Stone Age

This light-filled family home in Melbourne’s east nurtured a love of marble for Adele Cotruzzola, which she has channelled into a thriving bespoke furniture business

- CHRIS PEARSON

SIMPLY MARBLE-OUS! That sums up furniture designer Adele Cotruzzola’s early adulthood, which she spent surrounded by the natural stone in this family home in Melbourne’s east. It inspired her passion for the classic material and made her appreciate not just its beauty but its functionality. A trip to Milan and Tuscany, in 2019, underlined the epiphany. Adele found herself smitten by Milanese architecture: “I’ve always been drawn to Italian architects’ composition, which is bold, mixing colours and patterns,” she says. “There’s no holding back, marble is everywhere. I wanted to create the feeling of Italy in Australian homes, so we can adopt Milanese style.” Just Adele, specialising in marble furniture, was born.

THE LOVE BEGINS

The seeds were sown years earlier by her mother when renovating this luminous family home, which Adele shared with her parents and two sisters. “Throughout the design process, Mum was discussing what she wanted with stone suppliers, including in the kitchen and the fireplace, and it made me love it even more,” Adele says. “She wanted something bespoke and crafted, tailored to our family and lifestyle.” Mim Design devised a modern, light-filled addition that celebrates natural materials – such as hardwood floors and ceilings, a marble kitchen with an entire wall in the stone, and marble bathrooms. “This house prompted my love of marble and showed just how practical it can be,” Adele says. “And, living here, I could see how well these finishes keep on keeping on, while they exude a luxurious feel in smaller as well as bigger pieces.”