A stay here is like one at your friends', only these friends have a design aesthetic that's graced the pages of Elle Decor. Stephen di Renza and Bruno Ussel spent 3 years restoring this house, and the result is a space that honors traditional elements (a gorgeous, hand-painted, 5m-high/16-ft. ceiling in the master bedroom; a ground-floor niche with carved plasterwork and a zellij fountain; a mashrabiyya screen) and marries them with found objects from around the globe (a French Empire-style writing desk, Art Deco barber chairs). Rooms are simple yet designed, with small touches such as design books making them feel like a guest room rather than a hotel room. A ground-floor koi pond leads off to various lounge areas and a large, green kitchen, the latter where Kitoum (manager Atika's sister) prepares delicious meals, best served on the rooftop among plants, bird cages, and a panoramic view of the medina.
At press time, the riad was renovating the building behind it, which will open as a 35-seat restaurant (known simply as bruno), by midsummer. The menu -- prepared by Ussel using local, organic ingredients and homegrown herbs -- will focus on "clean Franco-Mediterranean" food, which translates to crisp, light, French-based dishes with pan-Arab and Moroccan influences. The decor will include a one-story waterfall, black deerskin-covered banquettes, and large-scale photographs from Japanese artist Keiichi Tahara.
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