Vaulted Workshop House

Vaulted Workshop House is an imagined home in southern Puglia, organised around three neighbouring rooms and a shallow stone court. A living room, a kitchen with a dining table, and a small making studio each have their own barrel-shaped ceiling and glazed door to the outside. Broad arches connect the rooms sideways, so the central kitchen holds a view of everyday life on either side: a comfortable chair and sofa in one direction, a timber worktable in the other.

The palette begins with warm, pale surfaces. Honey-coloured stone rises over the public rooms, while lightly textured plaster gives the walls a softer finish. Terracotta tiles continue under the arches, making a common floor for sitting, eating and making. Deep red cabinetry concentrates the strongest colour in the kitchen. Its pale counter follows the back wall and turns briefly at the side, leaving the middle of the room for an oval timber table. Five woven-seat chairs, a shallow brown bowl and a small vessel give the table a settled, domestic character.

In the living room, an aubergine sofa faces a square stone table and a timber lounge chair with cream cushions. The furniture is generous without filling every corner. A grey cup and saucer occupy the low table, and a small side window brings a second direction of light to the room. The tall court door holds the view of stone paving, a low boundary wall and cultivated greenery beyond. Colour stays close to the furniture, allowing the curve of the ceiling to remain the room’s clearest architectural feature.

The studio is a place for quiet work at a table. Two timber stools face a broad wooden surface with three plain ceramic pieces; a low open shelf along the wall provides another modest display. The room has both a side window and a court-facing glazed door. These separate openings give the worktable different relationships to light and to the garden, while the arch back to the kitchen keeps making connected to the rest of the household.

A separate passage serves the private rooms behind this public sequence. The entrance brings together a timber door, a bench, wall pegs and a low shoe basket. Two bedrooms continue the warm timber and cream linen, with a clay-coloured throw in the main room and a softer rose fold in the guest room. The shared bathroom pairs a stone-topped vanity with a clear shower screen and a high frosted window. Beside it, the utility gives the sink, washing machine, folded towels and closed storage a practical home of their own.

Outside, the three glazed doors repeat across a low, pale facade. Two planted pots stand near the inner face of the court wall, with a low herbaceous border along one side. The shallow outdoor space is close enough to belong to all three rooms, yet its stone edge gives it a clear boundary before the rural planting begins.

The regional references are selective. Research on Salento’s vaulted construction describes the importance of local stones and skilled vault builders, while Italy’s national tourism portal places olive cultivation within Puglia’s rural landscape. This original Concept draws on that relationship between material craft and cultivated ground. The proposal gives those ideas a contemporary domestic setting, with each room retaining its own purpose within one connected home.