Villa Metato

Rooms

Be prepared for the "wow" factor when you enter - if you're into design icons then sleeping at Villa Metato is a real treat. The 1-bedroom villa is split-level, arranged over 2 floors (ground and lower ground), and the whitewashed interior is furnished with an eclectic range of cool designer items. The owners, ex-property developer/fashion photograper Nick Ferrand and his Italian fashion-stylist wife Margerhita, both have an eye for detail.

On the ground floor the bedroom comes with a 1960 Memphis bed, matching bedside tables and early 60s Conran lamps. A huge stone arch separates the sleeping area from the dining area, complete with a classic 50s Saarinen table and tulip chairs. Another arch introduces the sitting room with its open fire, Scandinavian teak writing table, contemporary art and Eames chairs. An open-plan feel runs throughout, creating a great sense of space, and the whole upper floor floods with light.

You have the place to yourselves so you can fling open all the shutters and doors during the day and relax. The doors open out on to a lawned garden for your own use, where you can sunbathe and read. And you have your very own pool.

The lower ground floor is reached via a spiral staircase and houses the kitchen and another dining area. It's the same size as the upper floor, but slightly darker, despite french doors leading to the terrace. It's a little cold in the spring months, but the whole apartment is blissfully cool in the summer. Rather like the décor really. The highlight of the lower floor is the table tennis table - yes, you have that much space. Unfortunately, the bathroom is also on this level, down the same spiral staircase, so watch out if you take a shine to the local wine! The bathroom and dressing area, decked out in 70s G-plan teak furniture, isn't as luxurious as the rest of the apartment - there isn’t a bath, but there's a powerful shower and a washing machine (useful should you stay for a while).