FILL THE SPACE OR DESIGN THE INTERIOR
I was delighted when Marta and Edward invited me to review their new home.
Marta is a lawyer and Edward a professor in the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Both have been professionally settled for a long time. They have two lovely daughters: Cristina aged 7 and Anna aged 12.
It has been a year since they decided to change their home, the previous one being in the suburb of Sant Andreu in Barcelona – and they wanted something more central.
They had the opportunity to acquire a flat of 135 square metres in Gracia near to Diagonal. The building is from the beginning of the 20th century, with a well-balanced façade, modernist touches, in good condition and with few neighbours.
Being third floor, the apartment had a lot of natural light. A year ago it had been in good condition but it needed a lick of paint, good lighting, well-chosen furniture – in other words a coherent interior restyling.
They asked me to pay a visit and to cast my eye over the changes they had made themselves. They said they had done everything themselves because they didn’t have the budget for a proper restyling.
The apartment was beautiful, but I was very surprised when they invited me into the dining room. There was a large 18th century wooden oval table that, totally disproportionate, filled the entire space of the room. It had cost them 6,200 euros in an antique shop and instead of being 76 cms in height, was only 71 cms – people in the 18th century being considerably smaller. It was difficult to enter or leave the room and its enormity left few options for accessory furniture.
It was a complete absurdity given the circumstances but what struck me most was how Edward repeated “Run your fingers along this beautiful antique wood – so old and a patina so beautiful”. Yes – but inappropriate! We went on to talk about the other changes they had made and I explained the importance of having a leitmotif, an idea, an argument or a story that would unite the discrete parts.
They understood what I meant and why, sometimes, it’s a good idea to draw on the services of an interior designer.
Finally, we sold the table to a client of mine for whom it was a perfect fit and started to work together on a restyling project.
It’s an example of what interior design is really about – and one of the factors which gives me greatest pleasure in my chosen profession: enriching living spaces and solving difficulties.
FILLING THE SPACE: putting in elements or things to fill the space
DESIGNING THE INTERIOR: the process by which a leitmotif is pursued linking everything together into a harmonious whole. It is a creative and technical process which requires knowledge of architecture, construction, design, art and landscape.
So – the decision is ultimately yours: fill the space or design the interior!
If you need help in your home or business, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Email: Sonia@ambientainteriors.com
