It's a furry ascent to victory this week, as this absurd staircase wins the Loves vote for Dan Thawley
With interior decoration, you only really have two choices. You can head down the minimalist route, all clean lines, making that tough choice between duck egg or magnolia, subtly striped sofas, Tate prints on the walls. Or you can go marvellously over the top, and create a home that is entirely unique – and potentially unsellable. At AnOther, there are a lot of house moves going on, a lot of people on the hunt for interiors inspiration, which have, perhaps, inspired the latest Love of the Week – the startling fur-clad staircase from Gio Ponti’s Lo Scarabeo sotto la Foglia house in Malo, Italy, which has won the Loves vote for A Magazine Curated By editor-in-chief Dan Thawley.
Created for Giobatta Meneguzzo in 1969, the “Beetle under the Leaf” house was a collaboration between owner and architect, with Ponti working on it for free in return for Meneguzzo’s total trust and investment. The interiors were designed by Nanda Vigo, and extend from this sumptuous spiral staircase, with matching fur-clad sofa set, to textured, white surfaces and glass walls that sectioned off the space – the ideal, serene setting for Meneguzzo’s extensive art collection. While this is on the extreme end of the adventurous interiors spectrum, this unusual design's victory in the Lovers vote is a happy nod to the notion that homes needn’t be all about practicality – although it’s hard to find any downside to an eternally cosy descent down the stairs.
So as we look into the logistics, we ask Thawley for his staircase inspirations alongside a gallery of the best in eccentric interiors.
Why did you love this staircase?
I love this staircase because it is a truly exceptional piece of modern design, as absurd as it is beautiful.
Where would you put it if you owned it?
Right where it belongs, in that spectacular Gio Ponti house.
What would you be wearing to make your entrance down the stairs?
Well, I'd start with bare feet to enjoy the warm stairs, perhaps with a pair of slippers always waiting at the end?
What's your favourite furry item – faux or real?
I have an old Maison Martin Margiela scarf in brown rabbit that does the rounds in the winter months.
What would be your perfect place for the staircase to lead to?
A similarly furry bedroom, obviously – ready to hibernate. Otherwise a Faraway Tree-style otherworld would be just fine.
Carpet, runner or wooden floor?
Everything in its right place. Wooden floors with a Joan Miró carpet, perhaps.
Where is your favourite staircase?
I love the Daru staircase in the Louvre in Paris, where the Wings of Samothrace overlooks the Greek sculpture galleries.
What are you looking forward to about autumn?
Besides escaping it by heading to the Southern Hemisphere, i will look forward to showing Paris to my father who is visiting from Sydney.
What was the last thing you bought?
Yang Li's double-face zipneck pullover with contrast woolly sleeves.
