It’s not quite that Emiliano Domingo had an epiphany the very first time he entered this Madrid apartment, but almost. “I saw it very clearly from the beginning,” he says of the white microcement floor and matching walls that would be at the center of his redesign. A single stroke was all it took for the architect, founder of Bardo, to transform an awkward floor plan into a home where movement flows naturally. “We have very much internalized the idea that we need edges and straight lines to define spaces but this is not always the case, sometimes it is better to opt for other geometries,” Emiliano explains.
Cotton Candy (the name the studio came up with for the project) was originally a 750-square-foot apartment laid out along a hall, which provided access to the terrace, small kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms. Its excessively elongated character meant many square feet of space were used for circulation. Emiliano’s first step required a miracle: redistributing the rooms in a more organic way. “Personally, I like to use the curve to change environments and make them more practical and pleasant, and in this case, it was the best solution to get rid of dead spots,” he explains. Along with the arches, the curves allow the home to take on a new rhythm, imbuing it with a sensuality while also making the most of every inch of space. “People say that when they come in, they feel like touching everything. It’s an inviting place,” Emiliano says.
The curve, which served as the central axis of the project, is replicated in other elements such as the bookshelf in the living room, the dining room table, the HKLiving sofa chosen by the studio, the custom-designed lamps, and even the birch cabinets in the bedroom. And, of course, we also see it in what is undoubtedly the star of the home: the salmon pink wall that hides the bathroom and serves as the…