My Houzz: Visit an Architect’s World of Color and Creativity
We tour Italian architect Teresa Sapey’s eclectic and artistic Madrid home
“My home is imperfect, just like me. Welcome to my world,” architect Teresa Sapey says. The way she communicates her many ideas — using few words but with humor and irony — is indicative of how she approaches life and design. Indeed, her personality permeates every inch of this space filled with iconic furnishings and handpicked art. For her, the apartment is not an interior design project — it’s a life project.
This dining area — the first thing you see after entering the apartment — shows the eclectic style of Sapey’s home. Panton chairs, a vase by Fornasetti and artworks, some of which Sapey made herself, fill the space. The photograph of a building under construction is by Aitor Ortiz, while the composition with neon lights on the wall is her own. “The style of this house is not that of an architect, a decorator or an interior designer. It’s the style of Teresa Sapey, the person. … Hence the message: This is not my house, it is my world,” she says.
“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 wasn’t famous yet, sometimes he would come to dinner at my parents’ house in Turin and bring them things he had painted,” she says. Pictured on the table is a vase by the Italian artist.
“I’ve inherited many 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 bought over the years. This is not really a house I designed. It’s more like a house I assembled, where I placed all the things I have and I like,” Sapey says.
“I’ve inherited many 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 bought over the years. This is not really a house I designed. It’s more like a house I assembled, where I placed all the things I have and I like,” Sapey says.
“I love art. Art gives me energy. It charges me like a battery. When I’m designing something, I often do it from an artistic starting point,” Sapey says. She decorated the dining room table, above, with images of hands and with a centerpiece of flowers, which she says are one of her passions.
“I came upon this house by chance because a friend who lives in the building informed me that someone had moved, and 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. So I decided to ask for permission to renovate,” Sapey says.
“The house was elegant, very bourgeois and masculine. Before me, a widower had lived here with lots of ancient art. The whole house was painted gray and had moldings and carpet. So I gave the space a feminine and sexy spin,” she says. “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 left over from the previous era and filled it with my own mementos.”
In this part of the living area are Barcelona armchairs designed by Mies van der Rohe and an Arco lamp — a classic Achille Castiglioni design. There is also video art by Julian Opie in a light box on the wall and, on the couch, a colorful inflatable snake by Niki de Saint Phalle.
In this part of the living area are Barcelona armchairs designed by Mies van der Rohe and an Arco lamp — a classic Achille Castiglioni design. There is also video art by Julian Opie in a light box on the wall and, on the couch, a colorful inflatable snake by Niki de Saint Phalle.
Sapey designed this planter, part of the Adan collection for Spanish company Vondom. She keeps it on the dining room table and uses it to store pencils.
This side table and rug in a corner of the living area are family heirlooms. The art on the wall above the stereo is by Tatsuo Miyajima. A flower arrangement adds natural texture to the space.
“I lived in Turin until I was 25, then in France and finally in Spain, where I’ve been for 27 years. I feel Mediterranean because I am neither Spanish nor Italian, and 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,” Sapey says.
“My creative process is the sum of all of this: My projects are refined in French style, with great attention to detail — even the details you can’t see — as a good Italian [would do], and their strength is completely Spanish,” she says. “The energy and fearless experimentation with larger-than-life objects is something I have absorbed while living in Spain.”
“I lived in Turin until I was 25, then in France and finally in Spain, where I’ve been for 27 years. I feel Mediterranean because I am neither Spanish nor Italian, and 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,” Sapey says.
“My creative process is the sum of all of this: My projects are refined in French style, with great attention to detail — even the details you can’t see — as a good Italian [would do], and their strength is completely Spanish,” she says. “The energy and fearless experimentation with larger-than-life objects is something I have absorbed while living in Spain.”
In another corner of the room is this silkscreen print of Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol. A white vase by Lladró sits on a classic chest of drawers. Next to the dresser, a Glo-Ball lamp designed by Jasper Morrison for Flos is paired with a stool from the Adan collection.
“The air conditioning ducts were standard, but my aesthetic and my vision for a space encompass even the air ducts. I cannot live with a grate that reminds me of a storage room. I changed them because they’re as important to me as a sofa, a painting or any object,” she says about the space-age ventilation system.
In this corner is another eclectic vignette: a classic writing desk, Egyptian alabaster vases and, on the walls, more family heirlooms: a painting and a Piedmontese baroque candelabra.
