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Paris-based Atelier du Pont has teamed up with Menorca-based Aru Arquitectura to convert a pair of dilapidated old farm buildings into a summer house with a surprising mix of colours and textures. More
The founders of Spanish studio Masquespacio have transformed a traditional Valencian farmhouse into their self-designed home and studio, with maximalist interiors that nod to the Memphis movement.
Creative and life partners Ana Milena Hernández Palacios and Christophe Penasse renovated the 1920s villa, which was once a farmhouse on the outskirts of Valencia, to create a hybrid home and studio that reflects their maximalist approach to interiors.
Masquespacio has designed a live-work space in Valencia”Everything revolves around the concept of play,” explained Hernández Palacios, who co-founded Masquespacio with Penasse in 2010.
“We’ve been influenced by many styles over the last decade, from New Memphis to art deco and futurism,” Penasse added. “We can say that our private home is a mix of it all.”
The ground floor holds the studio’s workspacesThe duo maintained the building’s original timber front door and white facade decorated with light-blue window frames and ornate grilles.
Inside, the ground floor was reserved for their studio, spread across several interconnected meeting rooms in the former farmstead, known locally as an alquería.
Masquespacio restored the building’s original hydraulic floor tilesHere, Masquespacio restored the building’s decoratively patterned hydraulic floor tiles alongside its traditional doors and windows.
Painted in bright hues, they help to colour-code the different office spaces, filled with the studio’s characteristic chunky, lumpy and latticed furniture.
There is a double-height interior courtyard at the centre of the home”As always, the project includes a mix of colours, textures and forms – one of the main aspects of all our designs, no matter what aesthetic we’re working with,” Penasse told Dezeen.
At the centre of the home is a double-height interior courtyard illuminated by skylights, with exposed-brick walls painted in lilac surrounded by wiggly flowerbeds with lush statement cheese plants.
From the courtyard, visitors can see up to an interior balcony on the first floor, which is accessed via a purple concrete staircase and contains the living spaces.
The couple’s bed is encased in a green dome next to a hot-pink seating booth.The balcony reveals two sculptural objects – a giant green dome that conceals the couple’s bed and a curved hot-pink screen that hides a seating booth.
This immersive furniture – Penasse’s favourite part of the project – creates a focal point that connects both levels of the house but also provides more private quarters for the couple despite the open nature of the overall plan.
A mosaic of yellow tiles defines the bathroom”There are no wall partitions to hide our home [from downstairs] but it’s kept private by the bed’s form and a semi-transparent green curtain that allows us to take advantage of the natural light almost everywhere on the upper floor,” explained Penasse.
The sleeping area is connected to the main living space via a tunnel-like corridor, which includes an all-yellow bathroom with triangular cabinets and walls clad with a mosaic of handmade ceramic tiles.
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Opposite the bathroom is a colourful open-air terrace featuring circular windows and similar built-in seating to Bun Turin – an Italian burger joint designed by Masquespacio with boxy blue-tiled tables created to look like swimming pools.
“Geometry can be found all over our house,” explained Hernández Palacios. “Everything is a game of circles and triangles.”
The terrace follows a similar geometry to the interiorsThe light blue kitchen includes large, triangular alcoves and cupboards finished in natural stone and aluminium, designed to conceal utilities.
There is also an island made from veiny marble and petite glazed tiles. Bespoke Masquespacio bar stools were wrapped in matching pale blue fabric.
Triangular cupboards feature in the kitchenNext to the open-plan kitchen, the living and dining spaces include more brightly coloured furniture from the studio’s Mas Creations collection, which features the same twisted and angular shapes and soft upholstery as the pieces downstairs.
Floor-to-ceiling curtains form a backdrop for a snaking lime green sofa, while dark green dining chairs with pyramidal backrests were positioned around a jewel-like glass table.
Striking pyramid-shaped dining chairs continue the maximalist theme”Ninety-five per cent of the furniture and objects in our house are part of our Mas Creations collection, locally designed and produced by our studio,” said Penasse.
Similarly bold projects from Masquespacio include a restaurant in Milan, Italy, with interiors that take cues from futuristic spaceships and the first Mango Teen store in Barcelona featuring vivid graphic shapes.
The photography is courtesy of Masquespacio.
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A 19th-century farmhouse hidden away in the mountains of Ibiza has been converted into a hotel, where guests stay inside earthy, minimalist suites with interiors conceived by creative director Carlota Sarda Caralps.
The remote Aguamadera resort opened earlier this year and was designed as “a secluded hideaway home” with a focus on nature, wellness and food.
A 19th-century farmhouse has been converted into a boutique hotelThe brainchild of Pacha Group co-founder Iria Urgell and hospitality entrepreneur Pablo Fernández-Valdés, the hotel was designed under the creative direction of Sarda Caralps.
Positioned atop a hill near the beach resort of Cala Llonga, the finca – or farmhouse – and its outbuildings constructed in 1888 were converted to accommodate seven guest rooms and four suites.
The pink flowers of a large bougainvillea tree contrast the whitewashed buildingThe renovated whitewashed structures sit among 27 acres of pine forests, olive groves and terraced agricultural land, from which much of the produce used in the hotel’s restaurant is sourced.
The name Aguamadera is derived from the Spanish words for water and wood, in a nod to the fact that the hotel hopes to promote healing through nature in its rural setting.
A covered porch features built-in seating for loungingThis translates into the design through the use of natural materials like clay plaster walls, wooden furniture, linen textiles and jute carpets.
Simplicity reigns throughout the resort. The textured plasterwork forms organically shaped surfaces and the cement floors complement the neutral palette.
Small pendant lights hang from the exposed ceiling beams in the casual dining areaThe main building is minimally decorated with locally crafted furniture, objects and a rotating series of works by Ibizan artists.
“Our venue serves as a vessel between artists and guests,” said the operators.
“Aguamadera presents pieces of art for a limited time only where paintings, sculptures, environmental art and rare objects are integrated within the hotel experience.”
Furniture, objects and works by local artists and artisans are displayed throughoutTowards the back is the restaurant, where the kitchen and its wood-fired oven are completely open to the casual dining area.
Small pendant lights suspended from the exposed wooden ceiling beams softly illuminate the tables, which are set with tableware by British artisan and artist Sarah Jerath.
The old farmhouse accommodates seven guest rooms”Cosy, easy-going and fresh, the space allows you to explore the valley from within with sunset views,” the team said.
“In the essence of the winter season, a colossal fireplace evokes nostalgic charm.”
The rooms have a monastic quality and are furnished with only the essentialsSpread over two floors, the guest rooms in the farmhouse have a monastic quality, with the earth-toned furnishings and decor elements reduced to only what’s necessary.
Larger multi-room suites are located in corrals – the outbuildings that formerly housed livestock – and have the same visual language as the other spaces.
Cushioned loungers surround the swimming pool, which overlooks the valley beyond”Rustic wood finishes, built-in furniture, quality materials and soft textures are highlighted through sculptural silhouettes, the cornerstone of our design,” said the team.
Across the site, several terraces facing the surrounding valleys offer outdoor spaces for guests to eat, drink and relax.
Five hotels in Ibiza that combine farmhouse living with contemporary design
A covered porch is lined with built-in seats for lounging and is further shaded by a bougainvillaea tree, whose pink flowers starkly contrast the building’s white walls.
The pool terrace below features chunky cushioned loungers placed on terracotta tiles and is wrapped by a low dry-stone wall.
The hotel’s larger suites are housed in the outbuildings formerly used for livestockSunset is best enjoyed from cushions and mats placed under a huge tree on the opposite side of the building to the pool, where a large al fresco dining area is also located.
Details include hollow bricks with patterned faces embedded into the walls, which glow softly at night to help guests navigate around the site.
The suites have their own outdoor areasAguamadera hosts a variety of activities for guests and the local community, from exhibitions and workshops to wellness offerings such as sound meditations, rituals and ceremonies.
Ibiza is renowned the world over as a party destination but visitors are beginning to appreciate its natural beauty and rural charm, too.
Multiple terraces wrapped by dry-stone walls can be used by guestsSeveral of the island’s old farmhouses have been converted into hotels or private villas, including a 200-year-old stone building that was turned into the members-only retreat La Granja.
The historic port city of Eivissa has also seen a recent renaissance, with locations from international groups The Standard and Experimental both opening within the past couple of years.
The photography is by Lekuona Studio. The main image is by Mateo Sánchez Garcia De La Cruz.
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