External floors Colognola ai Colli, Verona

We start with Marco and Mara, a couple with children at the end of the renovation of their house in the province of Verona, ready to tick off the last item on the list: the external floor. As with all renovations, the external flooring comes at the end of any work inside the house, after the bathrooms have been done and the living room, kitchen and bedrooms have been furnished. As a rule, I often see people underestimate the importance of a well-kept exterior. They don't focus on details or aesthetics too much, but try to bring home a functional element quickly.

I experience exteriors a little differently, and Mara and Marco noticed it too. They arrived at the Gambellara site with just one recommendation for me: porphyry flooring. They then gave me carte blanche. Before designing the exterior, I went with Antonio, our site manager for outdoor paving, to assess the base on which we would have to work. We found two critical points:

1. The thickness of the substrate was less than necessary for laying a classic porphyry outdoor floor, but we soon solved this by opting for a lowered porphyry;
2. The gas pipe surrounding part of the house was placed at different heights and would have prevented the creation of a uniform skirting board, so I noted that I would have to include a skirting board shaped on the gas pipe in the project.

Having found the problems and their solutions, and having taken measurements on site, I was ready to move on to the next step.

After assessing the problems of the exterior and listening to the client's requests, I then started to design. I wanted the exterior to respect the house and frame it properly. The beautiful structure they had recently renovated had to stand out. The flooring I was going to create with my team had to keep up with a house that, although apparently simple, showed character: from the choice of coloured window frames, to the stone frames of the windows, to the renovated interior, nothing was taken for grantes, and so the external flooring also had to show personality.

I proposed two solutions to Mara and Marco: the first was fairly simple, with a criss-cross pattern river pebbles, and the second was more unusual, with a wider use of white Prun stone. They have already made a choice, but what would you have chosen?

Marco and Mara opted for the second solution! For them it was much more interesting, dynamic, unique and in line with the country-chic style they wanted to give to the house. We are therefore in a situation where porphyry, pebbles and Prun stone are mixed to give added value to the house, without forgetting practicality.

Classic materials such as those chosen risk being trivialised in the design of outdoor floors. It is usual to see them in a full field, without any particular detail, used as an immediate filler without properly assessing the important visual impact of the outdoor flooring on the final appearance of the house. So here we tried to use every natural material in an innovative way, to recreate movement and distinctiveness.

In addition, we have taken care of the lighting of the external floor, inserting spotlights on the floor as per the project. The couple particularly appreciate the atmosphere created in the evening once all the lights are on! Definitely good company during summer barbecues with friends and family.

Cubed porphyry, naturally varied in colour, is used as a starting point. On the side of the house, it is laid in a straight and staggered pattern, while the centre of the square is laid with a diagonal line that makes it more dynamic. Porphyry in a squared version is then used to delicately frame the central body of the external floor.

Prun stone outlines the driveway and establishes the shape of the square in its two variants: brushed and polished. The alternation of the stone in the two formats and two finishes certainly makes the view more interesting, less obvious.

Last but not least: the cobblestones. River pebbles, drowned in cement mortar, welcome us at the entrance to the gate and establish the four corners of the back of the house. A purely decorative function which, together with the Prun stone, makes this exterior so attractive in its essentiality.

Mara reminds me of how poetic she found my story during the planning stage: "You were telling us about this external floor like a poem, telling us what it would be like as if it were an adventure!". Perhaps it was a nice way of saying that I had been particularly long-winded, but on the other hand, she tells me that she enjoyed this lengthy ramble about what their exterior would be and the motivations behind each choice.

She confides in me how nice it was for her to see me "taken" by the project and to feel the beauty of a job full of passion, attention to detail and creativity aimed at making their home more beautiful. So, you know, if you're going to be dealing with me I'll probably take a long time to talk to you about the emotions connected with your project: an outdoor floor is not just a simple flooring, it represents the frame of your home, the business card that the walls of your house present to those who pass by and those who come to visit, arousing beautiful feelings and curiosity.

This floor was not just one of the many things that had to be done to finish renovating the house, but today it is the backdrop for the whole family's summer evenings, the first thing that Marco and Mara see when they come home from work, a small, intimate, personal corner of paradise where they can sit and take a long, quiet breath.

First of all we would like to thank Marco and Mara: thank you for entrusting us with the design of your exterior and allowing us to share it with others! You have created a little corner of paradise behind the house.

Thank you to the team of installers who have been embarking with me for years on increasingly ambitious and convoluted projects! Without good hands, nothing we design would become reality.

Finally, thank you for reading the whole article! I hope you enjoyed it and that it inspired you. If you have any doubts or questions you can write to me below using the comments box. If, on the other hand, you would like to make an appointment to design your exterior or your home, use the form below. We will be happy to accompany you on this journey, putting all the creativity we have into it!

Keep in mind, however, that we are a small company, a team of interior designers. We like to find the right solutions and work with the most beautiful and newest products, preferring Made in Italy to everything else, so it is difficult for us to use cheap products because we provide a series of services that are "included in the price" including consultancy, design, inspections...

If you think we are right for you and you live (or will live) in the provinces of Verona and Vicenza, you can visit us in our shops and start transforming your home.

Here are the addresses of our shops specialising in floors, walls, bathrooms and kitchens: