Architect's Apartment, Renovated in 9 Weeks

Several years ago, Spanish architect Paula Duarte moved with her family from Madrid to Northern Europe. The days were shorter and there was less sunshine — and after some time, the family realized they missed Spain.

After returning to Spain, Paula and her husband bought this apartment. Its 162 square meter size was sufficient for them to settle here with two sons, set up several bedrooms and a common area for family relaxation and gatherings with friends. However, they didn’t like the initial layout.

Then, Paula decided to demolish all the partitions, leaving only load-bearing columns, build new ones, and arrange necessary rooms and functional zones based on her own vision of the perfect apartment. Of course, with consideration for her family's preferences.

Despite the extensive renovation, the work proceeded quite briskly. The main principle Paula followed in designing the interior was to make it bright and as spacious as possible, filled with air: over the years of living in Northern countries, both the architect and her family greatly missed the sun and natural light.

Paula arranged the kitchen-living room so that one side of the space was maximally open, and the other side was slightly secluded from adjacent zones. It worked best with the kitchen. Her architect enclosed it in a semi-closed bar counter and effectively hid it behind columns from the living room and dining area.

Working on the bedroom project for herself and her husband, Paula drew inspiration from a solution she noticed in hotels and arranged access to the household bathroom directly from the room, installing a full-height sliding wooden door between the two zones. This made the bedroom resemble a luxury hotel room indeed.

Many pieces of furniture and decor were purchased long before the apartment was bought and simply waited for their time to shine. Although the finished interior predominantly features motifs of sun-kissed beach houses and truly lots of natural light, as desired by its owners, elements of Nordic Scandinavian style are also present here. Perhaps nostalgia.