Some homes are designed around floor plans. Others are designed around memories. Tucked away in the historic centre of Caserta in southern Italy, Casa Egle has one of those rare interiors where sentiment shapes every square metre.
A Small Space Reimagined
Once a modest 45m² storeroom, the compact home has been reimagined by architect and designer Gae Avitabile into an intimate retreat that feels like the careful preservation of a life that’s well lived. The project started with a collection. Over decades, Egle gathered furniture, heirlooms, flea-market discoveries, and travel souvenirs – each carrying its own history.
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Original herringbone terracotta flooring anchors the home with warmth, having been meticulously restored. The compact kitchen is a celebration of creative reuse, vintage pieces transform everyday living into something deeply personal. Crisp white walls and ceilings keep the small footprint feeling more open, while deep green panelling and matching door frames introduce some rhythm and definition throughout the rooms. The restrained palette allows the home’s collected objects to calmly command attention.
Under a steel mezzanine that accommodates the sleeping area, an old family dresser has been transformed into a functional kitchen station, completed with a small sink brought home from Morocco. A bright red retro refrigerator injects unexpected energy into the otherwise earthy space, while a salvaged cabinet wrapped in Moroccan fabric highlights the home’s layered story. Natural light filters through handcrafted crocheted curtains made from a family bedspread, casting soft patterns across a simple dining space. Here, souvenirs, antiques and everyday objects coexist effortlessly, proving that personality often outweighs perfection.
The living room continues the home’s journey through a sense of memory. Moroccan textiles upholster the sofa, a colourful woven bench recalls an adventure abroad, while an inlaid coffee table, velvet-and-rattan seating, and a mix from Bali create a richly textured setting. Collected over decades of travel, textiles, antiques and handcrafted objects fill the living area with texture and personality. Despite the eclectic mix of influences, the space doesn’t feel cluttered. Instead, each piece contributes to a conversation about travel, craftsmanship, and belonging.
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Even the bathroom adopts theatricality without excess. Reclaimed encaustic tiles introduce colour and pattern, while a striking Art Deco mirror hangs beneath an elaborate chandelier. Against these expressive elements, a minimalist basin provides contemporary contrast. Privacy is achieved through inventive reuse: an old glazed office door sourced from a Naples salvage yard presents as a movable screen, paired with a hemp curtain passed down through generations.
Reclaimed encaustic tiles, an Art Deco mirror and a statement chandelier bring dramatic character to the bathroom, where salvaged materials and modern elements exist in harmony. What makes Casa Egle memorable isn’t just its compact footprint or restored details. It’s the way the home challenges the idea that good design depends on buying new. Instead, it demonstrates how interiors become richer when they preserve traces of the people who inhabit them. Casa Egle offers something far more enduring: a reminder that the most beautiful interiors are often the ones built around memory, craftsmanship, and the poetry of giving cherished objects another life.
