This apartment is located in one of the first buildings of the mythical Via Laietana, a street which opened in the 1920s to connect the new part of the city with the sea, crossing the entire Gothic quarter. The high rise, classic buildings and relatively narrow streets have led it to be known for its “Chicago style”.

The building in which the apartment is located was built in 1918 and was completely renovated in 2015. The residence is located on the second floor and has exclusive access to a large three hundred square foot terrace, in which our furniture has helped to create an atmosphere that helps one leave the city while still being immersed in it.

The terrace is divided into three spaces. The first is partially covered by a pergola and enclosed by a translucent glass railing. For this space, we supplied a marble mosaic floor, a large dining table and a large couch. The second space is completely open and flanked with fruit trees, flower trees, rose bushes, jasmine, gardenia, azaleas and geraniums. We provided and installed the custom-made wooden planters for this space and advised on the most suitable plants to acquire to maintain color and vegetation during the four seasons of the Mediterranean region. For the third part of the terrace, a more intimate space was created, for which we supplied a circular forged iron kiosk and a round mosaic and iron table. Two large red bougainvilleas, six cypresses and a white rosebush cover the outside of the kiosk, providing greater intimacy and color.

The marble mosaic that decorates this social area is a reproduction of a Roman mosaic from the 3rd century AD, which can be seen in the Greco-Roman ruins of Ampurias. We commissioned the mosaic from a small workshop in the Tunisian city of Djem. It is a city where, in addition to having the best preserved amphitheater of the Roman Empire, mosaics continue to be manufactured using the same historic technique and expertise. The mosaic covers 83 square feet and 550 kilograms of ½-inch tiles were used, glued together in 1 x 1-foot meshes.

The steel sofa was made to measure by a Colombian artisan in Bogotá, and the central lamp was from a Belgian lighting house. The iron kiosk in the final part of the terrace was also from Belgium, while the marble, resin and iron round table that was placed inside, with a grid pattern in two colors, was imported from Morocco.

The apartment is not very big and has just two bedrooms and a living room, so as part of this project, the objective was to maximize the space. Born in Wood were commissioned to create a pair of built-in wardrobes for the bedrooms and a sliding door, display cabinet and corner cabinet for the living-dining room.

For the sliding door we found a 6-leaf Chinese screen printing from the 19th century and commissioned a local carpenter to make the structure to transform this precious work of art into sliding doors. This well-executed idea has permitted the living room to become a space that also serves as a guest room, as there is also a sofa bed in this room. The corner furniture was made of Colombian oak. This furniture includes a wardrobe, drawers, bookshelves and a free space to install a flat-screen television.

The cabinet was made by the same cabinetmaker, also in Colombian oak. Three modules were made, of two pieces each to facilitate installation. The closets were made of MDF, painted white and lacquered.

Elements made by Born in Wood for this project:

Interior area.

• Corner furniture
• Cabinets(3)
• Built-in cabinets (2)

 

Terrace.

• Round stone table (green and white mosaic grid) with iron structure
• Wrought iron circular kiosk
• Planters in immunized and painted wood
• Steel L-shaped sofa with foam and weatherproof fabric
• Teak dining table
• Four benches in steel and wood of two meters with reclining back
• 85 square foot mosaic floor
• Translucent glass handrail
• Pergola structured with tensioned stainless steel cables