Meow Meow

Imagine stepping into a top-floor apartment in downtown Madrid that had been abandoned for nearly a decade, complete with broken windows and a resident flock of pigeons. That was the starting point for this incredible project. What was once a maze of tiny, divided rooms – a narrow hallway, a cramped entrance, and separate kitchen, bathroom, and a “strange living room” – has been radically reimagined. The vision? To create a space that feels bright, spacious, and incredibly fluid, drawing inspiration from Japanese architecture where furniture often sits lower to enhance the feeling of high ceilings.

The Ultimate Space-Saving Secret: Knock Down Those Walls! Their boldest and most ultra-specific move was simple yet revolutionary: they removed most of the internal walls. This single decision completely transformed the flow of the apartment, creating an open, airy feel.

The kitchen, now a large, inviting space, was moved to the front of the apartment.
What used to be an ochre hallway now cleverly houses the laundry room.
The living room, office, and bedroom were all combined into one expansive area, seamlessly connected to a small balcony. This isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about creating a better, more natural flow for daily living.
IKEA Hacks & High-End Style: Where Practicality Meets Personality This apartment is a masterclass in useful and unique design solutions, showcasing how everyday objects and materials can be elevated into bespoke, thoughtful pieces. The designer’s fascination with how objects, their shapes, functions, and materials make us feel is evident everywhere. The home is a playground of raw samples and prototypes, serving as a constant wellspring of inspiration.

Take the kitchen, for example. It’s a perfect blend of affordability and custom flair. The core structure is from IKEA, but it’s been customized with doors and countertops from Kubra, giving it a completely one-of-a-kind feel. The choice of a pale green for the cabinets is wonderfully subtle, providing just enough contrast against the white walls without being overwhelming. The designer views his kitchen as a “workshop” where tools, spices, and food are openly visible, fostering a dynamic environment for ideas to spark. And forget standard fridge magnets; they’ve created a charming collection of “meaningful souvenirs” by simply attaching magnets to the back of cherished objects.

Even the dining table and chairs are a testament to resourcefulness, designed and built specifically for the space using extra materials from another client project. This clever use of “spare materials and leftovers” is a recurring theme throughout the home, ensuring nothing goes to waste.

Crafting Atmosphere: Light, Layers, and Living Stories The living room is a serene oasis, designed for unwinding and relaxation. It features “slow furniture” to enhance the sense of space and is filled with the designer’s own creations – many still prototypes – alongside other objects that hold personal stories and meaning. A particularly unique touch is the collector’s table, designed to display collections; in this case, the owner’s fascinating array of fishing reels. The sofa, crafted from scrap wood, even doubles as a guest bed by simply removing the back cushions.

Lighting is a true passion point here. In the kitchen, lights are either wall-mounted or low pendants. The living room boasts unique lamps, including the “sunset lamp,” co-designed with Injia, which beautifully recreates the warm gradients of a sunset. This space is constantly evolving, with new ideas emerging daily, such as using the exposed wooden beams (revealed after removing the false ceiling) to creatively hang laundry or bed sheets.

The floor throughout the apartment is a distinctive composite of cement resin and albero sand – a type of sand found in Spain, often used in bullfight pits. The designer cherishes the idea that his furniture is like “toys scattered in a sand pit” on this unique surface.

Ingenious Solutions for Intimate Spaces The bedroom’s floor plan is “a little bit weird,” prompting the designers to create a central island that cleverly incorporates both the bed and a desk. This desk ingeniously transitions from a functional workspace by day to a convenient bedside table by night – a true “Frankenstein of a lot of leftovers” from the workshop. Even a standard IKEA wardrobe was adapted by rotating it to perfectly fit into a corner, its white color ensuring a neutral presence. The bedroom bathes in the most beautiful light in the house, with acacia trees outside creating captivating shadows on the walls in the afternoon.

An ultra-specific and incredibly useful storage solution was found above the removed ceilings, providing extra space for seasonal clothes and design prototypes, accessed by a versatile ladder. And talk about flexibility: the TV, mounted on a small rolling stand made from IKEA pieces, moves effortlessly from the bedroom to the living room for movie nights or dinners.

The bathroom, located in the center of the house, also showcases clever problem-solving. By extending the albero sand onto the walls, it evokes a “cave-like” feel. To reduce visual clutter, a single large mirror was installed, making the space feel more expansive. For the soap holder, a scrap piece of marble found on the street was fixed to the wall, highlighting a love for contrasting textures. Despite having no windows, the bathroom is surprisingly bright due to circular windows added to either end, allowing light to pass from the kitchen and living room, often eliminating the need for artificial lighting during the day.

A Philosophy of Purposeful Design Throughout the apartment, the designer’s core philosophy shines through: a deep fascination with boat designs, where every last space is optimized and ergonomic. He thrives on finding “specific solutions to specific problems” and deliberately operates “contrary to a standardization,” stating, “I really hate the standard”. The values he passionately pursues in his work are diversity, adaptation, balance, functionality, versatility, and, above all, the provocation of emotion and wonder.

This Madrid apartment isn’t just a stunning renovation; it’s a testament to the power of thoughtful, personal design, proving that limitations can spark the most inventive and unique solutions, turning a forgotten space into a true design marvel!