Sliding doors can be closed to separate the living area on the left from the small sitting room, which leads to the hallway.
Sapey doesn’t make much use of the small desk in the sitting room. “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.”
Sapey doesn’t make much use of the small desk in the sitting room. “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.”
“Entrance halls are also a dead space now,” she says. “People prefer to enter directly into the living room — or some other room — rather than lose floor space to 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 anymore. And it’s not just a matter of square footage: I’m currently working on [3,230-square-foot] apartments.”
On the opposite side of the sitting room, near balconies overlooking Retiro Park, are the Chemistubes vases Sapey designed for Vondom. These are clear evidence of her boldness when it comes to experimenting with oversize objects. On the shelf behind the tall vase is a piece of her art that was inspired by Bauhaus symbols.
On the opposite side of the sitting room, near balconies overlooking Retiro Park, are the Chemistubes vases Sapey designed for Vondom. These are clear evidence of her boldness when it comes to experimenting with oversize objects. On the shelf behind the tall vase is a piece of her art that was inspired by Bauhaus symbols.
The architect describes the Teresa Sapey “footprint“: “Originality, irony and color. 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.”
This Murano glass chandelier, a family heirloom, is an update on the classic spider chandelier.
This Murano glass chandelier, a family heirloom, is an update on the classic spider chandelier.
A hallway leads from the main entrance to the rooms facing the inner courtyard. The globe with a bar shelf built into the inside of the base is also Sapey’s work.
“I’m an architect, but 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 manifest itself in objects, spaces, projects or life itself,” she says.
“I’m an architect, but 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 manifest itself in objects, spaces, projects or life itself,” she says.
The first room along the hallway is the kitchen, which was designed with functionality in mind. The yellow backsplash, the ceiling with a geometric pattern and the oversize range hood add a fun touch to this space.
Another playful element is the door-stop figurine from El Rastro, Madrid’s open-air flea market. It looks as though it’s keeping the toilet lid down.
The bathroom is in a bright part of the house, so Sapey turned it into a mini showroom, with books, a collection of old brushes and perfumes lining the shelves.
“I go crazy for bags and shoes,” Sapey says. “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, just like me when I work as an architect.” She does, in fact, own lots of shoes. “I have many peculiarities. For example, I buy a lot of pantyhose, but I don’t know why. I eat chocolate every day, and I’m a champagne addict.”
In the hallway leading to her bedroom, many decorative objects are on display: a large collection of crystal pieces, shelves full of art books and two Miguel Chevalier pieces behind a ceramic bowl by Jonathan Adler.
“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 contemporary role models like Norman Foster, Jean Nouvel, Herzog & De Meuron, Álvaro Siza and Souto de Moura, whom I find extremely elegant. The Portuguese school fascinates me, because it’s elegant but also knows how to be sexy. At the same time, I 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,” she says.
The hallway ends at this reading nook, which leads to the last room of the house — Sapey’s bedroom. It’s a 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. The shelves are full of art and design books.
The hallway ends at this reading nook, which leads to the last room of the house — Sapey’s bedroom. It’s a 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. The shelves are full of art and design books.
Her bedroom is simple and functional. It’s full of special details, such as sheets embroidered with her initials, a yellow folding screen she designed and perhaps the home’s greatest treasure: Miró lithographs.
Sapey enjoys sharing her creations 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 the design world. However, I also draft and design houses, for which I’m not as well known. There are a lot of things I cannot show due to professional confidentiality. … I’ve also done very small projects people don’t know are mine, like the Christmas lights on Serrano street,” Sapey says.
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Sapey enjoys sharing her creations 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 the design world. However, I also draft and design houses, for which I’m not as well known. There are a lot of things I cannot show due to professional confidentiality. … I’ve also done very small projects people don’t know are mine, like the Christmas lights on Serrano street,” Sapey says.
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Architect Teresa Sapey
Location: Downtown Madrid, Spain
Size: 1,528 square feet (142 square meters)
That’s interesting: Spanish speakers can hear more about this home in a video made by Houzz Spain.
Sapey considers herself a nomad — during her 25 years in Madrid, she has moved five times, and she says she can’t rule out a sixth move. Today she lives in an upper-floor apartment overlooking Retiro Park, a green space in the middle of Madrid.
“It’s like a nest on top of the best tree in Madrid. 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, the light. … It’s like a magic box,” she says. The Italian-born architect is pictured in her Vitra La Chaise lounge chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames.