NOIR
From a chance encounter and a love for stories from the past, Noir was born—a city-centre apartment in Valencia with an urban language and a chromatic identity defined by black. Elegant and characterful, its design is a measured integration of modern architectural functionality and historical recovery of its eclectic ceilings.
The discovery at the beginning of the works of ancient ceilings, beautiful in their chaos, redefined the materiality and distribution of the space. It is a romance between classical disorder and the composition of a new space with straight lines, noble materials, and serene colours to define an elegant and comfortable home.
The use of black as a sensitive and cohesive tool brings presence, character, and warmth. As a counterpoint to its boldness, we find serene hazelnut oak tones in cupboards, beams, or the herringbone laminate floor, as well as the warm grey that peeks through in the plasterwork to harmonise the relationship of the new space with the vaulted ceilings revealed at different heights.
The home features a living room, kitchen, two generous single bedrooms, a utility bathroom, and a master bedroom with a dressing room and bathroom. Its layout is articulated by a large black volume that divides the public area of the living room and kitchen from the private area of the bedrooms, with a pivoting door that closes it completely. This volume, on one side, is part of the kitchen cabinetry and on the opposite side, it clads the dividing wall and embraces the entrance to the utility bathroom.
The kitchen is visible from the living room through a black glass panel with a black lacquered sliding door. At the centre of the kitchen stands a hazelnut oak island and a worktop in veined off-white porcelain. The original wooden beams are carefully illuminated to highlight their beauty.
The public area is completed by the living room, where a unit integrates the gas fireplace as a fire element to create a cosy atmosphere.
The design of the private area, originating in the black volume, shifts towards lighter colours where warm grey panelling covers and integrates the entrance to the rooms. In the master bathroom, the logic is the inverse of its counterpart: everything is white with black veining to maximise the reduced volume of the space and enhance the feeling of cleanliness and relaxation.
