A 90-square-metre flat in Madrid lost a bedroom and gained a lot more life: the kitchen moved from the entrance to the heart of the home

A 90-square-metre flat in Madrid had a classic problem familiar to anyone who has lived in an older apartment: the kitchen sat next to the front door, far from where the family actually lives, and the layout was poorly connected. Interior designer Ana Maldonado made a decision that at first sounds like a loss. She removed a bedroom. She moved the kitchen there and merged the living room, dining room and kitchen into one large shared space.

The aim was calm, but without a flat that looks like a hotel room. The base is in soft neutral tones, layered with wood and green and earthy shades. Rounded furniture softens the straight lines of the architecture, and the original concrete beams have been left exposed.

A living room where the shapes do the decorating

The living room is contemporary but hard to pigeonhole - some pieces wink at other decades. The sofa is from Eneas, the armchairs and side tables from Sklum, and a Kilombo Home rug ties the seating group together without closing it off. The dining area is visible in the background, so the two zones stay connected.

A calm palette does not mean a flat room. Contrast comes from the different textiles, the green, the toasted tones and small decorative pieces. The solid-wood TV unit was designed specially for this flat, while photographs from YellowKorner and objects on the shelves give it a personal stamp.

The dining room is the new heart of the home

Before the renovation, the kitchen was by the entrance. The biggest change was precisely removing one room and moving the kitchen into this area, so the living room, dining room and cooking space work as a single space. The table and chairs are from Sklum, the vases from Pols Potten, and the painted concrete pillar was made by Juan de Cárdenas.

A made-to-measure kitchen that does not want to look like a kitchen

The open kitchen with an island is treated as part of the living area and is entirely made to measure. The materials are oak, olive-green lacquer, marble and mirror. The green links the kitchen to the rest of the flat, like a thread running through the home. The cabinets are from Garcia House, the worktop from Mastone, and the handles were designed specially, in the same language as the interior.

The wall between the upper and lower units is clad in mirror. It gives the kitchen depth, reflects the light and keeps a visual link with the living space - from certain angles, you can see the dining area in the mirror.

Green wraps the bedroom

From the living room the eye travels down the hallway towards the bedrooms. The concrete beams are kept in the living area, the hallway and the second bedroom, as a raw contrast to the wood, fabrics and soft colours. In the main bedroom, the green from the kitchen gets stronger and covers the entire wall behind the bed. The headboard is made to measure, and the bedside tables carry Pipistrello lamps by Martinelli Luce, designed by Gae Aulenti.

The walk-in wardrobe is narrow, rectangular and has a window. A single unbroken row of white wardrobe doors with wooden handles runs along one side only, and the end wall is covered in mirror. The bathroom steers clear of the usual solutions: a mirror with a wavy frame breaks the strict geometry of the washbasin, and porcelain wall lights add a retro touch.

A second bedroom with its own character

The second bedroom is entered through a wooden door frame, and to the right stands a row of wardrobes in the same design as the walk-in wardrobe in the main bedroom. The atmosphere is warm and different: an upholstered headboard with rounded lines, a Roly Poly armchair by Driade, a print from The Poster Club, lamps from Dyke & Dean and accessories from Ferm Living and HK Living. The last bathroom has an artwork on the wall as an unexpected focal point, and the wooden furniture brings warmth to the light base.

Maldonado's philosophy is to avoid absolute neutrality and to build calm through a measured choice of materials, colours, textiles and pieces with personality. Of the result, she says the new layout made the home "more comfortable, easier to live in and warmer".

The lesson is not in the furniture brands. It is in having the nerve to sacrifice a room for a layout that brings people together in one place. How many flats in our Balkan apartment blocks would feel different if the kitchen moved just a few metres away from the front door?