A 1970s flat in Madrid, 250 square metres, dark and closed off, sliced into small rooms that no longer answer to any way of living. Instead of tearing it all down and starting from zero - the easiest and priciest solution - interior designer Beatriz Sánchez of studio DOSDE took the harder road: keep the best of it, remake the rest. The project won an award at Design Summer Fest 2025.

The strategy was clear from the start. „We chose to respect elements like the floor, the cabinetry and the library, so we could really invest where the client would notice the difference every day - the kitchen and a few finishing details“, Sánchez says. Three goals: more light, better flow between the rooms, and adapting to the modern life of a family with three teenagers.

The living room kept its original herringbone oak floor, the main library and the fireplace - but all of it got a new face. The fireplace was refreshed with Cosentino quartzite, the library lacquered in the same tone as the walls so it melts into them visually. Lit display cabinets were added at the ends, plus a work nook with wooden shelves by the windows, for a family that increasingly works from home.

The kitchen is the heart of the whole project - and you can see it. The central island in Taj Mahal quartzite from Cosentino works at once as a worktop, a gathering point and an informal dining spot. The cabinets are natural oak from DOSDE Cocinas, and the work zone is tiled with Equipe. „The kitchen is now the heart of the project. The axis, the centre of the house. Where life simmers slowly“, the designer says. The open shelves by the extractor are the detail that says this kitchen is for living in, not for photographing.

The dining area is simple - a wooden table with metal chairs, bathed in natural light from the windows. The main bedroom got a custom headboard with built-in nightstands and brass fittings for soft lighting. The herringbone oak floor runs through the whole home, giving a sense of continuity that old chopped-up flats rarely have.

The bathroom was the undisputed priority. Before - cold, dated, with coloured fixtures in the style of the last century. Now - a monochrome palette with layers of texture: matte surfaces, glossy accents, careful lighting. Instead of shouting, this bathroom whispers. The whole logic of the renovation is here in miniature: don't change for the sake of changing, only where it makes sense.

The lesson of this project outgrows the Madrid flat. Sánchez describes the approach as „returning, refinishing, repairing and reinterpreting“ rather than wholesale replacement. In an age that pushes us to demolish and buy new, the idea that a 1970s oak floor is worth keeping - and will look better than any new one - is almost rebellious. Sometimes the most expensive renovation is the one that throws away the least.