Many design rules are broken (with extraordinary effect) in this truly original Milanese home

Step inside this pied-à-terre in Milan and you are greeted by a giraffe. The most unlikely of doormen, it emerges, as if by magic, from wallpaper in the hallway, clutching a chandelier in its mouth. It’s an unusual welcoming committee. But then Cristina Fogazzi is not a person who cares much for tradition. She is a disruptor and an entrepreneur.

Marcantonio Malerba’s arresting giraffe head and chandelier reaches out of a bespoke wallpaper by 23Bassi. The rug is from the ‘Rotazioni’ collection by Patricia Urquiola for CC-Tapis

Since starting out on Youtube as the Estetista Cinica (Cynical Beautician), she’s won over an army of followers with her honesty and irreverence. Having now launched her own successful skincare company, VeraLab, she is no less candid, continuing to share the harsh truths – ‘no product will save you from wrinkles, except maybe Botox’.

Skincare entrepreneur Cristina Fogazzi

Decorated with the same audacious spirit, her apartment is located just across the hall from her brand’s headquarters. It is, however, almost 100 kilometres away from her husband Massimo. He can usually be found at the couple’s main residence in Brescia with their dog, Otto. You see, this is not a family home – it’s a place to fuel the imagination and entertain friends.

Hot pink ‘@Home’ cabinetry by Elmar is given an even more playful touch with the addition of cheeky rugs by PAM for CC-Tapis. The mirror is the ‘Tafla 03’ by Oskar Zieta

That was the brief given to Cristina’s long-time collaborators, interior architects Chiara Frigerio and Andrea Roscini of 23Bassi studio. They have taken a grand property, sporting frescoes and coffered ceilings, and spiced it up with a touch of the unexpected. The giraffe, says Cristina, was her idea, but that was not the end of the fun.

The bedlinen in this bedroom is by Society Limonta, while the bedside table is a vintage piece, topped with a light by Servomuto’s Francesca De Giorgi

Indeed, upstaging the animal life on display (there’s also a pride of ceramic leopards), is a huge mirror ball that has been transformed into a chandelier. Rescued by Chiara and Andrea from a failed 1970s nightclub in Perugia, this eye-catching piece had long been stored in the duo’s warehouse, waiting for a client daring enough to call it their own.

This oversized disco ball floats above a marble-topped table designed by 23Bassi and ‘Master’ chairs by Philippe Starck for Kartell. On the table sits a collection of vases by Ludovica + Roberto Palomba. The ‘Golden Lily’ wallpaper is from Morris & Co and the ‘IC F1’ floor lamps are by Michael Anastassiades for Flos

It could not have been dusted off for a better home. Here, it is the final flourish of a look Cristina describes as ‘both classic and ironic’– floral wallpaper by British brands Morris & Co and House of Hackney paired with some of contemporary design’s most out-there pieces, such as the petal-adorned ‘Hortensia’ chair by Moooi.

The overall effect is, she adds, ‘extremely decorative, almost baroque’. Just the right kind of excess. 23bassi.com; veralab.it