Gaudir Apartment
Would you like to see how to integrate an office in the living room? At Molins Design we created such a space in Gaudir Aparment, a single-family house located in one of the upper areas of Barcelona. An open space for teleworking, which also has a wonderful bookcase to separate the space.
This loft-style house also features a kitchen with an island built from large-format porcelain tiles. The original design of the cupboards and the drawer fronts of the base units, lacquered in cream, were made to open and close independently. This results in an automated kitchen that makes cooking and daily cleaning tasks much easier.
Urban whimsy open space
The loft-style house that we present to you is a small urban whim with a wealth of details.
This penthouse located in the Tres Torres neighbourhood in the city of Barcelona has a very peculiar interior design, with open-plan spaces arranged in a highly efficient way.
Originally, the house offered a traditional layout with many compartmentalised and dark rooms. So we decided to propose an open-plan layout, to make the most of the spaciousness and natural light provided by the large window that occupies the entire wall of the living and dining area.
In fact, one of the main objectives of this intervention was to improve the practicality of each of the rooms in the home, in order to turn them into avant-garde areas with a fresher style, with which to provide a greater sense of wellbeing to its inhabitants.
To achieve this, our team of interior designers and architects worked intensively on the ‘open space’ concept. In addition to making the most of the available space. The main objective was also to integrate an office into the main living area.
Customized designs
Both the sofa and the coffee table in the living room are elements designed and created by our team.
The table includes a simple L-shaped base, which rests on a glass box, while the sofa combines both in colour and style with the chromatics of the room, including a play of textures that make it a very comfortable piece.
This spectacular living room serves as the starting point for the design of this loft-style house in Barcelona, as it communicates with the rest of the rooms on the ground floor. The dimensions of the space allow the living area, the dining room, the home office and the kitchen to be fully connected. Thus, a large surface area is created in which the fluidity generated between the different activities that flow harmoniously and functionally stands out.
Taking advantage of a wall with an exit to the outside, we placed a large-format gas fireplace. This element, together with the television cabinet, recreates one of the most interesting spaces in the home.
In addition, and at the client’s request, a bookcase cabinet was added to improve domestic storage. A reading area that gains prominence within the space, thanks to its natural oak wood structure and its backlit shelves. To finish the living room intervention, we placed two niches in the wall, which include artistic pieces of sophisticated decoration. These elements connect directly with the new workspace created by integrating the office into the living room.
The origin of loft houses
The concept ‘loft’ arises in the mid-20th century in large cities of the United States, when artists-painters, sculptors, photographers and all kinds of creatives-leave the center of cities to move to the periphery, to the old factories abandoned after the war.
They were looking for spacious and open spaces in which to share their private life and their profession, so they began to settle in these abandoned manufacturing complexes, taking advantage of existing materials, such as beams and columns of iron or wood, and large windows, elements so characteristic of this type of spaces, to create a style that we currently know as industrial style, intimately related to the concept of housing type loft.
In the dining room there are two very important spaces. On the one hand, we visualise the dining area, which has a large Mikado-type table. In this case, we opted for one of our studio’s own product designs: the Victoria table. Its design was made with very special pearly marble finishes, which combine perfectly with the rest of the decorations.
Together with the curtains, carpets and chairs in the living room, all the elements of the room acquire a very enriching play of colours that combines white and toasted tones.
A well used terrace
The outdoor terrace accessed from the living room and dining room allows us to design a fully equipped outdoor space. It has a seating and dining area for four diners.
The good weather that accompanies the city of Barcelona for most of the year guarantees the use and enjoyment of this comfortable and welcoming terrace.
Outside seating area
The living area consists of a small sofa, an armchair and two Kettal tables. Perfect for enjoying great moments of relaxation outdoors.
Both the furniture and the carpet that covers the floor are designs fit to be in the outdoors.
Outdoor dining room for four
On the opposite side of the outdoor seating area we set up a round table by Andreu World, with four comfortable chairs with armrests. All from the Kettal brand, perfect for enjoying informal lunches or dinners in the open air.
On both sides of the terrace we completed the decoration with plants, elements that always provide freshness and naturalness to any space.
In this case we chose several Strelitzia, an exotic plant native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa. Very resistant and easy to care for. It is perfect for outdoor spaces in temperate climates, such as the one in Barcelona, where frosts rarely occur, which could damage the plant.
Integrate an office in the living room
For this intervention, an attempt was made to integrate the office into an open-plan living room in the best possible way. In fact, this premise was one of the specific requests of the property. As it is an open space, we had to achieve absolute conjunction with the rest of the adjoining rooms.
For this reason, our team designed a complete backlit bookcase, a table and support and storage pieces in oak, to continue with the selection of materials that we used to design the day area.
In this case, toasted and chocolate tones acquire special relevance, as a chromatic range of transition from the dining area to the kitchen.
