Apart-Hotel: The Bates Motel Suite in Barcelona

The Bates Motel Suite designed by Egue and Seta offers the possibility of entertaining, working, eating, toileting and sleep, characteristics of an “apart-hotel” from a single piece of multifunctional furniture around which are distributed radially, stays free and differentiated by decorative elements that recreate the iconic stills from the films of Hitchcock. Here, Norman Bates peeks through a tiny hole, prying L.B. Jeffries has two windows, and “The Birds” encourage better memories “suspense” of the “50s”. The Bates Motel Suite, like Hitchcock, proposes anticipation: A series of rooms that follow a narrative leaving notice at any time what is the other way or about to occur.

The apartment is comprised of only 376 square feet (35 square meters) of open space, clean and very easy circulation, designed from a central cabinet that serves as a distributor and container space to “hide” the different needs depending on the area where you are. Microwave and cabinet maker in the kitchen, mirror and towel in the bathroom shelf in the living room / rest / reading and wardrobe in the bedroom, with a common denominator in all the plants found in the pots on top of the cabinet.

Embracing the same concept, the designers have an additional element that strengthens as described above, a bar / counter which runs through the living areas making its way back across the back of the sofa for use to eat and work, continuing its way into the kitchen area where the designers have integrated a sink and ends in the bathroom where the sink is also integrated.

The designers came up with the concept of a “wafer” center on the floor with the concrete perimeter and in the middle of it a “carpet” leading hydraulic tile in all areas of space. The apartment is light in space with huge windows overlooking the Gran Via and for the night, careful lighting has been selected in the areas of “work” and indirectly in the rest areas.

Photos: Courtesy of Egue and Seta

Modern penthouse loft overlooking Barcelona

A penthouse next to the port of Barcelona, Spain with views and plenty of natural light was given a modern renovation to adapt perfectly to the lifestyle of the owners. The owners are a young couple, newly married, without children and with much social life, knew that it could become the home of their dreams. They trusted the project and decoration to the studio of Pia Capdevila Interiors & Events. The first step was a demolition of all partitions to achieve a new, very modern distribution, with two well defined public and private spaces. In the center of the attic and to the left from the entrance, the kitchen, open and connected to the living room was an environment that extends out to a terrace, recovered to take advantage of the reform. The private area, to the right of the entrance, is accessed through a corridor that leads to two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The Interior Designer combined smooth walls with brick and gave maximum prominence to a front, covered with slabs of natural stone. This large irregular surface enriched with its chromatic mix and its relief decoration in black, white and steel kitchen. Continuous concrete flooring painted in a gray tone epoxy serves as a common thread among the environments, gives cohesion to the project and contributes, along with natural light, to creating more spaciousness in the home. To highlight the interior design, designs were made by Studio Pia Capdevila, from the headboard with bedside tables along the bedroom wall, to the base unit that runs along the window of the living room.

Photos: Spotted on Mi Casa

Magnificent rehabilitation of the House in Bellaterra

This stunning project consists of a complete rehabilitation and interior design of a single family house and its outdoor spaces in the residential area of Bellaterra, on the outskirts of Barcelona. Designed by YLAB Architects, the proposal includes full internal redistribution of the interior spaces, the recomposition of the existing facades and exterior design of the terraces, pool and garden. The owners, a family passionate about light and spacious interiors, bought the property because of its fantastic views, but knew from the beginning, they needed a radical rehabilitation that would transform the house and its outdoors.

The goal was to convert this 5,382 square foot house of classical forms and narrow interior layout into a spacious modern house with continuity, allowing fantastic views from all levels. A new layout was made for this house, a facade matching its geometry, expanding the volume of the house was improved, and new walls and windows were created in solid wood carpentry, allowing abundant connections between the outdoors and the interior of the house. In the interior, the flooring is covered with natural Sahel polished limestone, which reflects the light increasing its intensity; the walls are painted in ivory white color; and the built-in furniture are finished in ivory white satin lacquer or natural tropical Etimoe wood, showing an elegant orange grain that bring a look of natural warmth in contrast with the white and glossy surfaces.

A staircase of access and planters recovered crosspieces-delimited was proposed in the front garden. In the rear, a large terrace in chipped stone, in prolongation of the interior space, descends towards the garden forming an infinity pool, an area of sunlight and a series of garden terraces.

Photos: Courtesy of YLAB Architects

Dark and dramatic design showcased in Print Avenue

Print Avenue is an incredibly designed vintage pavilion by interior design studio Egue y Seta, hand in hand with Sabaté lab, a digital printing, large format and museographer company in Barcelona, Spain. Walking along a game board decorated with “engraved” past century lettering digitally printed over pinewood, we introduce ourselves, box by box, into a playful atmosphere: an entrance hall, a waiting area and a reception; or perhaps a shop with its counter or a walk-in printed surfaces catalog. All outfitted under an aesthetic scheme that flirts with the popular strategy game, while posing a fresh, sustainable and customizable decorative strategy: Printing!

Photos:  Vicugo

Inspiring and colorful home of Architect Eva Palao

Spotted on Nuevo Estilo, this beautiful house in Barcelona, Spain is that of architect and jewelry expert Eva Palao. The first impression that one gets upon entrance to this unique home is a burst of color, light and a wink of humor, constant references to a calming mix of styles and a great example of how to pair different concepts into a coherent and harmonious whole. The home was originally built in the early 1900′s, with the characteristic hydraulic floors and high ceilings with ornate moldings. A gem which offered great possibilities of becoming the highly personal house that it is today.

The structure was in good condition, but a reform was necessary to adapt to new needs. The objective was that each room has its own character, achieved through the use of color and pieces chosen little by little. Hydraulic tiles have been kept in the living room and kitchen, but not in the bathrooms and bedroom. These rooms instead feature black slate and wood. Paint on the walls plays a very important role in the differentiation of spaces. From the modern and powerful glossy black finish in the bedroom, running through to the hallway to the warmth of the Moroccan stucco in a sand tone in the living and dining room. Decoration was done slowly, adding objects as needed, wishing to preserve the aura of the original architecture.

Publishing house transformed into charming home

This successful reform was to adapt a modernist apartment in Barcelona, Spain to the lifestyle of the 21st century by Studio MINIM. What seemed to be an advantage, the floor was in a typical building in downtown Barcelona with modernist structural elements, which became the main difficulty. The challenge was to adapt to the needs of a family without altering the buildings architectural peculiarities, which was originally the headquarters of the editorial Icaria.

“We should do a respectful intervention until such point that, at the end of the reform, it seems that we had not done anything, except paint white and put in contemporary furniture”, states the designer. Although difficult, the designers achieved its purpose. Despite works, the floor maintains intact the high ceilings, with fine moldings and original plaster rosettes of the house. On the floor, tiles are repeated in a delicate floral composition throughout the entire house. Woodworking exhibits shutters, latches and panels in perfect condition. Interior doors transform natural light in a multicolored arc iris thanks to their tinted leaded crystals.

The house was also given modern updates, achieved with the distribution of the spaces. The entrance to the home was created in the middle, with a hallway that acts as an axis and divides the house into two areas, public and private spaces. A spacious living room is in the center of the home from which you can access the kitchen through a double sliding door. The private spaces are comprised of the children’s bedrooms and a spacious master bedroom with bathroom, dressing room and private library.

Retro-inspired Barcelona flat with cozy interiors

Discovered on Mi Casa, a complete reform was undertaken in this Barcelona, Spain home to provide planning according to its new owners, a young couple with two small children. He is a photographer, and she is passionate about decoration, both wanted to preserve its original structure, with high ceilings, ornamental moldings and large windows. Its retro doors are also maintained, although access to the bathrooms was changed by sliding doors to optimize space. They chose to paint the walls white and thus enhance the light in the space; but also, to not subtract from the colorful flooring that has an incredible visual impact in decoration.

The open floor plan has visual continuity created through the environments: on one side, living area with a work corner, and in the opposite, kitchen and dining room. In the master bedroom next to the fireplace and vintage decor, evokes the leisurely and serene pace of times past. Concrete was chosen for the bathroom walls and floors which were completely renovated, a material which by its texture and natural appearance, fit into the style of the house. A world apart is the child’s bedroom, with wood flooring and decorated in white and slate, a chromatic palette used infrequently in baby’s rooms.

New York style loft in the heart of Barcelona

An old carpet warehouse, spotted on Shoot 115, retrieves its original splendor after a reform that respects its industrial roots and combines pieces with lots of history with new ones made to measure. This 1,830 square foot (170 square meters) loft is situated in a building in the heart of Barcelona, Spain built more than one century ago, previously a textile workshop. This space has retained the most attractive original structures and has unified them, painting them white: iron support columns that were originally black and wooden beams, cut by a steel rail makes the architecture feel open and airy. Natural light, a key highlight in this incredible loft, penetrates the space from a wall of double-hung windows, mostly originals.

Exquisite Barcelona apartment built for book lovers

Transversal Expression is a beautiful home in Barcelona, Spain designed by interior designer Susanna Cots for two book lovers. The main artery that unites the whole space is a wooden lacquered sheet that crosses the rooms and wraps them up like a warm and protective skin. Wood crosses the apartment vertically and horizontally creating an emotional and warm passageway.

The starting point of the housing is located in its central nucleus where the dining room’s ceilings are dressed in wood that, at the same time, shapes the furniture that holds the TV and a bioethanol fireplace. This wooden wrapping continues across the ceiling and separates the living and the water areas inside and outside, and is subtly bathed in natural light in the bathrooms. The warm area reaches the suite defining the sleeping area and finally becoming the bed head.

Nature is an essential element of the design where the terrace plays the same essential role as the rest of the interior design. Visually, the terrace has been projected as an element of atrezzo through a minimal landscape gardening. An urban vegetable garden helps connect the inside space both from a design and an emotional point of view thanks to its interaction.

Following the essence of the designer’s philosophy, the rest of the space has been projected in white and the rooms have been accessorized with black touches, such as shelves and decorative lamps.

Reading is part of the daily routine of the owners and that is why the central area is transversely surrounded by bookshelves. The studio is fully integrated into the living room and creates a corner flooded in light that faces the terrace.

The kitchen furniture has been designed in white lacquer on white silestone and is completed with a hidden panel-door that flows into the exterior laundry room.

The suite includes a water area to evoke a relaxed feeling. This is why a bath has been designed next to the bed, with a door system that turns into a relaxing bench. The shower has been emphasized by projecting it double and invading it with natural light. This final touch is an armchair of the owners, which turns the room into a fascinating eclectic space.

Lego-style 24 square meters apartment in Barcelona

When photographer Christian Schallert isn’t busy cooking, dressing, sleeping or eating, his small 24 square meter (258 square feet) flat appears to be an empty cube. To use a piece of furniture, he has to build it. Situated in Barcelona, Spain’s hip Born district, the tiny apartment is a remodeled pigeonhole loft (when Schallert first toured the apartment it was home to pigeons). Schallert collaborated with his friend, architect Barbara Appolloni, to come up with this unique design scheme, taking six months to complete. Christian says its design was inspired by the space-saving furniture aboard boats, as well as the clean lines of a small Japanese home.

The clean-lined apartment has each appliance and piece of furniture hidden away behind seamless wood-clad panels. By opening and closing these panels, the apartment can be adjusted to the needs of the moment. To sleep, he pulls on a leather strap attached to the end of the bedframe and rolls his bed out from under the balcony, his stairs become bedside tables as well as a sofa and additional seating space to eat when a fold down counter is accessed, and he can even swing his television out from the wall. To cook, he clicks a spot on the wall and a spring-loaded door opens to reveal an instant kitchen, with an electric stovetop, sink, countertop, microwave oven and even a small dishwasher. There is also a full-sized refrigerator and freezer, a small pantry and even space to store clothes and sporting equipment.

There is a 65-square-foot balcony, just outside the bed area, offering 360-degree views of Barcelona. Meandering up a flight of stairs from the small balcony, there is an additional terrace of 200-square-feet with an outdoor tub for two and a washer under a protective cover (he line drys his clothes). This is the ultimate bachelor pad, and since Schallert works around the corner from his home, he keeps all of his work things at his office. The small space forces him to be neat and organized, and since he travels a lot for work, it is the perfect space with little upkeep.

[Note: Christian recently moved out of his apartment after getting into a relationship and realizing while it's a great bachelor pad, it's not as ideal for two.] How cool is this space? Could you live in it? Make sure you view the video about the apartment below!

The panels and floor on this side of the unit are made of a mix of compressed wood and concrete called Viroc. The material has an industrial look but isn’t as hard as concrete. It doesn’t get too cold in the winter and works well in the summer too.

The shower glass cube and sink stay out of the way of the kitchen and bedroom modes.

The toilet is the only private space in this apartment, with a small window and built-in magazine storage.

Before the remodel: