My Houzz: An Architect's Bright and Character-packed Home
We tour Italian architect Teresa Sapey's eclectic and artistic apartment
Tachy Mora
6 June 2017
“My home is imperfect, just like me. Welcome to my world,” architect Teresa Sapey says. The way she speaks and communicates her thoughts and ideas – in few words, but always with great humour and irony – is indicative of how Sapey approaches both life and design. Indeed, her personality can be felt in every inch of this space, which is filled to the brim with handpicked artwork and iconic décor items. As Sapey notes, her apartment is “not an interior-design project, but a life project.”
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here Architect Teresa Sapey
Location Downtown Madrid, Spain, across from the main entrance of Retiro Park
Size 142 sq m
That’s interesting Spanish speakers can hear more about this home in a video made by Houzz Spain.
Photos by Javier Bravo
Sapey considers herself a ‘nomad’ – and during her 25 years in Madrid she has moved five times and says, with a laugh, that she’s “not ruling out moving again.”
In Sapey’s apartment, location and setting are everything. The apartment is on an upper floor overlooking Retiro Park, a green space in the middle of Madrid. “It’s like a nest on top of the best tree in Madrid,” says Sapey. “I live with a view of the sea: the sea of Retiro Park. The treetops change like waves. Sometimes they’re green, then orange, dark red, brown… They also vary depending on the day and the light. It’s like a magic box.”
Here, Sapey is lying in her La Chaise chair from Vitra, which was designed by Charles and Ray Eames.
Who lives here Architect Teresa Sapey
Location Downtown Madrid, Spain, across from the main entrance of Retiro Park
Size 142 sq m
That’s interesting Spanish speakers can hear more about this home in a video made by Houzz Spain.
Photos by Javier Bravo
Sapey considers herself a ‘nomad’ – and during her 25 years in Madrid she has moved five times and says, with a laugh, that she’s “not ruling out moving again.”
In Sapey’s apartment, location and setting are everything. The apartment is on an upper floor overlooking Retiro Park, a green space in the middle of Madrid. “It’s like a nest on top of the best tree in Madrid,” says Sapey. “I live with a view of the sea: the sea of Retiro Park. The treetops change like waves. Sometimes they’re green, then orange, dark red, brown… They also vary depending on the day and the light. It’s like a magic box.”
Here, Sapey is lying in her La Chaise chair from Vitra, which was designed by Charles and Ray Eames.
This dining area is the first thing you see upon entering the apartment. Between this space and the front door there is a small entryway and a hallway leading to the rest of the apartment. This image perfectly sums up the eclectic style of Sapey’s house.
Panton chairs, a vase by Fornasetti and numerous pieces of art, some of which Sapey even made herself, fill the space. The photograph of the building in the process of being built is by Aitor Ortiz, while the piece on the wall that reads, in neon lights, “It is more than a house, it is a world,” is Sapey’s own work. “The style of this house is not that of an architect, a decorator or an interior designer. It is the style of Teresa Sapey, the person. Here I am, hence the message of this work: This is not my house, it is my world,” she says.
10 interesting ways to add art to your dining area
Panton chairs, a vase by Fornasetti and numerous pieces of art, some of which Sapey even made herself, fill the space. The photograph of the building in the process of being built is by Aitor Ortiz, while the piece on the wall that reads, in neon lights, “It is more than a house, it is a world,” is Sapey’s own work. “The style of this house is not that of an architect, a decorator or an interior designer. It is the style of Teresa Sapey, the person. Here I am, hence the message of this work: This is not my house, it is my world,” she says.
10 interesting ways to add art to your dining area
“I’m from Turin, the city of Carlo Mollino and Fornasetti. I cannot live without something from there. When I was a little girl and Fornasetti was not yet famous, sometimes he would come to dinner at my parents’ house in Turin and bring them things that he had painted,” says Sapey. Here, in the foreground, we see a vase by the renowned Italian artist.
“I have many inherited objects: rugs, tables, paintings… Others are returns. Clients who didn’t like certain items gave them back to me, so I kept them. Others I’ve been buying over the years. This is not really a house that I designed. It’s more like a house that I assembled, in which I placed all the things that I have and that I like,” says Sapey.
“I have many inherited objects: rugs, tables, paintings… Others are returns. Clients who didn’t like certain items gave them back to me, so I kept them. Others I’ve been buying over the years. This is not really a house that I designed. It’s more like a house that I assembled, in which I placed all the things that I have and that I like,” says Sapey.
“I love art. Art gives me energy, it charges me like a battery. When I design something, I often do it from an artistic starting point,” says Sapey.
Sapey decorated the table top in the dining room, for example, with images of hands. Here, we also see a floral centrepiece – flowers are another of Sapey’s greatest passions.
Sapey decorated the table top in the dining room, for example, with images of hands. Here, we also see a floral centrepiece – flowers are another of Sapey’s greatest passions.
“I came upon this house by chance,” says Sapey. “A friend of mine who lives in the building informed me that someone had moved, so I gave them a call. When I entered the apartment for the first time, I saw that it wasn’t perfect, but I fell in love with the views and the location. I decided to ask for permission to renovate.”
“The house was elegant, very bourgeois and masculine. Before me, a widowed man had lived here with lots of ancient art. The whole house had been painted grey, and had mouldings and carpet flooring, so I gave the space a feminine and sexy spin,” explains Sapey. “I created a white box. As it is a home with a view, you have to look outside, not inside. I got rid of everything that was left over from the previous era and filled it with all of my mementos.”
Here we see everything from a pair of Barcelona chairs designed by Mies van der Rohe (seen from the back) to an Arco lamp, a classic Achille Castiglioni design. There is also video artwork by Julian Opie in a light box on the back wall as well as an inflatable snake by Niki de Saint Phalle on the couch.
Here we see everything from a pair of Barcelona chairs designed by Mies van der Rohe (seen from the back) to an Arco lamp, a classic Achille Castiglioni design. There is also video artwork by Julian Opie in a light box on the back wall as well as an inflatable snake by Niki de Saint Phalle on the couch.
This flowerpot centrepiece is from the Adan collection, which Sapey designed for the Spanish company Vondom. She keeps it on the dining room table and uses it to store pencils.
The table and rug in this corner of the living area are pieces Sapey inherited from her family. The work of art on the wall above the stereo is by Tatsuo Miyajima. Again, there are more flowers.
“I lived in Turin until I was 25, then in France and finally in Spain. I feel Mediterranean because I am neither Spanish nor Italian, and besides that I feel very French because my family is from the French Riviera and at least part of my education took place in Paris. Sometimes, culturally, I feel like a fish out of water – but it doesn’t really bother me,” she says.
“My creative process is the sum of all of this: my projects are refined in French style, with great attention to detail – even those details you can’t see – as a good Italian [would do], and the strength they have is completely Spanish. The energy and fearless experimentation with larger-than-life objects is something I have absorbed from living in Spain,” says Sapey.
“I lived in Turin until I was 25, then in France and finally in Spain. I feel Mediterranean because I am neither Spanish nor Italian, and besides that I feel very French because my family is from the French Riviera and at least part of my education took place in Paris. Sometimes, culturally, I feel like a fish out of water – but it doesn’t really bother me,” she says.
“My creative process is the sum of all of this: my projects are refined in French style, with great attention to detail – even those details you can’t see – as a good Italian [would do], and the strength they have is completely Spanish. The energy and fearless experimentation with larger-than-life objects is something I have absorbed from living in Spain,” says Sapey.
In this part of the room, Sapey has hung a silkscreen print of Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol. Completing the scene is a classic chest of drawers with a white vase by Lladró on top, accompanied by the stool-cum-sidetable from Sapey’s Adan collection for Vondom. On top of this is the Glo-Ball lamp designed by Jasper Morrison for Flos.
“The air-conditioning ducts were standard, but my aesthetic and my vision for a space reach even the air ducts. I cannot live with grates that reminds me of a storage room. I changed them because they are as important to me as a sofa, a painting or an object,” says Sapey, describing the space-age ventilation ducts.
In this corner, there is an eclectic assortment: a classic writing desk, a painting that is a family heirloom, Egyptian alabaster vases and a Piedmontese baroque candelabra that is also an heirloom.
This part of the living area is connected a small sitting room, but they can be separated with the sliding doors. The sitting room leads to the hallway.
There is a small desk in the sitting room, although Sapey doesn’t make much use of it. “Houses have changed; they no longer need a studio or a library. You can work from a tablet anywhere in the house. I often work lying on a sofa. I don’t need a desk any more,” she says.
There is a small desk in the sitting room, although Sapey doesn’t make much use of it. “Houses have changed; they no longer need a studio or a library. You can work from a tablet anywhere in the house. I often work lying on a sofa. I don’t need a desk any more,” she says.
Sapey adds, “Entrance halls are also a dead space now. People prefer to enter directly into the living room – or some other room – rather than lose floor space by having an entrance hall. Likewise, the owners of the majority of the houses I am currently designing don’t want any kind of barrier between the kitchen and the living room any more. And it’s not just a matter of square footage: I’m currently working on 300 sq m apartments.”
Here, on the opposite side of the small sitting room, close to balconies overlooking Retiro Park, are the Chemistubes vases Sapey designed for Vondom – clear evidence that she is completely fearless when it comes to experimenting with oversized objects. In the background, we can see a work of art she created that was inspired by Bauhaus symbols.
Here, on the opposite side of the small sitting room, close to balconies overlooking Retiro Park, are the Chemistubes vases Sapey designed for Vondom – clear evidence that she is completely fearless when it comes to experimenting with oversized objects. In the background, we can see a work of art she created that was inspired by Bauhaus symbols.
Asked what the ‘Teresa Sapey footprint’ is, she answers, “originality, irony and colour. Always in a timeless context. I consider myself to be a typical avant-garde designer. In my work, I always try to go farther, to be ahead of the times, but then I’ll dress you in a suit that will never go out of style.” The chandelier that presides over this room is a good example. It is an updated piece, inspired by the classic spider models, but pink. Made of Murano glass, it is a family heirloom.
