Italian interior architect Mirta Ottaviani and her partner, construction entrepreneur Augusto Carchella, hadn’t always expected to rent an apartment, much less one in Rome’s Parioli district. “The plan was always to buy a place, but we needed somewhere to stay while we searched for our dream home,” says Mirta, who worked at several interior design studios in Italy and France before setting up her own firm in Rome in 2021. Plan B was leasing an apartment in Piazza Venezia, Rome’s historical city center where Augusto grew up, but none of the flats they visited met their expectations.
No matter—there was always Plan C: renting in nearby Parioli, known for its lush greenery and architecture by greats such as Gio Ponti, Luigi Moretti, and Ugo Luccichenti. Indeed, when they found a 645-square-foot flat in a five-story building (a rarity for this neighborhood, where flats are seldom smaller than 1,400 square feet), they knew it was the one. Before long, they’d locked down the deal and moved into their little rented abode. All that was left to do now was give it a bit of personality—they wanted a calm and cozy burrow for themselves and guests alike.
