Dezeen Magazine

Corridors inside Defhouse for influencers in Milan

Defhouse in Milan is a home for Italy's up-and-coming influencers

Cloud-print floors and glow-in-the-dark walkways are some of the fun features art director John Pentassuglia has included in Defhouse, a home in Milan designed for young social media influencers.

Designed to be the "ideal set for producing content", Defhouse is currently shared by seven influencers – all between the ages of 16 and 19 – who are keen to grow their followings on social media apps like Instagram and Tik Tok.

Defhouse was conceived by media company Web Stars Channel (WSC), which claims the property is the first of its kind to appear in Italy.

Living room of Defhouse for influencers in Milan
Defhouse is a home for young social media influencers

Several communal influencer homes, which are more commonly referred to as collab houses, have already sprung up in Los Angeles in the US, with one of the most well-known examples being The Hype House.

These palatial homes are typically presided over by a management agency, which rent out the rooms to promising social media stars. In exchange for creating popular online content, the agency can help occupants secure lucrative sponsorship deals with brands.

Living room of Defhouse for influencers in Milan
Clashing patterns feature across the walls of the home's living room

WSC's founder Luca Casadei argues that Defhouse is unique in that it asks influencers to focus on producing work with depth and substance.

Those staying in the house will be asked to attend courses on issues such as sustainability and will be encouraged to learn about professions that lie beyond the realm of social media.

Outdoor terrace of Defhouse for influencers in Milan
Occupants of Defhouse can use a jacuzzi on the home's outdoor terrace

"The young people of this generation have a low attention threshold," Casadei explained.

"They don't know much outside of social media and want to become famous: perfect ingredients to achieve a success that will evaporate in a flash without leaving any mark."

Kitchen of Defhouse for influencers in Milan
The kitchen has cloud-print floors

Defhouse's 500-square-metres interior was designed by art director John Pentassuglia, who had additional help from local architect Emanuele Tresoldi.

Pentassuglia wanted the rooms of the house to stylistically fall somewhere between "luxury and pop". He ended up becoming particularly fond of the geometric patterns and vivid colours associated with the Memphis Group – the design collective founded in the 1980s by Ettore Sottsass.

Corridors inside Defhouse for influencers in Milan
Some of the corridors have an all-over chequer print

Patterns and colours are ubiquitous in the living area, where walls have been painted to feature a mixture of stripes, zigzags, triangles and dashes. Amorphous balls of white netting have been suspended from the ceiling to resemble clouds.

One corner of the room is dominated by a blue-and-pink sectional sofa with zebra-print inserts. There are also a couple of quirky soft furnishings from Italian brand Seletti's joint collection with Toiletpaper magazine, including a yellow polka-dot rug that's centred by an image of grimacing teeth.

Bedroom of Defhouse for influencers in Milan
Each of the bedrooms has been completed in an Instagram-friendly colour

Expansive glazed doors running along the front of the living area can be slid back to grant access to an outdoor terrace complete with a jacuzzi.

Clouds appear again on the laminated floor of the kitchen. Its white storage cabinets also boast playful doodles of cooking utensils and ingredients.

Bedroom of Defhouse for influencers in Milan
Neon emoji-shaped artworks are mounted on bedroom walls

A series of lengthy corridors lead to Defhouse's sleeping quarters – some of the corridors feature an all-over chequerboard print, while others have walls inscribed with glow-in-the-dark writing.

Each of the bedrooms – as well as their adjoining bathrooms – has been completed in a different "Insta-friendly" hue and decorated with neon artworks that are shaped like emojis.

Bathroom of Defhouse for influencers in Milan
The bathrooms inside Defhouse are equally bold in colour

Apps such as Instagram and Tik Tok are continuing to gain power and influence beyond the world of social media celebrities.

A bite-sized Tik Tok dance challenge called The Renegade – created by American teen Jalaiah Harmon – was even shortlisted in this year's edition of the Beazley Designs of the Year awards, after the dance was replicated by 29.7 million of the app's users.

Photography is by Simone Furiosi.