MRLJ128 | Plutarco

This project started as a small intervention but the connection with the client was such that it ended up being an -almost- complete renovation. For us, the biggest challenge was to understand the context where the house is located, La Moraleja, an area of single-family homes on the outskirts of Madrid with classic and traditional airs, and to combine it with something much more contemporary as Plutarco.

The first thing we did was to propose a change in the floor plan: connect the kitchen with the social living room and dining room as both open onto the garden and pool. We thus left a more private living area for the TV lounge room and library, and another for the master bedroom with dressing room and en-suite bathroom. On the ground floor we found the rest of the bedrooms and in another wing of the house a social area for parties, gym and guest apartment.

Our major contribution was a complex but refreshing mix of materials and colors that contrast with the traditional skeleton of the single-family house with out being istrionic, on the contrary, the surprise when crossing the threshold of the entrance door is what makes this project unique. Dark ceilings, unique marbles, oak woodwork and a black herringbone wood floor are some of the touches that give character to the space.

A Chinese quartzite in green, gray and black tones with very marked veins is the one chosen to connect all the spaces of the first floor. All the entrances that give access from the hallway and entrance hall to the different rooms are marked with this quartzite, which is also the one that marks the green tones of the main rooms. The kitchen with a Mutina floor (Mews collection by barber and Osgerby) in different dark gray tones is composed of three main elements, the most functional area in warm gray tones and white Silestone, the central island in green tones with the Chinese quartzite and a central element in stainless steel and finally the high furniture in oak wood. The large window in midnight blue - like the ceiling - is responsible for visually connecting the kitchen with the dining room and generates a dialogue where the person who cooks does not feel excluded from the more social plans taking place in the living room. This concept, introduced by Charlotte Perriand in 1952 in the Unité d'habitation de Marseille, is always very present in our projects. The living room in a gradient of greens is the lightest area of the house. Two free-standing bar units connect to the dining area and minimalist shelves flank the fireplace to create the social lounge. The furniture chosen by Note design for Sancal, &tradition, carpets by Giancarlo Valle and chairs by Studio Persona for Pierre Frey make visible that mix between tradition and modernity that stands out in the house. Juan Baraja's large-format photographs help to promote the importance of chromaticism and the use of color in the project. The privileged position of this room makes the sunset light make you think you are inside a painting by Sorolla, the Valencian painter who perfectly portrayed the sunsets of the Spanish Mediterranean.

The library completely in terracotta tones generates a sensation that envelops you. We always say that dark tones embrace you, and that was the goal of this room. Library-Office-TV room, this space had to be cozy and intimate. Oak wood that sets a rhythm becomes a bookshelf in the library part and the two bow-windows help to generate on one side the office area and on the other the TV area. Once again, the furniture is a mix of design icons and new designers. The Standard sofa by Edra, Bahamante bar cabinet and Indochino armchair by Cassina, Audo desk and Sancal armchairs.

The master bedroom is an explosion of earthy colors. The calatta viola marble we selected was different from the traditional two-tone and represented a wide range of warm colors where we drew inspiration for the chromatic palette of the room. The ceiling plane in dark blue, the floor plane in all Campaspero beige stone and the carpet and walls and tiling in pink and maroon tones. The EX.T bathtub becomes the protagonist of the space as it is framed by the marble and Zellige tiling. The fully paneled bedroom in shades of eggplant and canvassing makes a visual effect by hiding the closets behind the rhythm that runs throughout the room. Bedside tables. Nightstands by &Tradition, Parentesi lamp by Flos and textiles by Kvadrat close the design.

On the first floor we find the rest of the bedrooms where each one appropriates a color and makes it their own, contrasting with the neutral tones of the hallway. The doors, like those of the upper floor, generate geometric games where the Uovo door handles of the Olivari brand are emphasized. We highlight one of the bedrooms where the duality of blues generates a game between the bathroom tiles of the Mutina brand and DIN collection by Kostantin Grcic and its matte and gloss finishes that we extrapolate to the rest of the room. This chromatic range is matched by Pierre Frey's embroidered textiles. The bathrooms all have in common an Arabescatto marble, lacquered metals that make the shower enclosures with porthole and dark colors.

The social area for parties in the other wing of the house had to be a versatile and durable place. That's why we decided to use IQ Surface vinyl flooring designed by note Design. From there we built the chromatic grid in wine and maroon colors. Through some curtains the space could change from a cinema room to a party room hiding the TV and the kitchen. The wine bar in maroon colors and oak wood creates an intimate and special space.

Photographer: German Sáinz