The wood effect in the interior and exterior spaces of a terrace facing the Mediterranean

Fondachello is a tiny district of Valdina, a Messina municipality lapped by the sea: it has just 681 inhabitants and a sandy promenade that can be admired every day of the year.

You can enjoy the view while sipping an aperitif on the terrace of the Choco Pastry Cafè or enjoying one of the many Sicilian pastry masterpieces created with characteristic care and passion

The terrace welcomes you back from the beach with its warm floor made of honey-coloured wood-effect stoneware from Ragno’s Woodessence collection, which was also chosen for the interior. The decision to use the same floor for the indoor and outdoor areas ensures stylistic continuity and makes these spaces appear larger overall. It also demonstrates stoneware’s great versatility and resistance, both indoors and outdoors, even in places near the sea exposed to salt and sand residues.

On a terrace like this, a freshly baked evening croissant has a completely different flavour, as does a steaming hot arancino with nutella, a delicacy whose existence is still regrettably ignored by some people. The Choco Pastry Cafè also knows how to amaze you with an “aperincino”, an aperitif with accompanying “arancinetti” (small finger food-style arancini), which can be enjoyed in cool inside rooms or while taking in the sea breeze on the terrace at sunset.

It is precisely at this time that the orange sun warms and intensifies the golden hues of the honey-coloured walnut wood-effect stoneware, one of the two tactile inspirations offered by Woodessence (the other wood style is oak), which are each available in several colours.

In this case, the 10x70 cm rectangular size enabled a linear installation that makes both the spaces airy and unites them, almost as if they were a single environment to enjoy according to the climate. 

The choice of the same floor makes you feel that you are in the same space whether your are inside, admiring the marvellous delicacies in the windows, or under the sunshades on the terrace, mesmerized by the sun and the sea.