Playful Madrid Apartment Renovation by Plutarco.

Plutarco has balanced industrial touches with soft, personal moments within their renovation of this Madrid apartment. The studio manages to reflect the unique personality of their clients – cue unexpected material pairings and moments of exploding colour, while remaining refined and elegant in the overall expression.

The 140-square-meter interior sits within a 7 storey, classically designed building built in 1931. The apartment complex still holds all of its original character, with plaster decorations, chamfered corners, and balconies that hover above the street. The interior is light-filled and airy, thanks to shutter lined windows that create luminous living areas. Spaces feel expansive due to the 3.2-metre-high ceilings that make the humble floor plan feel open and inviting.

Related: Bold Colour Rules at Experimento’s ‘House Of Creatives’ in Madrid, Spain by Plutarco.

Plutarco’s clients expressed that the kitchen had to be the most important area within their home, the site of shared cooking and entertaining with friends and family. Therefore, it became the beating heart of the scheme, placed in the centre of the apartment.

Physical divisions between living and dining areas disappeared, creating a kitchen that continuously flows into neighbouring living space. Underfoot, the changes in materials distinguish the two distinct zones – timber floors give way to green terrazzo and H + O green tiles, marking the arrival in the kitchen. Openings in the wall create a niche that now hangs off the side of the big island bench – a place to pause mid-cook for a drink break, or a spot to sip morning coffee. Soft green hues along with a deep cranberry shade bring colour to custom-built cabinetry, creating a warm, inviting core in the home.

Is it odd to admit that, amongst an apartment jam-packed with beautiful moments, one of our favourites unfolds in the bathroom? A space that is so often cruelly under-loved, Plutarco has given this bathroom the attention it deserves.

One bathroom unfolds as a pastiche of industrial materials, stitched together with dusty terracotta hues. Small mosaic tiles line the walls and floor, while shelving and cabinetry are made from lacquered perforated sheet metal. Designers play with materials typically associated with the industrial world, outlining they invited “metal structures with exposed screws, textured glass, and portholes” into a domestic setting. The master bathroom speaks in a more muted and grandiose tone, still managing to bring a sense of fun into the space. Terrazzo covers the walls, floors and vanity benchtop too, it’s colourful chips reminiscent of cupcakes dusted with sprinkles. Yum.

[Words by Caitlin Miller. Images courtesy of Plutarco.]