“We were searching for a home with original Catalan Modernist features and hunted before the pandemic for a year or so. Aside from wanting a historic apartment, we also [needed] it to have a lot of natural light with lots of windows, some balconies, and a terrace,” Shirin writes.

They worked with the team at Loca Studio to take the best elements of this historic apartment — the colorful, patterned tiles, ceiling moldings, and windows — and blend them with a “fresh new take on Mediterranean-inspired minimalism with a bit of a Scandinavian approach to storage with hints of space-age design elements. We did all this with a sensitivity to utilizing local materials and local workmanship,” Shirin continues.

Shirin says that while the good bones of the home were evident, so were the previous owners’ bad design decisions. “The previous owners had done a terrible cherry red ’80s-style bathroom and kitchen renovation. One bathroom didn’t even have a sink! It had many bedrooms that were unnecessary for us, and the kitchen consisted of a tiny windowless room.” 

Along with updating the home’s style, they also added lots of functionality. “We took down all the extra walls to make one big bright and airy living space with an open kitchen, and we changed the natural layout entirely to make more sense,” Shirin writes, explaining that one bedroom became a full primary suite, and a tiny bathroom was transformed into a hidden laundry closet with sliding door.

“The [old] kitchen became a guest room and a main bedroom on the living room side became a huge open kitchen. We wanted the kitchen and bathrooms to utilize lots of local marble and have a very bright vibe with a hint of ’60s space age minimalism to all the fixtures.”

“Our timeline started with four months, but thanks to the pandemic with all its delays and challenges stretched into approximately a year. One objective was to make the space very fluid and flexible for our lifestyle, as we are both artists who work from home with two creative kids,” Shirin explains. “We are so happy with its Mediterranean minimalist vibe and with how it meets our many needs as both a home and an atelier for the entire family.”

• Mirror — Zara Home

• Track Sofa — Artifort
• Pacha Lounge — Gubi
• Vintage Metafora Table — Vignelli 
• Vintage space age lamp — Les Eines
• Vases — Na’im Moore
• Painting(s) — Shirin Sahba
• Wall sculptures — Bettina Gleiss
• Resin table/sculpture, Candy Cube — Sabine Marcelis

• Oval Table (discontinued model) — IKEA
• Vase — Na’im Moore
• Painting — Shirin Sahba
• Panton Chairs — Vitra 
• Cupboards (custom) — Montana Furniture 

• Tulip Table — Knoll
• Panton Chairs — Vitra  
• Kids high chairs  — Stokke

• Desk Lamp – Louis Poulsen
• Custom shelves — Montana Furniture
• Ceramic vase — Na’im Moore
• Custom desk — Montana Furniture
• Arper Office Chair — Kinesit (custom)
• Painting & headboard — Shirin Sahba
• Wall sculpture — Bettina Gleiss

• Art on door and paper horse — By our son Miró
• Paintings on wall — Shirin Sahba
• Custom dresser — Montana Furniture
• Toy Truck — Après Ski
• Toys — Chandal
• SLÄKT Kids beds — IKEA

• Cups — Na’im Moore
• Wall sculpture of woman — Javi Aznarez

Thanks, Shirin and Na’im!

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

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