This 506-Square-Foot Apartment Lives Large With Cheery Yellow Interiors and an Outdoor Soaking Tub

Houses We Love: Every day we feature a remarkable space submitted by our community of architects, designers, builders, and homeowners. 

Project Details: 

Location: Madrid, Spain

Architect: Gon Architects

Builder: REDO Construcción

Year: 2022

Footprint: 506 square feet

Photographer: Imagen Subliminal / @imagensubliminal

From the Architect: "There is a popular Italian expression, il dolce far niente, which can be interpreted as a way of life linked to the pleasure of doing nothing. It can be an unoccupied and idle attitude that activates creativity in a person.

"With this life philosophy, which renounces hurrying and instead emphasizes quiet existence, Casa Gialla is projected. It’s a renovation of a 506-square-foot apartment located in a building near the very central Puerta del Sol in Madrid.

"The client, Ceci, an Italian from north of Milan who loves design, technology, and the good life, wanted something pragmatic and enjoyable. Under Ceci’s premises, an attic space with wooden beams, dark and compartmentalized, was transformed into a bright, open, and flexible place with two simple and precise actions: demolishing and equipping.

"Before, the house wasn’t well lit or ventilated, and the floor plan was partitioned into a living-kitchen-dining room, two bedrooms, a small bathroom, and a ramshackle terrace. Those partitions were removed.

"The perimeter of the interiors now include a storage system with different heights, the main one being a permeable and linear piece of furniture in mustard yellow that runs 5.6 meters long, 60 centimeters deep, 2.30 meters high.

"This perimeter storage frees up the center of the dwelling, which is now a large, flexible, multifunctional rectangular room measuring 7-by-2.5 meters that’s linked to a south-west-facing terrace. This central space, which is minimally furnished with a circular table, two chairs, a sofa, a side table, and a countertop with wheels, is where most of the domestic activities take place; it is the place to cook, eat, work, read, and even sleep thanks to a folding bed hidden in the back wall.

"The program of the rest of the house includes the bedroom overlooking the multifunctional room through a window, a bathroom, and a shower separated from the toilet and sink that’s accessible via the interior or the terrace. Here there are three elements for a life of pleasure: a shower, bathtub, and plants."

More from Gon Architects:

An Old Stone Wall Props Up an Experimental Micro-Flat in Spain

Pockets of Color Turn a Ho-Hum Madrid Flat Into a Funky Bachelor Pad