After 20 Years in the Same Madrid Apartment, They Blew Up the Floor Plan and Started Fresh

Santiago Sánchez and Ángel Herrera have hosted their share of parties at their two-bedroom apartment in Madrid. It had held up great since moving in two decades ago, but recently the couple found they were the ones in need of a change, having outgrown its traditional layout and lack of storage. Really, it just started to feel small. "It just got to the point where we said, We want to renovate," says Santiago.

Moving was off the table: they loved living in Madrid’s quiet Vicálvaro neighborhood. "I open the window and hear the birds in the morning," says Ángel. Their current building is also close to their jobs, Santiago’s parents, and a park. So, after fawning over a friend’s apartment designed by Gon Architects, they set up a call; after one meeting over Zoom, it was official.

The decision to hire Gon, a Madrid firm founded by Gonzalo Pardo, was an easy one, since the couple already loved the practice’s hallmarks: a medley of bold colors, a knack for hidden spaces, and strong diagonal lines. Ángel and Santiago brought a few requests of their own, including a way to integrate the luminous mise-en-scène in Pedro Almodóvar’s 2024 film The Room Next Door, a film they both love. They shared a still from the movie with Pardo that had a red couch and a green sofa—could Gonzalo help incorporate furnishings like those into the renovation?