Bespoke curation sees this San Sebastián home bypass the alienation inherent in new things—immediately becoming a well-loved refuge.
Behind a Belle Époque-era façade, the apartment Donostia San Sebastián, is located in the city’s ‘romantic quarter’, bookended by bay views and a river. Its interior features were jettisoned during a previous redevelopment, leaving a blank canvas. Estudio Iñigo Iriarte founder, Iñigo Iriarte was called upon for both his design nous and local knowledge. Seeking refuge, the clients wanted warmth and character injected—a home set in place considering heritage, climate and lifestyle. The soulless blank canvas was a drawcard for Iriarte, a challenge to embed a sense of personal time and depth. “There was no architecture to mark the way for us. Everything had to be built from perspective, proportion and conscious decision making,” Iriarte says.
Daylight hours gravitate to the open-plan entryway, living and kitchen spaces that operate as one volume. Rather than disrupt the space with harsh dividers, the team used art to delineate areas. Beyond feature walls, works are hung on kitchen cabinetry, or a narrow wall-end, offering a salon-like experience that impresses meaning into interstitial spaces.
Extracting comfortable circulation from cosy narrow bedrooms was a challenge, overcome by reconfiguring bed placement and taking advantage of raised ceilings. Custom-designed headboards extend vertically, strategically-placed mirrors accentuate light and bespoke, bedside tables add warmth. Iriarte explains that through seemingly “small structural decisions, proportions, light textiles and artisanal details, we managed to give each bedroom the sensation of a suite, something that initially seemed unrealisable.”
A bespoke green Alpi marble table by Estudio Iñigo Iriarte grounds the dining space, framed by Lizzo curtains and surrounded by chairs and an Italian Diablo pendant light from Iñigo Iriarte’s Veluto, a concept store exploring international brands and artists alongside local craftsmanship.
The living space features coffee tables in metal and red Baztan marble, both designed by Estudio Iñigo Iriarte. They are encircled by a sofa reupholstered in a light-grained Andrew Martin fabric, beside a striped sofa from Sovet upholstered in Dedar Sn Regimen 004 fabric, atop a Coltlin rug. To the left perch Stua armchairs, upholstered in Güell LaMadrid fabric.
A collection of eras combine eclectically with a French antique console contrasting an Estudio Iñigo Iriarte-designed metal pedestal with stone sculpture from Veluto, below a contemporary figurative artwork, ‘Donna e Nippote’, by Antonio Madre.
Designed by Estudio Iñigo Iriarte, a green Alpi marble and walnut timber entryway bench, with cushioning upholstered in Güell LaMadrid fabric holds assorted objects from Veluto.
Throughout, bespoke elements carve personality into the home. Ceilings are treated with cornices and mouldings redolent of the region’s history. The living space is rimmed by a custom marble, timber and sheet-metal fireplace unit that Iriarte describes “acts as the project’s axis”, coordinating the space both vertically and horizontally.
A sculptural, bespoke dining table hosts the heart of the home. Designed by Iriarte, the green Alpi marble combined with stainless-steel accents balances the contemporary with timelessness. “Bespoke elements are important. They allow us to respond with precision to the place and its scale,” Iriarte discusses. “They don’t come from a catalogue but from a specific need: how people gather, how the space is inhabited, what intensity each point requires.”
The home’s personality is designed “without relying on the obvious,” Iriarte reflects. “It works on atmosphere rather than gesture.” As such, Donostia San Sebastián’s design doesn’t forcefully adapt, its character is coaxed out via softly layered arrangements that expedite the passage of time between new and well-loved.
A fireplace unit crafted from marble, timber and metal designed by Estudio Iñigo Iriarte, accompanies two folded metal sculptures by Egika with timber-framed artwork by Antonio Madre, hung off-centre. The living room’s ceiling rose nods to the building’s former ornateness, simultaneously cushioning the vastness of the space.
A bespoke headboard by Estudio Iñigo Iriarte and ceiling light from Veluto, a pair of brass Willy Rizzo lamps for Lumica with custom yellow shades, and 1970s SOKA mahogany bedside tables with marble tops from Veluto.
A custom-designed oak veneer timber desk by Estudio Iñigo Iriarte can also manoeuvre into a bed, with a Niels Jorgen Haugesen X-line chair and Reflejos candelabras, both from Veluto, is offset by a bold green Sancal side table from Veluto.
