By Simone Bandini
Eleonora Cappellacci, so to speak “daughter of art” – she comes from a family of entrepreneurs in the world of building materials and home furnishings – moves naturally between design, interior design and home staging thanks to her studies and work experience abroad. A brilliant professional is back in the Tiber Valley – and we are happy about it – ready to put her preparation to good use in the area.
“My passion for interior design was born as a child: growing up in an entrepreneurial reality linked to interior design and building materials has been a constant creative incentive for me” – she tells us – “I still remember how much fun I had with the coloured tiles and decorative planks that were fashionable years ago. I played, but without realizing it, I also laid the foundations of my creative sensibility. “Today I carry with me not only that affective memory, but also the entrepreneurial knowledge and the natural inclination for contact with the public that my family has passed on to me: a mentality and a philosophy of life that accompany me in every step I take,” she specifies.
It is the component of dialogue that allows her to design a new environment, to transform it and to ‘refresh’ its image: “The basis on which I build each of my projects is the relationship with the client: the conversation always starts from his ‘needs’. For this reason, in the first phase I do not discuss style or furnishings, but I dedicate myself to careful and scrupulous listening, wanting to interact, observe and understand the wishes of the speaker. I firmly believe that form must always follow function. Interaction with space is not only the starting point, but also the glue that makes an authentic design project possible.”
Her experience abroad has provided the tools to bring innovation even in more traditional contexts, as often happens in the Tuscan territory. Here places preserve a charm and a history that deserve respect, but which can also be enhanced and reinterpreted with a new conception of the perception of space: “My goal, as a professional and as a designer, is precisely this: to harmoniously integrate the experiences gained both in the luxury residential and in the hospitality sector, to give life to engaging and harmonious projects. In every job I always keep this concept in mind: making the most of the potential of an environment, so that it is not only beautiful to look at, but also alive, functional and capable of generating well-being”.
But now we come to Home Staging, a practice that is very widespread abroad and increasingly in demand in Italy as well – which consists precisely in enhancing a property intended for sale or rent, presenting it in a welcoming and functional way with a restyling of the spaces: “I love designing residential environments – also in collaboration with real estate agencies, developing targeted and effective home staging services, able to increase the attractiveness of buildings”.
All this does not simply mean furnishing but also generating atmospheres capable of conveying an immediate feeling: “In a nutshell, making potential customers dream”.
Home staging isn’t just useful for individuals who want to sell or rent out their home – or to manage multiple properties. It is also a strategic tool for real estate agents: it helps them to increase the loyalty of their portfolio, reduce the time a property stays on the market and limit the use of discounts on the sale price. In other words, it makes the intermediation work more fluid and effective, generating satisfaction for both sellers and buyers.
“My personal journey has had a profound impact on the way I work. I lived abroad for a long time and this experience allowed me to open up to different creative ideas, developing a gaze capable of capturing cultural and stylistic nuances and translating them into tailor-made projects. Today I bring this sensitivity to the territory, making myself available not only as a professional and as a creative”.
Another area of great interest is the design of spaces dedicated to tourist rentals, such as bed & breakfasts, holiday homes and apartments: “Here my design approach and my attention to the uniqueness of the environments find fertile ground. In fact, I believe that short-stay spaces represent an extraordinary opportunity to substantially influence the overall guest experience. Every detail, from the colour to the arrangement of the furnishings, becomes part of a story that can transform a simple stay into a vivid and memorable memory, capable of leaving a mark even in those who stay there for only a few days”.
What role did your experience abroad play in defining your professional sensitivity? “Spain, with its vibrant colors and Mediterranean finishes, has influenced my ability to interpret space with freshness and lightness, bringing light and vitality to my projects. The Netherlands, on the other hand, taught me to value the functionality and speed of processes: there, I learned to optimize time and workflows, streamlining the design process and making each phase more performing and efficient. Today I carry this international baggage with me, which allows me to enrich my projects with balance, between creative vision and method. I like to think that what I offer goes beyond the aesthetic or technical aspect: I accompany people on a path that combines culture and sensitivity, in the design of houses that are not only beautiful, but that really know how to tell the story of those who live in them”.
By virtue of her stay outside Italy, Eleonora now feels the desire to also address the international audience that chooses to live or invest in our territory. Tuscany and Umbria, as well as other areas of central Italy, attract more and more ‘foreign’ citizens, who have different needs on how to design and inhabit a space: “My goal is to start an authentic dialogue, offering them not only a design service, but also a true reinterpretation of environments in harmony with the specificities of the territory and with a contemporary and global vision”.
The experience and flexibility gained over the years of working abroad become valuable tools in this context, which allow her to connect two complementary worlds: the local and the international. What? Creating environments that know how to respect the Italian identity but at the same time respond to the expectations and tastes of those who come from other countries: “In a nutshell, I translate the identity of the territory into spaces with a global scope”.
What about the need for a restyling of old properties, or that originates from the desire for new owners: “For me it is an opportunity to reinterpret the environments with a new and bold look. It is not simply a matter of renewing the aesthetics, but of updating the properties in a smart way, enhancing their characteristics and adapting them to new clients, whether it is for a lifestyle choice or for a real estate transaction”.
Thanks to various experiences in design studios, Eleonora has developed a sort of ‘mental catalogue’ that allows her to range naturally between rustic, modern or historical atmospheres: “This professional background allows me to approach each project with great flexibility, choosing a quick and effective method to obtain concrete results, without ever losing sight of the identity of the place”.
“Whether it’s a traditional property or a more neutral space, my goal is always to create a balance between functionality, aesthetics and contemporaneity, giving rooms new energy and an elegant and timeless image,” she concludes.
Info: design@eleonoracappelacci.it / Tel. 331 4772217