How to make sure your pendant adds the wow factor
How to make sure your pendant adds the wow factor
In the hallway that leads from the entrance of the apartment to the rooms that face an inner courtyard is another one of Sapey’s works.
“I am an architect, but I feel like an artist. I feel like an artist and so I create. Creativity and creation are my bread and butter: to invent, solve, create, see, go farther and – have fun. In the meantime, you get something out of it: you discover. All of this can be achieved through objects, spaces, projects or life itself,” she says.
“I am an architect, but I feel like an artist. I feel like an artist and so I create. Creativity and creation are my bread and butter: to invent, solve, create, see, go farther and – have fun. In the meantime, you get something out of it: you discover. All of this can be achieved through objects, spaces, projects or life itself,” she says.
The first room along the hallway is the kitchen, designed with functionality in mind. The yellow splashback, the ceiling covered in a geometric design and the oversized range hood add fun touches.
There’s another fun element – this doorstop figurine that looks like it is trying to keep the toilet lid down – in the bathroom. It was bought at El Rastro, Madrid’s open-air flea market.
The bathroom happens to be in a bright part of the house, so Sapey turned it into a mini showroom. On these shelves we see some books, an old collection of brushes and some of Sapey’s perfumes.
“I go crazy for bags and shoes. I adore Prada shoes. They have that classic design with a hint of modernity that never goes out of style. Flowers and perfumes are my other weaknesses. My favorite perfume is Noir Epices by Frédéric Malle, a unisex fragrance, which is just like me when I work as an architect.” This bathroom demonstrates that Sapey does, in fact, have lots of shoes. “I have many peculiarities. For example, I buy a lot of tights, but I don’t know why. I eat chocolate every day and I’m a champagne addict.”
In the hallway that leads to Sapey’s bedroom there are countless decorative objects –from a large collection of crystal pieces to shelves full of art books. Behind a ceramic piece by Jonathan Adler are two works by Miguel Chevalier.
“I’m inspired by tons of artists: Daniel Buren, Sol LeWitt, Anish Kapoor, Maurizio Cattelan, Alighiero Boetti, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons – they’re my idols, but I’m not sure how much of them there is in my house. They’re in my head for sure, so it’s possible that their work is reflected in the spaces I design, through my own interpretation,” she says.
“I’m inspired by tons of artists: Daniel Buren, Sol LeWitt, Anish Kapoor, Maurizio Cattelan, Alighiero Boetti, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons – they’re my idols, but I’m not sure how much of them there is in my house. They’re in my head for sure, so it’s possible that their work is reflected in the spaces I design, through my own interpretation,” she says.
“As an architect I also have role models like Norman Foster, Jean Nouvel, Herzog & De Meuron, Álvaro Siza and Souto de Moura, who I find extremely elegant,” says Sapey. “The Portuguese school fascinates me because it’s elegant, but also knows how to be sexy. At the same time, I also love more classical architecture. I adore Andrea Palladio, for example. From my point of view, you cannot make modern architecture if you don’t know the classics.”
The hallway comes to an end at this reading nook that leads to the last room of the house: Sapey’s bedroom. The nook is a very bright and welcoming space, which Sapey furnished with an Egg chair by Arne Jacobsen and an intensely orange, extra-large pendant lamp that came out of a collaboration with Masters of Linen. In the background there are shelves full of art and design books.
The hallway comes to an end at this reading nook that leads to the last room of the house: Sapey’s bedroom. The nook is a very bright and welcoming space, which Sapey furnished with an Egg chair by Arne Jacobsen and an intensely orange, extra-large pendant lamp that came out of a collaboration with Masters of Linen. In the background there are shelves full of art and design books.
Sapey’s bedroom is simple and functional. It’s also full of very special details, such as the sheets embroidered with her initials, the yellow folding screen that she designed and – perhaps the greatest treasure of the house – the Miró lithographs that decorate the walls of the home’s most private area. This was definitely a sentimental choice, meant for personal enjoyment.
Yet, overall, Sapey likes sharing her designs with the world. “People know me mostly for my project in Madrid’s Puerta de America hotel parking garage. I think this was a turning point, both for me and for the design world. However, I also draft and design houses, for which I’m far less well known. There are a lot of things I cannot show due to professional confidentiality because the owners don’t want me to. I’ve also done very small projects that people don’t know are mine, like the Christmas lights on Serrano Street, for example,” says Sapey. “Very few people know and that makes me sort of sad.”
What do you think of this artistic apartment? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Yet, overall, Sapey likes sharing her designs with the world. “People know me mostly for my project in Madrid’s Puerta de America hotel parking garage. I think this was a turning point, both for me and for the design world. However, I also draft and design houses, for which I’m far less well known. There are a lot of things I cannot show due to professional confidentiality because the owners don’t want me to. I’ve also done very small projects that people don’t know are mine, like the Christmas lights on Serrano Street, for example,” says Sapey. “Very few people know and that makes me sort of sad.”
What do you think of this artistic apartment? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
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Love the character, the style, the mix of old and new. Its so colourful yet clean; I find it very difficult to incorporate bold colours in my home without feeling cluttered. But she does it fabulously! Also love to see a home form another European country!
Wow shows what you can do with great talent and great money