Flooring is one of the key elements for an interior designer and Palladiana is one of the great solutions

Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan, with a beautiful Palladiana flooring 

Elegant, adaptable and timeless this type of flooring works perfectly in different scenarios, from an interior design for a beach villa in Miami to a chalet in St. Moritz.

Palladiana flooring is a re-interpretation of the typical Ancient Roman Opus incertum construction technique. Thanks to the architect Andrea Palladio, it became widespread during the 16th century. Irregular-shaped slab pieces are used to form the floor, generally no wider than 15/20 cm and 2/3 cm thick.

Often the pieces are made by slabs offcuts making the technique also a way to make the project more eco friendly.

Merging an existing Palladiana flooring with a new one, in our interior design project in Milan 

The flooring is laid one by one by hand

Following a particular technique on how to place the different shapes. Normally the corners of the pieces are hammered in order to avoid sharp edges and straight lines.

Once the pieces have all been laid on a levelled surface, usually a concrete slab, these needs to be sealed.

Preparing the marble pieces for the Palladiana flooring

The grout to seal the flooring can be of any colour, and here the interior designer can choose a colour that contrast with the marble, or that bind with it creating a more subtle effect.

Different type of marbles can be used, making the options endless, and becoming a great technique to specify for the best interior designers.

Finished Palladiana flooring 

The final effect is a flooring that will help to create great interior design landscapes, with a floor that every time you look at it will look different to the eye.

We have used this technique in one of our best interior design project in Milan, creating an elegant and refined interior design landscape.

The existing Palladiana flooring from the ’60s, formed by elegant marble pieces of Marmo Rosso di Verona, Botticino, Portoro… and many other beautiful pieces, have been preserved.

We have then opted to use the same technique throughout the open space, merging a more ‘neutral’ Palladiana.

The new flooring is composed by Bianco Carrara and Grigio Bardiglio to name only a few, and the original Palladiana pieces flow into the new ones, creating  balanced and elegant interiors, where the new elements enhance the beauty of the past.

© RotaGiorgino – Interior Designers and Architects in London – Dubai – Milan 

Starbucks Milano Roastery picture, courtesy of Starbucks