Klinker Apartment in Barcelona by CaSA.

CaSA have refurbished the Klinker family apartment in Barcelona after a fire tragically wreaked severe damage to the interior. Purchased as a holiday property, the clients originally planned to revamp the interior themselves with the aid of a contractor. However, the fire destroyed much of their completed work plus some of the apartment’s heritage features. One year after the incident and with a lower budget, they approached CaSA to complete the refurbishment.

Making the most of the existing layout, clever use of materials was mandatory in order to ensure the project was budget-friendly, with additional elements added after the basics were established. Heritage elements were preserved or rescued and highlighted where possible, making the most of the high ceilings, decorative features, floors, windows, and doors. Blackened by fire, the walls and ceilings needed particular attention. Some walls had to be scraped back to bricks and newly finished, while some of the original art nouveau ceiling features were restored or even reproduced and replaced.

Prior renovations left the entrance, kitchen and living areas with a messy patchwork of five different types of floor tiles. Bringing order to the space, the architects decided to treat the central area as a colour block that anchors the apartment, painting it a vibrant terracotta colour. Micro-cement floors of the same hue cover three of the mismatched tile styles, unifying the block and highlighting the adjoining floors. A micro cement backsplash in the same earthy shade features on the ceiling, kitchen cabinets and central island, as well as the desk and shelves in a recessed study space.

Besides the terracotta core, colour-blocking continues throughout the apartment. A valance runs around the walls, doors and windows, giving a horizon-line effect painted in soft shades such as nude, green and grey, contrasting the white upper walls. Ceilings are also painted in bold tones, burgundy in the living rooms and deep teal in the bedrooms.

All built-in furniture is bespoke, with cabinets in the kitchen, bathroom, corridor and bedrooms featuring custom-made door handles, lacquered in colours that match surrounding surfaces.

See more projects from CaSA on Yellowtrace here.

[Images courtesy of CaSA. Photography by Roberto Ruiz.]