Spanish Tile Transforms a Madrid Apartment Through Mexico-Inspired Colors

wooden arches separating the entrance hall from the living room — The wooden arches separated the entrance hall from the living room where white and yellow tiles were used to to make even more of an impression when exposed to direct sunlight.
*Photo: germansaiz.*

The vibrant tiles used in the living room space continue out onto the terrace.
*Photo: germansaiz.*

Inspired by Singapore, the terrace makes use of the yellow tile on the floor, leading visitors’ eyes to the blend of white and yellow tile traveling up the perimeter wall.
*Photo: germansaiz.*

The kitchen-diner was inspired by things typical of Mexico and clad in emerald green tiles.
*Photo: germansaiz.*

The green in the kitchen ties in with the upholstery of the same color used on the living room couch.
*Photo: germansaiz.*

blue and white tile installed in bathroom — The first bathroom used blue and white tile to create a striped decorative skirting to mark off different areas.
*Photo: germansaiz.*

red and white tile installed in bathroom — Working to achieve the same mission as the first bathroom, the second bathroom used red for its pop of color.
*Photo: germansaiz.*

Conde Duque is a cheerful, bohemian, carefree district in the heart of Madrid, Spain, with emerging new commercial activity in the form of shops with a modern yet vintage air. An apartment in one of the district’s narrow streets was refurbished throughout by interior design studio Sierra + De La Higuera, using tiles by Wow Design.

The owners of the 1,600-square-foot apartment are a well-travelled young couple, he from Galicia and she from Mexico. They wanted to stamp the hallmark of their roots on their new home. As the interior designers stated, “This project is the outcome of a quest to find color in Madrid, a characteristic inspired by the travels and origins of the apartment’s owners.”

The interior design studio was hired to revamp the whole apartment, changing its layout completely. Originally, it consisted of a series of rooms which flanked a long windowless corridor. The main aim of the design project was to create a more open-plan layout, with big living spaces, eliminating the corridors and maximizing the amount of natural light.

Expressive colors to bring a little piece of Mexico to Madrid

The interior designers opted for vibrant colors, such as bright yellows, greens, blues and reds, in order to create a cheerful atmosphere while also making a powerful impact. For this purpose, they chose small-format tiles by Wow Design from the Bejmat collection in different colors and sizes, used throughout the whole apartment.

“We opted for tiles because ceramic is a highly expressive, artisanal material, available in a wide variety of colors, allowing us to bring a little piece of Mexico to Madrid through color,” the interior designers told us.

The design of the entrance hall revolved around arch-shaped wood panels, used to separate two different parts of the house. One part is the kitchen-diner, inspired by things typical of Mexico and clad in emerald green tiles. The other part is made up of the terraces and living room, inspired by Singapore. White and yellow tiles were used in the latter, where they make even more of an impression when exposed to direct sunlight.

In some places, the colors of the tiles were also used on other furniture to create a sense of unity. For instance, the green in the kitchen ties in with the upholstery of the same color used on the living room couch. In this last room and in the two bathrooms, finished off in red and blue respectively, tiles were used to create striped decorative skirtings which mark off different areas.