Sobriety and elegance for office design
Play of materials
The successful combination of materials is one of the key aspects of the whole house in general and of the office area in particular. The oak used to design the bespoke furniture used to integrate the office into the living room contrasts with the wall clad in veined porcelain tile that unfolds the pattern in the direction of the butterfly, behind which the laundry room is concealed.
An aesthetic effect that conceals the entrance to this secondary room, and which helps to follow the visual continuity of the kitchen towards the living room and surprises from the entrance door to the home. This type of large format porcelain tiles offer us very unique perspectives and a detail of luxury and sophistication full of personality and decorative style.
Sketch of the kitchen water area
Next to the office and the wall that hides the laundry room with the veined porcelain front, we find the spectacular kitchen, presided over by a large island of generous dimensions. The chosen tones, ecru and white, provide chromatic continuity with the rest of the rooms in the day area.
This kitchen has all the necessary elements to enjoy a perfectly organised, functional and aesthetic space.
The panelling on the right, on the wall opposite the water and cooking area, conceals cupboards and service spaces in a highly decorative way.
The central island, clad in porcelain tiles that simulate the finish and texture of stone, has become the main feature of a kitchen that meets all the requirements of the property.
Office bar
On one side of the island, we placed some Capdell kitchen stools with backrests, to take advantage of the space as an American bar where you can eat or have cocktails with friends and/or family.
This type of resource is increasingly used in open kitchens with an island or peninsula, as it provides an extra space for conviviality and socialising in a room formerly reserved for food preparation.
Lacquered fronts in cream colour
To create a contrasting game of tones and textures very enriching we bet on the fronts of cabinets and drawers lacquered in cream color for the area of water and cooking.
The interior of these cabinets and drawers are perfectly distributed and compartmentalized so that each utensil has its proper place, so the kitchen always looks perfectly tidy, key aspect in open kitchens.
Design decorative lighting
Lighting plays a fundamental role in the project of this loft house. Our team designed the lighting system for the entire house, taking into account the different types of lighting that are needed to create a balanced lighting effect: general, ambient, punctual and decorative lighting.
On the island of the kitchen were installed three ceiling luminaires, the model Melt by Tom Dixon, a surprising creation of organic forms, which looks similar to the mirror when switched off and when lit acquires golden tones, to create an ambient and decorative light point simultaneously.
With open-plan spaces arranged in an efficient and functional way, Gaudir Apartment is a small urban whim. A home with a very peculiar interior design, in which an office was also integrate an office in the living room
This ivory upholstered headboard, designed by our team, contrasts with the oak structure that frames the main wall of the bedroom, adding uniqueness and character to the space.
The tartan of the foot of the bed and the decorative cushions have been made with a geometric fabric in ecru and black. All this, to stand out against the plain ivory base of the bed set, the carpet and the curtains that dress the window. Thus creating a surprising and very sophisticated effect.
Warmth and comfort in the bedroom
Suite with a very personalized design
The design of the bedside tables, made to measure by the team of Molins Design, adds contemporaneity to the space, which stands out for its sobriety and elegance.
Instead of the traditional bedside lamps, we opted for the installation of two ceiling lamps that combine brass with the blank dial to create a subdued and suggestive ambient lighting sensation.
A tailor-made dressing room
The owners of this urban loft, great lovers of fashion and design, were willing to sacrifice a room for a generously sized dressing room.
That is why we decided to design this made-to-measure dressing room. We combined large-capacity modules with open and closed fronts to showcase some garments and accessories in the glass-fronted wardrobes. As well as hiding other pieces in the lacquered front elements.
As is the case throughout the house, we chose the same colour palette to create an overall chromatic continuity.
"For the bathroom we use the same palette that we apply in the rest of spaces, with chocolate brown and cream as absolute protagonists".
The main bathroom integrated in the suite stands out for its use of chocolate and cream tones, which we chose to decorate the rest of the urban loft. Even in the sanitary ware and washbasins.
Instead of the traditional bathtub, we designed a large walk-in shower. An element that provides comfort to the owners.
The oak wood vanity unit, designed and made to measure by the Molins Design team, has large drawers. Perfect for maintaining visual order in the room.
Sobriety and functionality in the bathroom
Copper details
The application of metallic details, in gold or copper tones, is one of the most important decorative trends of the moment.
Therefore, for the taps of this bathroom, we decided to install pieces in copper finish. A proposal that adds elegance and character to the space.
Coatings of geometric patterns
The complete guest bathroom stands out for the use of this unique Mutina wall covering, which covers all the walls. All this, with a marked geometric pattern in ivory and grey tones, as a striking decorative element.
The design of the mirror, with straight and refined lines in an “L” shape, multiplies the feeling of spaciousness and luminosity of the space.
