This 948-Square-Foot Barcelona Home Has the Coolest “Carpet of Tiles”
Cullen Ormond
·7 min read
When Matthew Coe, who owns VistaFutura Associates, first toured this one-bedroom apartment in Barcelona's Sant Antoni neighborhood, he was delighted by the unit's floor tiles. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
"I first visited the apartment in the spring of 2021. It was a sunny day, and the floors, although worn with the passage of time, were brilliant, a different 'carpet' of tiles in nearly every room," Coe shares. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
"Matched by the ceiling molding, another feature of Barcelona modernismo," he continues. "The space was bathed in light, and sunlight was pouring through windows in the front and back." Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
In 2021, Coe and architect Luis Turrens of ArcWorld renovated the apartment, bringing the kitchen toward the front of the apartment. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
"I engaged a general contractor, Construcciones Cañizares, a mid-size local contractor that I had worked with previously on a number of projects, and worked on the design of the kitchen with Wilma Martinez of Taller d'en Pich," Coe explains. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
Coe refers to the floor tiles as the "protagonist" of the apartment and based design decisions, like the "high-end Italian" kitchen cabinetry, on the colors. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
"A marriage of traditional Barcelona modernism with the introduction of contemporary furnishings, including modern European kitchen cabinetry," Coe shares of his design style. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
"My design approach has always been inspired by the original interior design," he continues. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
"I look for apartments as close to their original state as possible (sparsely renovated over the years) and try to preserve the elements that define the space (tiles, wooden carpentry, ceiling motifs, and molding) and introduce modern design that complements the original and makes the home relevant to the way I live today," he writes. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
The hydraulic tiles, which are common in Barcelona homes, are "without a doubt" Coe's favorite part of the apartment. There are tiles in every room. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
Coe had only been looking for an apartment for three weeks when he toured this home. The previous owners had lived there for over 70 years. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
"In the Sant Antoni apartment, I wanted to create a space that reflected how I wanted to live — a space where I could work, relax, and entertain," Coe writes. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
"Rather than the series of smallish spaces in the original floorplan, I wanted to create larger spaces with two zones, one for day and one for the night. I wanted the night zone to have generous sleeping, dressing, and bathing areas," he continues. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
A view from the living area into the primary suite. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
"I wanted to reduce, as much as possible, the presence of hallways," Coe explains. "I sacrificed a guest bedroom to create a large main bedroom, en suite bathroom (open space), and dressing area." Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
Coe's proudest DIY is transforming a bookshelf and using it to separate the bathroom from the bedroom. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
"I had originally envisaged a series of wood poles, when cost rose significantly, found a bookshelf in an online store from Valencia, painted it, and created a 'plant wall.' The result was better than the original idea of wood poles," he writes. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
The primary suite was created during the renovation. "To the rear of the house is the sleeping area with a large, hotel-style open bathroom with a separate water closet," Coe notes. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
"It had been my dream to live in a modernistic building in a traditional area," Coe shares. "The tree-lined street was pedestrianized recently, returning the area to the feel of a market street from the late 19th Century." Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
For small-space living, Coe suggests installing floor-to-ceiling closets to maximize storage opportunities. He had an L-shaped "armario" (or cupboard) installed in his bedroom. Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
"In a traditional Barcelona home, take inspiration from the colors in the existing floor tiles," Coe shares as a design tip. "If colorful, go for more basic cabinetry and furnishings with splashes of color. Lots of plants on the balconies!" Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
Coe's dream with the renovation was to have the "Mediterranean light to reach even the center of the apartment." Credit: Lula PoggiCredit: Lula Poggi
It only took three weeks for Matthew Coe, founder of VistaFutura Associates, a firm that provides interior design and project management services to people who recently bought homes in Barcelona, to find his current apartment. His first time visiting the apartment was pure magic.
“I first visited the apartment in the spring of 2021. It was a sunny day, and the floors, although worn with the passage of time, were brilliant, a different ‘carpet’ of tiles in nearly every room,” he writes. “Matched by the ceiling molding, another feature of Barcelona modernismo. The space was bathed in light, and sunlight was pouring through windows in the front and back.”
The one-bedroom apartment is in Barcelona’s Sant Antoni neighborhood and had been owned by the previous family for over 70 years. Coe has renovated over 25 apartments in the last decade (with the help of architect Luis Turrens of ArcWorld), so it’s no surprise that he wanted to reimagine the space.
“I wanted to create a space that reflected how I wanted to live — a space where I could work, relax, and entertain,” Coe shares. “Rather than the series of smallish spaces in the original floorplan, I wanted to create larger spaces with two zones — one for day and one for the night. I wanted the night zone to have generous sleeping, dressing, and bathing areas.”
Coe’s approach to renovating is keeping it close to the original space while adding “modern design that complements the original and makes the home relevant to the way I live today,” he explains. In his apartment, he looked to the hydraulic ceramic tiles on the floor to inform the design decisions throughout the rest of the space.
The apartment is the perfect blend of old and new, which mirrors the outside of the home, too. “It had been my dream to live in a modernistic building in a traditional area,” Coe explains. “The tree-lined street was pedestrianized recently, returning the area to the feel of a market street from the late 19th century.”
Marvin Harrison Jr., Fanatics said, “rejected or ignored every request” from the company while refusing to fulfill obligations of their contract that was signed last May.
Clark set the Indiana Fever’s franchise record for turnovers (10), shot 5-of-15 from the floor and struggled with the Connecticut Sun’s physical defense.
