CHANCHS Apartment | DG Estudio | Valencia, Spain

From Nomad to Root: A Journey Through Color and Emotions

In the vibrant neighborhood of Arrancapins in Valencia, the studio DG Estudio designed a home that tells a story of movement, belonging, and transformation. The CHANCHS apartment becomes a new chapter for a young family who, after many years as digital nomads, decided to settle down and create a home filled with color, humor, and personality.

“CHANCHS” is more than just a renovation; it's a manifesto for joyful living. In this project, color becomes emotion, and architecture becomes a canvas for collected life memories.

Concept: Horizons and Emotional Landscapes

Before 2020, the image of a digital nomad symbolized freedom — the ability to work anywhere and live in endless summer sunshine. But at some point, a question arises: where is home?

This project embodies that moment of reflection — the courage to give up movement for belonging. DG Estudio conceptualizes the apartment around the metaphor of a horizon — a visual and emotional line that separates and connects two worlds: past and future, old and new.

Architecturally, this “horizon line” runs through the apartment, connecting its original structure with its modern transformation. Above it — petrol-blue historical skirting boards remind of the sky; below, bright Klein blue furniture represents the sea. The horizon becomes a tangible shelf — a place for resting significant items, memories, and life fragments lived across different continents.

Layout: Open Spaces and Shared Experiences

The apartment’s layout is built around shared living, reflecting the clients’ love for gathering at the table and sharing a good coffee in the evening.

• The entrance leads directly to the heart of the home — an open space uniting kitchen, dining room, living room, and office. In the center stands a striking central cabinet in Klein blue, intersecting with the apartment’s original skirting boards.

• The corridor also serves as storage, with its long white wall hiding generous shelves that bring order without visual clutter.

• Two bathrooms, rendered in vivid yellow and green, complete the trio of vibrant tones, enlivening spaces under the horizon line.

• The bedroom area includes two for children and one for parents — with a calmer palette where restored ceiling skirting boards contrast with clean modern lines, offering balance and serenity.

Materials and Atmosphere

The dialogue between old and new materials gives CHANCHS warmth and rhythm.

• The oak floor adds natural texture, balancing the bright color palette.

• White Macael marble with blue veins defines the kitchen worktop, reflecting light throughout the space.

• The original ornamented skirting boards were preserved and highlighted, frames of new solutions as traces of memory.

• Custom cabinets in lacquered blue, yellow, and green tones enhance the visual continuity and optimism of the apartment.

Each surface celebrates craftsmanship, imperfection, and life — qualities that make the apartment tangible and personal, not just designed.

Color as Architecture

DG Estudio’s work here is the mastery of colorful architecture. Color isn’t decoration — it’s a structural story, an emotional gradient connecting the family's past travels with their new rooted reality.

The colored horizon simultaneously serves as a divider, connector, and reflection, translating the metaphor of “losing sight of shore” into a tangible domestic experience.

A Home for New Horizons

CHANCHS is a project about starting anew while preserving the past. It's about transforming memories collected around the world into the foundation of a new life — a home filled with humor, courage, and light.

As described by Vanessa Roger and Daniel Gonzalez from DG Estudio:

“This home is a collection of experiences and objects gathered over ten years of travel. It turns the horizon of those distant sunsets into a foundation for creating new life from home.”