For Marina Sezam, an interior designer who defines herself as someone who creates balanced, attractive, and personalized projects for clients, there were only two absolute “must haves” when she was searching for a new apartment for herself and her two sons: It had to be bright and it had to have a terrace. When she found this space, it was time to become her own client.

Her hunt for a dream apartment in Barcelona took so long, she actually fell in love and got married (to Paco, her husband), and so the search for a home for three became a search for four. When the couple found this apartment—before even making an offer—Marina spent a whole day sketching out all that she wanted to do with the space (and there was a lot) to make sure it would work for the family. Through her drawing and scheming, it was clear they would be able to turn this into the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home of their dreams, and so they began renovations immediately.

This wasn’t just a paint job or two. It was a pretty dramatic remodel; the couple demolished and rebuilt most everything, including the stairs, and a new layout was designed to optimize flow, light, and space. Marina, who led the design (though everyone in the family had a say in planning, picking new materials, finding furniture, and doing a little bit of arguing over decisions), says the renovation was pretty easy in that the apartment’s architectural bones guided the design.

In the end, the home came out so beautiful that even as much as three months after the renovations were completed—and the whole family was moved in—Marina couldn’t quite believe this was her new home!

Style:  Harmonic and clean

Inspiration: I get inspired from Nordic style because of the simplicity, but also in the places I go, like hotels, restaurants. I take details from everywhere I go.

Favorite element: The kitchen. Because it is the place where we share the most as a family.

Biggest Challenge: The kid’s bathroom. Our first idea was quite original and would have been really expensive so I tried to do something else. But that idea was also original and challenging to figure out. In the end it was as expensive as the first idea and we weren’t so in love with the result either.

Biggest embarrassment: The light in the dining room. It was supposed to illuminate the kitchen and the dining table but it’s very hard to move so it’s always in the middle illuminating nothing.

What friends say: They are always saying that we really took advantage of the space. They also love the terrace.

Proudest DIY: I’m proud of the entire design but I didn’t physically do anything by myself!

Biggest indulgence: The lights in my bedroom. My husband saw them in a magazine and I wanted to buy something he had picked out. So I started searching for them, and found out they were a design from an interior design studio from Hong Kong. The only two places where you could buy them were Asia or the U.S. So I contacted the distribution company from the U.S. and bought them. They arrived from California a few days later.

Best advice: Think carefully about how you want to live! The place has to adapt to your needs not the other way around!

Dream Sources: An interior designer called Isabel Lopez.

• Sofa – Joquer
•  Tv cabinet – Treku
• Lamp – Artemide Tolomeo
• Pillows – Joquer and Lamadrid
• Picture – by Marina Sezam
• Puff – Treku
• Shelf – Treku
• White Side Table – Pilma
• Brown Side Table – African artist

• Table – Treku
• Chairs – Hay
• Side Cabinet – Treku
• Brown Chair – Pilma
• Black Lamp – Lampe Grass 304 XL
• Side lamp from shelf – Filinlamp by Ignasi Paré
• Shelf – Custom made
• Furniture – Santos

• Table – Kettal
• Chairs – Kartell
• Sofa – Kettal
• Side table – Kettal
• Pillows – Kettal and Zara Home

• Chairs – La Cadira
• Shelfing – Mobles 114

• Statue – by an artist from Cadaqués

• Lamp – Falkland de Bruno Munari

• Lamps – Seed Design
• Bed Side table – Pilma

Thanks, Marina!

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