Marialaura Rossiello of Studio Irvine transformed Swedish photographer Mikael Jansson's ancient Pienza farmhouse into a living art installation — the first MATTEOBRIONI Bespoke project, where the Wabi effect was born by mixing clay with black soap and lime putty across rooms in Sienese earth tones.
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about this project
On the outskirts of Pienza, the ancient farmhouse of renowned Swedish photographer Mikael Jansson has been transformed into a livable art installation. This marks the first Bespoke project by MATTEOBRIONI, “co-designed” with the clients and Studio Irvine to give shape to a specific vision: the desire for a home that lives through memory and time. For over a year, the farmhouse underwent extensive chromatic and material research aimed at reconstructing a “lived-in,” vintage atmosphere close to the poetic style of Axel Vervoordt, yet deeply rooted in the Sienese territory—featuring custom colors ranging from woody browns to the ochre of local stone.
This project served as the “laboratory” where the Wabi effect was officially born, blending clay plaster with the black soap of Tadelakt or the lime putty of Marmorino. Each room features a different hue, harmonizing with the antique doors Mikael collected from flea markets across Europe, from Parma to Amsterdam. The walls feature MB Terra Natural Wabi fine-grained clay plaster in Melograno, Caffè, Vinaccia, and Zenzero, interspersed with the delicate MB Storia Smooth clay and lime plaster in Panna.
This material continuity extends to the staircase, where MB Materia Wall Smooth mineral finish in Panna coats both stairs and walls. For the flooring, the choice fell on MB Terra Floor Bespoke in Panna, a clay and bi-component resin coating, while the bathroom floors feature a bespoke MB Tecnica Floor Velvet mineral finish system in the enveloping shade of Cannella.
Photography: Mikael Jansson et al.
In real spaces
