Cookbook author Mimi Thorisson welcomes House & Garden into her Turin apartment at Christmas, set inside a 19th-century palazzo, where old-world architecture harmonises with the warmth of a large, cosmopolitan family.
“The heart of the family is in the kitchen,” says Thorisson as we walk through the rustic yet charming country-style kitchen. Watch the full episode of Design Notes, as we tour Mimi Thorisson’s apartment during the festive season.
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[gentle festive music] – We have eight children,
and that’s a lot. And that makes Christmas extra special. We are a mix of culture. We have Icelandic traditions,
French traditions. We have English traditions. ’cause I grew up in Hong Kong and I would say that all our
traditions revolve around food, first and foremost. I’m so happy to add
Italian to our traditions because there’s nothing better
than tortellini en brodo for one of your Christmas meal. When we decided to stay in Turin after living here for nearly six years, and we started looking for an apartment. And I really do believe that
you don’t find an apartment and the apartment finds you. And we always loved this neighborhood, which is the old part of town. And we found it by chance. It was actually the first
apartment we looked at and it was the one. There’s a very French
touch in this apartment. I do find Turin the most
French of Italian cities, so I feel very at home here. I am very feminine. So, I love the old world,
the feminine side of things. And my husband is very
Nordic. He’s Icelandic. So for him, it’s this
northern Icelandic minimalism. There’s a lot of conflict there where we have to always
find a just balance. But I guess it’s like a marriage. [gentle festive music continues] The heart of the family is in the kitchen. I was so happy when I found it because it had this rustic element. It felt like a kitchen in the country, which was perfect for me. And I love this part here, which is, like, I call it the
pergola, the city pergola, where you have this beautiful
kind of greenhouse effect where I can grow my herbs and
put all my little lemon plants and store my vegetables. [gentle festive music continues] My new cookbook was born in this kitchen because it’s the whole
story of this kitchen, moving to Turin, and this was the first room I, you know, I had to design and decide, and it was the first room
that was ready in the house. I really love old kitchens. I can’t function in a modern kitchen. I need fire. I need light. The kitchen deserves a real
wooden, good old table. So, and it’s a space where we talk and we exchange all our stories
and we really live here. [gentle festive music] This is a very special space.
It feels like two worlds. It’s got the dining room,
which is very much my area where we entertain,
where the family gathers. And then we have the other side, which is my husband’s beautiful work area. He’s a minimalist and everything is just quite perfect, which is the opposite of me. Well, look at this table.
It’s all about abundance. And I love decorating with fruits. I think fruits make the most
natural kind of decoration, pomegranates, and clementine. The leaves are so beautiful
and I love these plates. We had them made in Milan by Paravicini. It’s a mother and her
daughters. They’re very special. Everything is handmade and we love these little
monkeys everywhere. One little cherry on top
that I love is this cloche. I have this fascination
for grand old restaurants. You know, the ones that you
read about in books by Balzac and you know, the men with their uniforms and then they just lift the cloche and it’s this incredible,
you know, surprise. And this is a chestnut cake. I call it le gateau aux marron glace. And one of my favorite
traditions in Italy, it’s called the nuvola and it’s Turin’s most
amazing, delicious treat. It’s a pandoro and it’s covered with a vanilla
icing with powdered sugar, and it’s meant to be a cloud. And you know, Christmas cannot be
Christmas without a nuvola. [gentle festive music continues] I think a living space
is all about harmony. You can’t have it too design or too old. I love mixing old and new mixed
with grandmaster’s designs. You know, these beautiful design chairs by Gio Ponti or the bench. It creates a beautiful dialogue
between past and present. I love these posters from
Armando Testa from the ’60s, makes the room really warm and I think it’s always cheerful to have this beautiful drink on the wall. [gentle festive music continues] We found this when we first moved here. It’s an old map of Torino, which is really pretty. And these lamps, I found them in Venice. They’re from a French sculptor.
She recycles Murano glasses. And I love the ombre. It’s very feminine and it adds this little feminine touch that I love in this room. When I turned 50, not so long ago, I got this surprise gift from my husband and I just couldn’t believe it. It was such a surprise, and it was my portrait, painted by a dear friend
called Andrea Ferolla. And I always found difficult to find our really beautiful
Christmas stockings, and I finally found them on
a recent trip to Hong Kong. And they’re made of
vintage Victorian fabric. We have a lovely big Christmas tree here and each decoration is very symbolic. It’s a little bit emotional when we take out the
decorations from the boxes because when each child was born, you know, we had one to
commemorate their birth. And it’s a lot of memories
from each kid, each children. It’s a little mix of everything and it represents us, this tree. [gentle festive music continues] Well, I find this room obviously
the most relaxing room. It’s the bedroom. And I love the colors. I saw this beautiful door
with my husband in Milan, and it was all these pastels. It was like pinks and yellows and blues. It looks like a baby room. But you know, once you mix
it up with wood, you know, I call it the toasted almond woody colors. It works, and I love the
combination of brown and blue. I love the bedside tables because they remind me of being on a boat. It’s got this roundness, this kind of art deco-esque feel to it. And those ostrich egg lamps are just very, like a little fantasy, and we found them in Milan at Rho, Milano, this fantastic store. [gentle festive music continues] So the bathroom, it’s the en
suite bathroom of our bedroom. And it’s just… When we saw it, we couldn’t
believe how big it was and how just intact it was, all in its beautiful tiles, and the floors are amazing,
just shades of blue. And this window panel is just magical. The woman who lived here
before, she was very special. She was an artist, and her apartment was just filled with these whimsical
creations, art installations. And I do have a few little
pieces that she’s left, you know, like this little light here and
a few remnants, which I love because I feel like it’s
the whispers from the past. [gentle upbeat music] So before Christmas, we
have this little ritual of gathering around the tree
and we wrap presents secretly, and we have all these ribbons
and it’s just really fun. On Christmas Eve, we have our big dinner, and I would say that’s
a very French dinner. It’s a big, beautiful
roast and chestnut cake and all these beautiful traditions. So, I believe that when
you are from everywhere and mixed cultures, it’s very important to
hang onto your traditions because it makes you feel more at home. [gentle upbeat music]
23 Comments
Such a lovely lady and a beautiful home! Thank you for the tour!
What a beautiful home! I love the mix of the two design styles, it works perfectly. Thank you for the tour ❤
Well unfortunately the whole flat looks minimaliste and there is a lot bigger “husband touch”.. or “lack of touch”. Which is a shame as the lady owner really looks classy and feminine.
What a wonderful home! Love it all! And all these vegetables, flowers and all! Much love and admiration from Maria, Marseilles and….. happy holidays, joyeux noel, happy christmas!
May i ask you the name of the blue/cie. you used? And the green in the living room? Thank you in advance and greetings from Maria
I absolutely love this apartment. Very calming, serene and a pleasant aura.
Well now this was just so lovely.
A lot of comments highlight the home. The host is a lovely soul and presented the home and family in a beautiful way apart from the glorious home. Enjoyed the video for both reasons.
lovely
She turned 50? 🙄 She looks at least ten years younger.
Love everything she does and thinks❤❤❤
I don’t like modern anything!
What a beautiful home and lovely woman. I love the feminine warmth.
✨✨✨
Traditions <3
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Fjjfgggklgkkkjtyutdukkiviytfplnf
I loved this apartment, so beautiful and what a beautiful family. That bathroom was exquisite.
I am ukrainien with Polish,German and Swedish blood. I love Turino,because I live in Savoie. My husband is French with Welsh,French and Catalonia blood.I understand you well. I love cooking, and I cook a lot because The First, this is a traditional, the second,my son has the flavour allergy. I am very often in Turino. So,I invite you to take a coffee and,maybe, I can give you my own recipes. Greetings and Happy Christmas.
Been following her since the beginning. Simply beautiful. What a way to grow up especially for the children ❤️
Everything about Mimi's life is beautiful
Awww!!!! 🤩🤩🤩 The painting of her Its so gorgeous 🤩🤩🤩
So elegant 🧡🙌🏼👌🏼