Behind closed doors: Inside Milan Design Week 2026’s hidden apartments and palazzos
During Milan Design Week 2026, some of Milan’s private apartments and palazzos welcomed visitors for the first time
Milan is often described as a city that reveals itself indoors. From the street, much of the city appears almost impenetrable, until a door swings open behind a courtyard in Brera or Porta Romana, a tiny lift rattles its way upstairs, unveiling an entirely different world: frescoed ceilings, mirrored entrance halls, magnificent terraces, and rooms brimming with decades of design history. During Milan Design Week 2026, visitors were granted rare access to several private apartments and palazzos—some for the very first time—shifting attention from Fuorisalone’s exhibition circuit to the domestic spaces that have long defined Milan’s relationship with design. Professor Constanza Coscia spent the week moving through these homes and residences, selecting the most memorable experiences: from Osvaldo Borsani interiors preserved almost intact to Franco Albini’s Villa Pestarini. Consider this a guide for the next rare moment these addresses open their doors to visitors.
The Private Apartments That Became Milan Design Week 2026’s Most Sought-After Addresses
Away from the crowded fair spaces and familiar studios that visitors return to year after year, a different side of Milan Design Week unfolded behind the doors of private apartments and palazzos across the city. For a few days during Fuorisalone, in Brera, Porta Romana and Loreto, residences that are typically inaccessible welcomed architects, collectors, students and curious visitors who gathered in libraries, dining rooms and secluded courtyards—spaces rarely glimpsed outside Milan’s more exclusive circles.
Milan Design Week 2026 offered the chance to explore spaces usually hidden from view, from homes layered with vintage furniture and personal collections accumulated over decades to interiors where contemporary design mingled with marble fireplaces and shelves lined with books, ceramics and family photographs.
Inside Osvaldo Borsani’s Private Milan Residence, Accessible for the First Time During Fuorisalone
Interni Venosta at Palazzo Olivazzi
Via Bigli, 21
For the first time, a private Milanese residence designed by Osvaldo Borsani between 1947 and 1948 opened its doors to the public. Dimorestudio for Interni Venosta presented their collection Interno Italiano, creating a conversation between their pieces and the work of a young Borsani, who designed the architecture, furniture and fittings—including built-in cabinetry, seating and lighting—for the apartment.
The living room was what truly commanded attention: a fireplace, decorated with a ceramic bas-relief, became the ideal visual focal point of the social area. The original furniture was beautifully juxtaposed with the Interno Italiano objects, creating an interesting conversation between old and new design.
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Why Casa Milana Became One of Fuorisalone’s Most Talked-About Interiors
Casa Milana
Via Palermo 5
Casa Milana, the studio of designer Mario Milana and Gabriella Campagna, opened in Brera as an apartment turned into a creative laboratory. The space, where Milana and Campagna actually live, displayed new pieces of furniture made by Milana, as well as a series of rugs from the textile brand BENI.
The capsule collection drew inspiration from the apartment’s terrazzo floors, with a colour palette evoking warm oxides, muted pinks, and earthy browns reminiscent of stone. A new glass collection created with Laguna-B was also on display. Above all, the combination of these rugs, objects and furniture designed by Milana himself made for a truly spectacular viewing.
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The 17th-Century Palazzo That Brought Kelly Wearstler’s H&M Home Collection to Milan
Palazzo Acerbi
Corso di Porta Romana, 3
Another first-time opening, the 17th-century Palazzo Acerbi offered visitors a chance to explore its baroque frescoes and rich interiors. The visit was in collaboration with LA-based designer Kelly Wearstler, who designed a collection of home objects in wood, metal, ceramic, marble and fabric for H&M Home.
The exhibition encouraged visitors to slow down and observe, taking in the palazzo’s atmosphere as it conversed with the pieces created by Wearstler. The opulent frescoes and columns created a striking juxtaposition with the collection’s bold, contemporary aesthetic.
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Franco Albini’s Villa Pestarini Offered a Rare Look Inside Milanese Modernism
Villa Pestarini
Via Mogadiscio, 2/4
Alcova is known for opening up never-before-seen villas to the public. This year was no exception, with a modernist-style villa by Italian Architect Franco Albini opening to the public for the first time since its completion in 1939.
A private family home since its completion, it was a rare opportunity to see Albini’s interiors reanimated with installations by Patricia Urquiola, Luisa Castiglioni, Kiki Goti, and more.
The villa, defined by its rectangular shape, long vertical windows, and a prominent block panel, remains fully functional, while Alcova’s interventions have transformed its spaces.
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Inside the Milan Apartment That Felt Collected Over an Entire Lifetime
L’Appartement
Via Giovanni Lulli 2
Alongside L’Artisan Parfumeur, Antoine Billore (a renowned antiques dealer and designer) created an installation that transformed a Milanese apartment in the Loreto area into a unique cabinet of curiosities. Vintage met the brand’s olfactory universe, with wood, panels, chairs, and objects arranged in various rooms in a way that felt authentic to the apartment’s domestic style.
A highlight was the way Billore framed an entryway with vintage paintings. Overall, the apartment truly felt like a collection built over a lifetime.
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Constanza Coscia
Professor and alumna, Milano