00:02The apartment is located in Nena Casas, a calm street in the residential neighborhood of Tres Torres.
00:18This is our home and we share it with our dog Vilma.
00:25We both own our business, so we sometimes use home as an office.
00:32I'm Diana Martin, a creative director and copywriter.
00:37And I am Max Enrich, a furniture and object designer from Barcelona.
00:48Nena Casas is a very calm and green area with very little commercial activity.
00:58The villa was built in 1936. It belongs to a community of six small houses.
01:05They belong to six different prostitutes. Each house was named after one of them.
01:13Ours is named Villa Montserrat.
01:18The villa is 45 square meters, with an additional 4 square meters for the glass patio and 40 square meters
01:26for the rooftop terrace.
01:30Our concept was to create an open yet intimate space with furniture that serves more than one purpose.
01:39Even though we are limited in space, we didn't want to feel like there's anything missing.
01:49Originally, the ground floor of the villa had many rooms divided by walls.
01:55We removed all the walls, except for one that divides the bedroom from the main space.
02:01We added a new bathroom inside the bedroom.
02:05We designed and integrated furniture built into the villa for plenty of storage space.
02:12Finally, we designed a glass patio that extends the living area to the outdoor space.
02:20As you enter the villa, you are greeted by Vilma on the curtain.
02:26We made a cutout for the door to let more light into the entrance.
02:33There is a custom bookshelf, or library as we like to call it.
02:39It divides the entrance from the rest of the house and creates some intimacy from the moment you come in.
02:47There is hidden storage at the bottom.
02:50Along the left-hand side is a custom-built low storage unit that spans the entire length of the wall.
02:58It provides hidden storage and a surface to display objects that we have collected.
03:08The furniture and wall on this side of the room was painted in a light mustard colour.
03:14It creates a nice contrast to the light blue floors.
03:20We built a multifunctional piece that combines a sofa, a dining table and a counter,
03:27all-in-one seamless unit made out of painted MDF.
03:32The countertop can also collapse down when not in use to free up space.
03:40On the other side is a dining table that can seat up to five.
03:48The kitchen is fully equipped with an induction cooktop, a medium-sized sink, a hidden dishwasher and lots of storage
03:57from floor to ceiling.
04:02The kitchen also continues around the wall under the stairs, where you can find a fridge, oven and more pantry
04:10space.
04:13Under the stairs we have our laundry behind a hidden door.
04:24The office is to the right of the kitchen and continues to follow the same design language to look like
04:31one large unit.
04:36We integrated a built-in light above the desk and plenty of storage all around.
04:42The table has a glass top and showcases our collection of scissors.
04:54You enter the bedroom using the sliding doors.
05:00Above the bed there is a narrow ledge behind to act as a headboard and a place to put our
05:06lamp and personal belongings.
05:09There is a large built-in closet along the wall.
05:17The bedroom also contains our bathroom.
05:21We wanted the rooms to seamlessly blend into each other,
05:25so we decided not to divide the spaces with the wall, which would also darken the bedroom.
05:32We used small grey mosaic tiles from floor to ceiling and also covered the entire vanity with the same tiles.
05:46The best part of showering here is the automated skylight.
05:52You can have a shower with natural light and as it opens, all the heat and steam can leave the
05:59house.
06:03The glass extension allows us to bring the outside into our villa.
06:09The extension also contains the stairs that lead us to the rooftop terrace.
06:18The rooftop is like a small house by itself.
06:23It's very nice to have it here in Barcelona with the weather that we have.
06:28We use it almost all year round.
06:31We design outdoor furniture so we can have a dining table and some seating where we can relax and entertain
06:38our friends.
06:40We have also filled it with lots of plants to provide a lot of greenery to keep the space fresh
06:46and also create some shades.
06:51When designing small spaces, we combine furniture to a more multifunctional solution.
06:59This way we optimize space.
07:03Barcelona has its expansion limited by the geographical context.
07:08There are still plenty of small spaces to be refurbished to make more housing for people.
07:14We think these inner city dwellings are suitable for couples, young families and even the elderly.
07:23For the moment, it is just the two of us living here and Vilma, of course.
07:27This villa has everything we need in a small space.
07:43This villa has everything we need in a small space.
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