The Happy Turtle: Paula Navone's House in the Aegean.

Paola Navone is undoubtably one of the most productive and influential designers of our times.She is known for her clean, inventive, natural and somewhat quirky approach to design.

Navone graduated in 1973 in architecture from the Turin Politecnico. Between 1970 and 1980 worked alongside Alessandro Mendini, Ettore Sottsass Jr. and Andrea Branzi in the Alchimia group, the most progressive set on the Italian design scene, developing a highly productive and stimulating avant-garde stance which gained her, in 1983, the prestigious Osaka International Design Award, bestowed for the first time that year.

Born in Turin, she later moved to Milan, although she is first and foremost a citizen of the world: driven by her extreme interest in the most widely differing cultures – particularly oriental ones – she travels a great deal, bowing to a natural inclination to cross boundaries, and not only geographical ones. In her long and many-sided career she has switched easily between the roles of architect, designer, art director, interior designer, critic, teacher and organiser of exhibitions and events, both independently and for select clients, including Armani Casa, Knoll International, Alessi, Piazza Sempione, Driade, Roche Bobois and Swarovski being only some examples. She has handled art direction at Gervasoni where the photos above come from, since 1998, in addition to designing most of the collections personally.

In this post I am showing you pictures of her personal summer heaven somewhere in the Aegean. Her ininitable style can be seen from the entrance of her home, where she displays a utilitarian piece made by herself out of pottery and planks painted white.

As is shown in Navone's work, she loves organic forms that link man to nature.

Navone has used the local painted floor technique in a tongue in cheek way both inside and outside her home to a stunning effect, showing that style is anything but a matter of money.