Ever-Changing
Led by Paloma Bau, the architecture and interior design studio behind the
project presents Ever-Changing, a full renovation of a 108 sqm home in
Valencia. Commissioned by its owners, a young couple, the project starts from
a clear premise: a house meant to be lived in, a place that invites change, a
sequence of experiences.
A starting point that breaks with expectations
The project grew out of the clients' own brief, which from the very first meeting
was clear about what they didn't want: nothing that felt like a hotel, no zen
atmospheres, none of the beige palette that dominates so much of today's
interior design. Rejecting the now-familiar formula of neutral, depersonalized
interiors, they asked instead for a home with identity, color and texture of its
own — one able to keep pace with how they live and change alongside them.
Paloma Bau answers this brief with a deliberate sequence of bands that bring
rhythm and dynamism to the space, cut through by one large connecting
element. The original home, long and narrow in plan, unfolds in an L-shape
leading to the living-dining room, oriented toward the façade. Onto this
inherited geometry, the studio has overlaid a rhythm of transverse bands that
house the home's program: first the hallway and living area, then the kitchen,
bathroom and closets, and further on the bedrooms and storage space,
forming a continuous sequence of rooms each with its own character.
A connecting piece as the guiding thread
Rather than treating each band as independent, the project introduces a
transverse element that cuts perpendicularly through all of them, bringing
them into dialogue: a connecting piece that functions as the home's spine,
organizing circulation and ensuring that, despite the succession of distinct
spaces, the house reads as a coherent whole. In plan, this element translates
into a fluid route between the day and night zones.
Separately from this structural axis, Paloma Bau introduces a system that divides
the hall and living room from the kitchen, doubling as a light filter between the
more private and social areas. It's resolved with sliding glass doors in metal
frames, allowing each room to be visually opened or closed depending on the
time of day and how the space is being used.
Color, warmth, and a touch of Berlin
The materiality of the project comes down to one phrase that captures its spirit:
color, warmth, and a touch of Berlin. The palette combines a deep blue grey,
an olive green, a warm beige and an intense burgundy, applied boldly across
the wood and the continuous flooring that unifies every room in the home.
Far from the restraint typical of residential renovations, Ever-Changing
embraces color and designer pieces as fundamental tools of the space. In the
day zone, the living room's large olive-green shelving unit sits alongside iconic
pieces such as Flos's 265 wall lamp, adding a sculptural gesture to the room.
This eclectic, easygoing spirit carries naturally into the dining area, brought to
life by furniture and a pendant light from The Masie. In the kitchen, the wood-
fronted cabinetry and the detailing of the glass joinery introduce a warm
atmosphere that contrasts with the clean lines of the walls.
The bathrooms follow the same design language. The main bathroom is
finished with warm beige tiling at mid-height and a light-toned countertop,
while the ensuite off the main bedroom pairs the spatial fluidity of glazed
partitions with softly lined fittings. In the bedrooms, custom-built volumes work
in dialogue with the joinery throughout the home and with a curated selection
of artwork, textiles, and lighting by Santa & Cole.
A home built to invite change
Ultimately, Ever-Changing isn't after a fixed image or a closed style, but a
flexible system capable of adapting over time and to the lives of the people
who live there. The sequence of bands, the connecting piece, and the warm,
colorful materiality work together to create a home that, true to its name, is
designed to keep changing and to keep surprising.
