacquer, dark marble, terrazzo, cork and metal.
When was the apartment completed?
The supplied Livingetc report does not give a completion date or publication date.
Source: livingetc.com
