Other vases and objects demonstrate the talents of Catalonian makers, in styles true to the area. “For me, this project was really an opportunity to create something local that felt genuinely Mediterranean,” Juan says. That sentiment rings true elsewhere as well. The bathroom is decorated with a green ceramic tile—a particular ode to the region’s rich decor trends of decades past.
A theme of serendipity carried Pieter into the dining room and beyond. The table and chairs that anchor the room and serve as the apartment’s main gathering space are an antique designer set by Guilleumas, a Catalonian company in business from 1922 to 1967, but the couple stumbled upon it on Wallapop (Spain’s equivalent of Craigslist), priced at nearly nothing. “That’s what I enjoy about technology,” Juan says. “It opens up so many exciting secondhand options. As soon as we saw these pieces, we instantly knew, okay, this is happening.”
More personal and artisan touches abound. The rattan pendant above the dining table is by a craftsman from the region of Empordà, while the painting was another family gift to Pieter—this time, a work by Irish artist Peter Beha, from an art dealer cousin in London. Nearby in the living room, a different painting was a pooled birthday gift from a group of Pieter’s friends, illustrating the immense depth of memory and intimacy strung throughout the entirety of the flat. “Everything here has a story,” Juan says. “We created this place with things collected from so many people we adore.”
