Film director Luca Guadagnino has unveiled his first interior design exhibition, featuring intricate wooden panelling, geometric stone tables and a multicoloured fireplace.

On show at Spazio RT during Milan design week, By The Fire features a pair of living rooms that have the same design, but are finished in slightly different materials.

The result is a pair of spaces that look similar, but each offers a very different mood.

The exhibition marks the public launch of Studio Luca Guadagnino, an interior design studio launched by the Call Me by Your Name and A Bigger Splash director in 2017.

As with the studio's other completed projects – which include an Aesop store in Rome's Piazza di San Lorenzo – the space is designed to feel multi-layered.

The wood-panelled walls create angular geometries, while fireplaces are formed from stone that has been carved to create fluted surfaces and columns.

Coffee tables are formed out of small cubes of stone, with their volumes punctured by zigzagging openings, while carpets produced by La Manufacture Cogolin display disorienting floral patterns.

"For my entire professional life in cinema, I have worked in the creation of two-dimensional spaces," said Guadagnino, whose other films include I Am Love and the remake of horror movie Suspiria.

"Interior architecture is about three-dimensional space," he continued, "and there are so many variables and values at stake – most importantly, making sure that decoration becomes an essential element to the creation of the space and not just something that is stitched on top."

The multicoloured fireplace, created from ceramic, forms part of the more richly toned living room, where materials include red travertine, bamboo and red velvet.

Its sister space features a fireplace made from Ceppo di Grè stone, along with oak, black granite and deep blue velvet.

"In the same room, we wanted to have two different approaches," explained Studio Luca Guadagnino's Stefano Baisi, the project manager for the interior.

"It's the same idea but in different colours and materials," he told Dezeen. "One is more Nordic in feel, while the other is more eclectic."

Many design details are based on a Carlo Scarpa-designed exhibition of paintings from in 1953. These include the pleated grey velvet walls and ceiling, created using a technique called "calico plissettato".

Lighting is provided by FontanaArte wall sconces, one set from the archives and one set newly designed by Studio Luca Guadagnino.

"So we have the past and the present," said Baisi.

The space was completed by sculptures by Italian-American artist Francesco Simeti, a childhood friend of Guadagnino's, and 1950s furniture by Italian designer Ignazio Gardella.

"We wanted to bring a masterpiece of the design into the mix to show our idea of how to make a space alive," added Guadagnino.

The photography is by Giulio Ghirardi.

By The Fire is part of Milan design week 2022, which takes place from 6 to 12 June 2022. See our Milan design week 2022 guide on Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks taking place throughout the week.

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