Spotlight with Rachele Biancalani

Hi Everyone!

Today I am so excited to introduce a new feature here on Stylishly Zen called Spotlight, where I will be interviewing incredibly talented designers, bloggers and entrepreneurs about their lives, their work and how they got started within their respective industry. Today’s Spotlight is with one of my favourite architect and designers Rachele Biancalani, and I was beyond thrilled when Rachele agreed to be the very first person to be featured on Spotlight. Rachele runs her own namesake firm based in Italy which means that she is a architect, designer and business woman extrodinare. It became clear from Rachele’s interview that she lives and breathes design, and this passion and dedication is clearly reflected in her work. A Tuscan farmhouse that Rachele designed has previously been featured on Stylishly Zen (you can check it out here) and I have no doubt that more of her work will be featured in the future. Without further adieu, here is my interview with Rachele:

Where are you originally from and where do you live now?

I’m Italian, I’ve studied Architecture in Florence and I live in Italy right now close to Florence, in Tuscan

When did you know that you wanted to be a designer?

When I was a child I enjoyed looking at similar apartments (at different floors of the same building) and discover how much they were different with various furntiure and different walls.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

My main inspirations are my Clients and their desires; for this reason my works are so different one from the others.

What is your favourite city to visit for design inspiration?

I think Italy (with Florence, Rome and Milan) is very inspiring but also other European Cities as Berlin, London and Paris

From start to finish, describe your ideal day…

My ideal day is wake up early in the morning but without the alarm clock, prepare breakfast for my two children, go to gym, go to work in some of my building site and then work all-day-long with nice collegues and smart Clients, then meet my family for dinner and talk about all the beautiful things we have done during the day.

What is the best advice that you have ever received?

An Architect that I respect and esteem told me that in each difficult situation I have have to keep calm and always trust in myself

What is your favourite food?

My favourite food are vegetables and dark chocolate but not in this order 🙂

List three things that you always carry in your bag

I’ve always got in my bag a meter, my smartphone and a pencil

What is the first thing that you do in the morning and the last thing that you do at night?

The first thing I do in the morning is going in my children bedroom and the last thing at night is to fall asleep with them on the sofa watching some tv series that we love

How do you incorporate wellness into your life?

Unfortunately in this period I’m not able to incorporate yoga, meditation or fitness as much as I would… but it is one of my best intention for 2018.

What does living well mean to you?

Living well for me is definitely to defeat stress and learn to say “no” and take care of ourselves