Atlanta chef's home a recipe for refinement

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Popular Atlanta chef and restaurant owner Riccardo Ullio's Inman Park home reflects his appreciation of minimalist style.

Riccardo Ullio, owner of U Restaurants, which includes Sotto Sotto, Beleza, Lupe and Fritti, poses before his 1920s Craftsman home in Inman Park with his Ducati GT1000. "I don't like stuff that collects dust, I don't like junk. I like to be very minimal about everything," offers Ullio.

The windows in this 1920s Craftsman style home are all original. "We restored them, they all have a counter link system -- ropes attached to the windows with counter links to hold them at certain heights. We took them all apart and restored the pulleys so they actually function," Ullio explains. The light fixture in the foyer, pictured, is vintage and was sourced in Italy.

Built in the 1920s, Ullio's two-bedroom, three-bath Craftsman-style home occupies 3,400-square-feet. The den on the second floor, pictured, houses his vinyl collection and echoes the clutter-free design approach Ullio applied in his kitchen.

"I've been collecting records for about six months. I've been collecting music for a long time. I went from records to CDs a long time ago then to digital, then just in August I went back and bought a record player and started collecting vinyl again," shares Ullio. Why? "Because it sounds better," Ullio claims. Mounted above his vinyl collection is a work titled "Hygienic Abduction Tunic" by artist Merelle Challis of Birmingham, Ala.

"I always liked Inman Park, since I moved to Atlanta when I went to Georgia Tech," shares Ullio, who is originally from Milan, Italy. "I always thought it was a really cool neighborhood, great houses, I just always thought it was neat. After I opened Sotto Sotto in Inman Park I started looking around for houses; it's a beautiful house so we bought it." Ullio is pictured here in his kitchen, which he restored to suit his style.

The light fixture "is vintage 1970s, an Italian fixture I bought in Milan in a lamp store," recalls Ullio. How often is this chef/restauranteur in his home's kitchen? "Not very often, except for when I'm making myself a drink."

"That's a family heirloom piece," points out Ullio of a cabinet in his kitchen. "It was passed down to me by my father, Luigi Ullio. It was made in the 1800s but it's a fake antique from the 1800s. It's based on a Gothic design, but you know it's not a Gothic piece because it uses metal. Back in those times they used to just use wood on wood, they wouldn't use nails in furniture. But in the 1800s they started using nails."

Maya Ying Lin, who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was commissioned by Knoll to design the chaise stationed in Ullio's master suite. "I bought it at a charity auction," he adds.

Art by Miriam Cabessa is mounted in Ullio's master suite. "It's a finger painting, it's a piece of particle board that the artist actually painted on it with her fingers. It's one of my favorite pieces."

The jacuzzi tub in the master bath was completely redone; tiles are fossilized sandstone.

The sunroom offers a bright and relaxing space for reflection.

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Riccardo Ullio, owner of U Restaurants, which includes Sotto Sotto, Beleza, Lupe and Fritti, poses before his 1920s Craftsman home in Inman Park with his Ducati GT1000. "I don't like stuff that collects dust, I don't like junk. I like to be very minimal about everything," offers Ullio.

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