Contemporary kitchens are open to the rest of the home, creating multifunctional, informal and colorful spaces.
Traditional is not synonymous with timeless. With this idea in mind, not so revolutionary, but reasonable, Beatriz Arroyo and Lis Villalba began to develop city office, a series of refurbishment projects that explore the possibilities of architecture viewed from a furniture point of view. “There is a perception that big is important and small is not,” explains Villalba, “however, if one focuses on inserting multifunctional items that are part of the home reality, the solutions are not only ingenious, but much more personalized designs can also be presented. “.
view more
In that house from the 70s in the Salamanca area in Madrid, both found the perfect blank canvas for their ideas. The original floor plan of the apartment was completely divided into many different rooms – entrance hall, living room, study, kitchen, hallway – and had severe ventilation problems and poorly lit areas. “The restructuring is aimed at unite this inner space – clean it up and leave the structure visible, restore the original terrace – and articulate it through a range of architectural furnishings that furnish the space inhabited by this family.‘, two experts explain. A project that becomes a source of inspiration for modern kitchens and a new way of looking at the family living room.
The house revolves around a simple yet impressive color palette. Although the clients initially preferred white in almost all areas, they eventually added colors during the development of the project. “The question of color must be approached carefully, organically and experimentally until the key is found. There is no need to rush,” the architects say.
A starting point
When it came to redevelopment of this apartment, one of the biggest problem was the light itself, that intangible asset that can neither be bought nor sold, and whose role in each project always belongs to the leading actress. Due to its location and layout, the house has three main sources: one in the nursery, the other in the study and the third in the living room, all on the same facade. Therefore, Arroyo and Villalba decided to combine the space into a large room that would serve as a dining room, hall, kitchen and living room, and in which the action would be almost indistinct. “In this case we realized that it is best to choose a large piece of furniture that will help us solve the whole project at home and which would allow the light to participate to the fullest,” they say.
In order to visually increase the size of the available square meters, a large wardrobe was initially made in the hallway. with something like a porthole which serves as storage space for this family of four and also opens up the living room and separates the rooms a bit. “It’s important to understand that spaces today are more interconnected than ever before,” says Villalba, adding that “everyone must give their best to those around them.”
Most of the kitchen can be seen through the fully custom-made entry cabinet porthole.
The dining table is a project developed in collaboration with Huguet, a brand specializing in concrete tiles and furniture.
main door
What gives meaning and articulates the entire project is undoubtedly large dining table in the kitchen-living room. “Of course, at first there were doubts, because not everyone accepted the idea of having both rooms in one,” they recall. To offer a large, modern, yellow, clean kitchen, without handles and with built-in appliances, to make sense, it was important to find a star, a fulcrum around which the flow of movement of the rest of the house would rotate. “This is a project that we have implemented together with Huguet Mallorca. They sent us a catalog of their terraces and we chose this one.” Table over three meters long and rests on three metal cylinders attached to the floor. If you look closely, you’ll notice that they also echo the aesthetic of the blue-painted hood and integrate with the counter and beams.” Here the family cooks, works or does housework every day. “Everything happens around this central hub.”
“In the kitchen, everything happens around a table placed throughout the space. Handmade from colored terrazzo and studded with small confetti, the 3.5 m long and 1.05 m wide tabletop rests on a structure of three pairs of metal cylinders attached to the floor, thus freeing up all the surrounding space,” the professionals explain.
Other rooms of the house
In the kitchen, the shorter front turns into a double-sided cabinet with a countertop on one side and a cabinet on the other, a perforated oculus that you can peek out of when you get home.
In the living room/office, a second table organizes a collective workspace. This is the work of Beatrice and Lis, it consists of two side supports made of bent sheet steel and a wooden board of a standard maximum length without screws or joints.
The children’s room is designed in such a way that in the future it can be transformed into two separate rooms. Open shelves can be easily removed to make room for a second door.
In the living room, Beatriz Arroyo and Lis Villalba designed this corner table that is fully integrated into the space. To the right, on the terrace, the floor has been restored to its original luster.
A fragment of one of the toilets in the house with a washbasin that matches the dining table, also by Huguet.
Plan of the current layout of the house, where the dining table is the center of all activities.
Article published on AD Spainadapted by Paola Corazza.