“When I went to visit the chosen apartment, in a building from 1930, with an old and vintage style, I immediately fell in love with the place. An elderly gentleman had lived there until he was 90 years old, and you could feel his and his family’s history in the air,” begins Anna, who shares her home with two devastatingly adorable (my opinion) Maltese Bichon dogs, Bruce and Mia.

Although full of great architectural character and lots of history, the apartment did need to be completely renovated to be the modern and comfortable home Anna and her dogs would need. But rather than completely rip everything out and start anew, Sigla took great care to blend the existing architectural character with modern comforts and Anna’s own personality and style.

“The gentleman’s nephews allowed us to keep some furniture from that time period, which my father worked on to restore them to their former glory. The goal was to preserve as much as possible of the essence of the apartment and the different generations that had lived in it, combining all these elements with a more modern touch. One of the built-in closets was filled with old tools and memories in the form of letters and watches, etc., which we sorted out and returned to the family,” Anna reveals.

Initially, the apartment’s layout featured one bedroom, two small rooms with a built-in wall closet, a dining room, and a kitchen that was in the same room as the shower and the bathroom. Some of the biggest things the renovation accomplished was getting the shower out of the kitchen, and creating a more open and bright kitchen and dining room area. There’s now a bedroom, a guest room with a built-in closet, and a combined kitchen and dining room.

The ceiling throughout was raised to reveal original Catalan vault ceilings. And original textures like potassium silicates, wax enamels, lime paint, and natural oils were meticulously restored. Even most of the old tile floors could be preserved, save for the floor in the shower and bathroom, which were replaced with a new mortar floor featuring a handcrafted design with aggregates from Mallorca. 

“I consider that the biggest challenge we faced when carrying out the renovation of the apartment was achieving the main goal: preserving and restoring as many of these old elements from the era as possible and combining them with new, more modern elements that would complement the old ones. This had to be taken into account at every step, from macrostructures to finally choosing the furniture,” Anna writes. “It is worth mentioning that the neighbors made things easy for me during the construction, which lasted for several months, and they were very understanding of the project.”

• Entryway table — ​It belonged to the man who lived in the apartment. It was restored by my father.
• Entryway mirror — It belonged to the man who lived in the apartment. It was restored by my father.
• Coat rack — It belonged to the man who lived in the apartment. It was restored by my father.

• Dining table — I bought the dining table at a store in Barcelona that specializes in antique and restored furniture called El Recibidor. It had to be antique as well to match the rest of the furniture in the apartment.
• Chairs  — The chairs are also from the store El Recibidor.
• Stools  — The stools are also from the store El Recibidor.
• Sofa — The sofa in the living room is from the brand Sancal and the model is called Sumo.
• TV stand — It belonged to the man who lived in the apartment. It was restored by my father.

• Pink marble — ​Custom-made by the company Huguet in Mallorca

• Headboard of the bed — ​It belonged to the man who lived in the apartment. It was restored by my father.
• Fold-down desk cabinet — ​It belonged to the man who lived in the apartment. It was restored by my father.
• Chair — ​It belonged to the man who lived in the apartment. It was restored by my father.
• Clothes hanger — ​It belonged to the man who lived in the apartment. It was restored by my father.
• Bed — ​It belonged to my family. 

• Pink marble — ​Custom-made by the company Huguet in Mallorca

Thanks, Anna!

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.

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