Photographer and Writer Emma Sepúlveda’s Spanish Apartment Lets the Artwork Talk

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Project Details:

Location: Valencia, Spain

Architect: Homu Arquitectos / @homuarquitectos

Footprint: 2,551 square feet

Builder: Enue

Photographer: Bacon Studio / @bacon__studio

From the Architect: "Emma Sepúlveda and her husband relocated to Valencia, Spain, to be closer to their son, who had settled in the city years earlier. Drawn to the rhythm of Mediterranean life, they decided to fully renovate an apartment on the Gran Vía. Their brief was concise but clear: restore the maximum ceiling height; preserve or reinterpret the building’s original moldings; prioritize open, generous spaces reminiscent of their American homes; maintain a strong visual connection to the tree-lined boulevard below; and immerse themselves in Mediterranean culture while retaining the spatial flow that had defined their way of living. A key challenge shaped the project from the outset: most of Emma’s creative work happens at home. The design therefore needed to balance openness with the privacy, calm, and focus required for writing, photography and artistic experimentation.

"The apartment was conceived with a deliberately pared-back program. Accustomed to large, open domestic environments in the U.S., the couple requested only one main bedroom suite with a walk-in closet, plus a small guest room primarily intended for their two granddaughters. The remainder of the home unfolds as an expansive day area designed for cooking, conversation, relaxation, and hosting—spaces that support an intuitive, unhurried way of living.

"The aesthetic aligns with minimalism with soul and purpose—an approach that merges visual clarity with emotional resonance. The chromatic palette is built around whites, grays, and ash tones, evoking the blank page that awaits any creative mind. This quiet backdrop allows the architecture to recede, letting the couple’s artwork, photographs, and objects, from Chile and decades of travel, occupy the space naturally. To the left of the dining area, a wall leads into the first open workspace, where a custom display unit showcases Emma’s photography equipment. Two reclaimed and restored doors, curated by the studio, mark the threshold to Emma’s private office.

"Generous and filled with natural light, the kitchen is anchored by a large central island, merging Mediterranean conviviality with the American tradition of the kitchen as the heart of the home. The main living area is articulated through a series of partial-height dividers that maintain long sight lines and natural light while carving out subtly differentiated atmospheres. A small, cave-like nook is an intimate retreat for the couple or for quiet conversations with  friends. This softly enclosed corner acts as a counterbalance to the expansive openness.

"Although the owners hoped to preserve the original moldings, the installation of a new ducted HVAC system required rebuilding the false ceiling. The architects used this intervention to increase the ceiling height and introduce larger, more contemporary moldings scaled to the renewed volume of the rooms. Their integration into the bespoke carpentry reinforces spatial coherence while adding an elegant, contemporary character. A continuous ash-gray porcelain floor runs throughout the home, acting as a seamless surface that enhances visual calm and gives prominence to art, furniture, and daily life.

"Materiality in the project strikes a balance between contemporary finishes and salvaged pieces. Interior doors and the stone washbasins in the bathrooms were sourced from demolition sites and carefully chosen for their proportions. Each piece was restored to align with the couple’s aesthetic sensibilities while ensuring easy long-term maintenance—objects with past lives, given new meaning.

"Emma Sepúlveda’s personal journey is embedded in every square foot of this home. A poet, essayist, literary critic, photographer and civil rights advocate, Emma spent more than fifty years in the United States, where she became a public figure in Nevada. After years of witnessing growing social unrest, she and her husband chose to begin a new chapter in Valencia. Her home reflects that search for refuge—a place to create, remember, converse, rest and start anew."