“My bedroom is the casket
of the objects I collect”

My name is Manuela and I’m responsible for the MarieClaire Italia website. My (creative) office is in Chiasso – in the Swiss hub of Hearst Digital, but I’ve been living in Milan for years – my noisy Milan – after moving from a village of the poisonous Brianza.

My house is an apartment in the center, in an old building of the ’30s. Tall window-doors, parquet everywhere, tiles ‘70s style.

My favorite room is the bedroom, because in the last ten years it has also been the study of a couple of artists and the ballroom for parties. It is the casket of all the objects I collect, very different from each other but that, together, are harmoniously perfect in the wall-mounted wardrobe (that – it is incredible how it can host more and more items every year!).

When I travel for work, I have to tell the truth, I miss my bedroom. Or rather, I miss what I see from my bed: a wall entirely covered with posters, photographs and paintings. Of course, I miss it less if alternatively I’m in a hotel room with a sea view …

But hey, even the living room is important! For me, the living room must always have a warm, never invasive light. And be pervaded by surfaces that you would touch for hours: tables, chairs, but also fabrics. And a round acoustics. This is what makes me feel well. Ah and then there must be a hyper-comfortable sofa that can become an alcove in any season.

If they asked me what I could NEVER miss in my house, I would answer: a sideboard with a strictly vintage office lamp, in the hallway – so that I can feel happy as soon as I cross the threshold; a round table and a micro-zone for relaxed breakfasts in the kitchen; and small different bedside tables with industrial lamps in the sleeping area (no abat-jour!).

I must admit, however, that every now and then my house also becomes my office – perhaps a little more than sometimes. The bed turns into a desk with a not too good but very practical knees-pc holder, and then I have my office chair: a typical barber chair. High-performance Wi-Fi and a desk facing the window in order to switch on artificial light only if needed.

But when I do not work, I try to relax as much as possible within the walls of my Home … I invite friends for dinner and I like to continue cooking while they have arrived and uncork the wine.

After ten years my home is a world. I have many, many memories that have blossomed here, between this kitchen and the living room. Here they lived – even if for very little, or little or for a long time – all the most important people in my life.