Salla VartiainenMilan – Staying in the Toiletpaper Loft!
Today I´m transfering from Hotel Vittoria to the Toiletpaper loft in Milan!
If you are looking for a cool and unusual place to stay in Milan – this is it! At least if you don´t have a tendency to easily get overwhelmed by visual impressions that is.. Because the Toiletpaper Loft is designed by the two artists Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari and maximalism is the leading word here.
Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari, picture by Toiletpaper
Cattelan and the banana taped to the wall
You may know Maurizio Cattelan as the guy who taped a banana to the wall at Art Basel in Miami in 2019 proclaiming it art. The banana, which actually was one in a series of 3, came with a certification of authenticity and clear instructions on how it should be displayed.
The work is typical Cattelan who is an Italian visual artist known for his humoristic and sometimes sarcastic works that often comment on politics and power in the world.
In 2024 the banana was bought at Sotherbys by a Chinese crypto millionaire who later proceeded to eat the work!
Pierpaolo Ferrari and his graphic expression
The other artist behind the Toiletpaper duo is photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari who has a long history of working with fashion editorials. Ferraris style is very graphic and quirky and contains a lot of pop-art references. In 2006 he founded Le Dicteur, a cultural magazine together with Federico Pope. Ferraris pictures can also be found on various fabrics, pieces of furniture, household utensils and other design objects.
Toiletpaper magazine and art project
In 2010 the two artists came together and created Toiletpaper magazine, a bi-annual magazine that really is a book. Each publication has a different theme and consist of surreal pictures and optic illusions.
The project then grew into a studio-house. And then the house grew into a destination. Today The Toiletpaper house hosts “Toiletpaper living”, a hotel and event venue which has been featured in many magazines and articles.
The Toiletpaper living then expanded to different Toiletpaper rental apartments.
the Toiletpaper house ia located near Porta Venezia and Centrale in Milan
If you are into maximalistic home decoration you probably recognize some of the Toiletpaper works in the products of Seletti – an Italian design brand known for it´s love of pop art.
Thoughts about the Toiletpaper Loft in Milan
Dam, my host, comes swooshing to the apartment with his electric scooter. He is friendly and informative and gives me all the information I need to know. To my surprise it turns out that the apartment actually is like a small townhouse, located in the inner courtyard of the taller buildings!
The outside is painted with the same motifs as the Toiletpaper house located near Porta Venezia and Centrale. And it has roof windows.
My first reaction when we step inside is “Wow! It really looks exactly like the pictures on Airbnb!”. My eyes are drawn from one wall to another, trying to take in all the colorful details. Dam shows me around and explains how things work. Then he leaves.
I walk around in the apartment and look at all the details. I sit on the bed and try to take in the atmosphere. It´s like living in a movie!
The roof has been painted to look like the sky and most of the furniture come from Seletti. I especially like the snake themed armchair and look it up on the internet. It costs 1250 euro.
When the evening comes the house feels a bit cold even though I am using the AC. Luckily I come from a cold country so I just pull out a sweater from my bag.
The night is peaceful and use the rest of my time in the apartment to take product photos for my jewellery shop Studio Minerva.
Photos for my jewellery brand Studio Minerva
Conclusion
Toiletpaper loft is a really cool place! I would probably recommend you to come to Milan in the spring when it´s not so rainy and the weather is warmer. But yes, if you are going to stay in Milan this place is cool and it is also located near Chinatown where you find a lot of nice food and inexpensive shops offering all kinds of things.
A good stay and an interesting adventure to learn more about the artists behind Toiletpaper.
xoxo/Salla V