Milan-based multidisciplinary designer Elisa Ossino and Copenhagen-based Creative Director Josephine Akvama Hoffmeyer have formalized a long history of creative collaboration by cofounding H+O, launched during Milan Design Week 2019. Their first official installation, Perfect Darkness, took over an 18th-century apartment in a coveted building in the heart of the Brera district.

Hoffmeyer is the founder of File Under Pop, a brand that in addition to graphic wallpaper and sculptural vessels specializes in colourful, handmade clay tiles.

The overarching concept of H+O is to spotlight tiles as a central part of a space. For Perfect Darkness, this meant featuring them in each room of the apartment, not only covering walls and floors, but also serving as fundamental structural and architectural elements.

The first collection, ‘Rilevi’ features simple modular tiles that can be combined and assembled in a number of various configurations and geometric patterns.

Uncovering the apartment’s original terrazzo floors served as the starting point for conceiving the installation. Flexing a vast network of local and international brands, Elisa Ossino Studio designed the apartment interiors, blending tradition and innovation with authenticity and integrity across curated and custom-made furnishings. Pieces from Italian brands such as Tubes and De-Tech are styled alongside contemporary Danish brands including House of Finn Juhl, Menu and Frama.

Rooms are characterized by pattern, colour, light, and sound, conceived as individual installations driven by the bold use of tiles. Bright red tiles frame a living room fireplace and wrap a curved façade in the kitchen. Tightly packed black and white polka dot tiles cover the bathroom from floor to ceiling, in which one could picture taking a decidedly trippy shower. The bones of the building could handle the dramatics, with high ceilings, archways, and ornate double doors throughout.

An eclectic playlist composed by Italian musician Stefano Ghittoni played throughout the apartment, adding to an intrinsically homey atmosphere.