India Mahdavi—also known as the ‘queen of colour’—has turned her distinct style to the historic Villa Medici in Rome. Part of a three-year project by the French conservation body Mobilier National and the French Academy in Rome, the interior update follows a refresh of six salons by luxury Italian fashion house Fendi. The 16th-century building has been used by the French Academy in Rome since 1803 and hosts important cultural events and resident programs. Prior to the refresh by Fendi, Villa Medici hadn’t been updated in a couple of decades, with the French Academy in Rome envisioning the overhaul as a way to establish a stronger link between the heritage building and contemporary design.
The Paris-based architect was asked to refresh rooms on the estate’s piano nobile (or ‘noble level’), where the main bedrooms and reception are housed, working on a total of six spaces including the Chamber of the Elements, Chamber of the Muses, and Chamber of the Lovers of Jupiter. Three other rooms—named Debussy, Galileo, and Lili Boulanger after the estate’s most noteworthy guests—formerly used as guest quarters were also worked on.
True to her reputation, Mahdavi has given the spaces a thoughtful, colour-laden update. Featuring beds, tables, seats, and carpets specially designed by Mahdavi for Villa Medici, furniture is positioned to create ideal spots to observe the surrounding heritage; particularly the faithfully restored paintings and frescoes by Jacopo Zucchi and wall decorations by Balthus.
The refresh saw Mahdavi call on artisans across Italy and France. In the Debussy and Galileo bedrooms, the master craftspeople at Maison Craman-Lagarde translated a colour-block pattern by Mahdavi into a four poster bed and matching shelves; while the Chamber of the Muses features sea-green editions of Mahdavi’s Bishop stool sitting alongside a large-scale hand-tufted rug by French workshop Manufacture d’Aubusson Robert Four. Its geometric design recalls the flowerbeds that appear in the Villa’s expansive gardens, rendered in shades of green, purple, red, and rosy pink.
Elsewhere, updates are more subtle. In the Chamber of the Elements and Chamber of the Lovers of Jupiter, furniture is simply shifted and chairs upholstered in raspberry-toned velvet.
Meanwhile, in the Lili Boulanger room, named after the composer, bright yellow armchairs sourced from French conservation agency Mobilier National sit atop a textured blush-pink rug by French manufacturer La Manufacture Coglin, anchored by an octagonal table by Mahdavi.
Mahdavi’s reimagining of the space marks the second chapter of the Re-enchanting Villa Medici project, the third of which will be unveiled later this year.
Words by Theo Rosen
