Quefalamaria designs a tailored apartment in Aretxabaleta for a pair of teachers awaiting their first child

María Bermúdez, founder of the studio Quefalamaria, explains: “It’s increasingly common to encounter newly built apartments where developers allow owners to request changes and personalizations — changes which they often entrust to us due to lack of knowledge or time to manage them.”

Such was the case for this project, undertaken by María and her studio: an apartment in Aretxabaleta (Guipúzcoa) for a couple of teachers who, during the course of the project, announced they were expecting their first daughter — a joyful news that led to the design of a nursery that had not been part of the initial plans.

María shares the development of the project in detail: “At the entrance, we moved the partition wall between the foyer and the kitchen, gaining space where we designed a custom-made wardrobe for coats and backpacks, alongside a bench with a storage drawer underneath to serve as a shoe rack — ensuring that, upon arriving home, everything had its place.”

We repositioned the kitchen entrance and installed a sliding glass door with a large window, keeping the living-dining area visually connected but acoustically and olfactorily insulated.

The living and dining spaces coexist in a single open area where natural materials predominate: wood, beige upholstery, rattan-accented chairs, rustic wooden side tables with black metal details that echo the kitchen’s glass framework. It’s a space designed for living — open, luminous, and cozy — enhanced by crystal pendant lamps that subtly support the transparency between spaces.

A terrace to be lived

The southeast-facing terrace is a true jewel, offering spectacular views of one of the town’s most iconic mountains. To ensure our clients could fully enjoy one of their favorite pastimes — social gatherings — we placed a large table for celebrations with friends, a barbecue, and a space perfect for family days with their daughter.

A small corner of the terrace, adjacent to a neighboring apartment, was cleverly utilized by installing a tower unit to house the washer, dryer, and storage for cleaning supplies. This freed up the kitchen, removing the noise and bulk of these appliances.

The master bedroom is accessed via a long hallway that integrates a walk-in closet and a private bathroom. As the sleeping area was rather compact, we designed a bespoke headboard with minimal thickness, optimizing space. We adorned the main wall with a grid of moldings, creating a refined and serene atmosphere without visual overload.

Soft bedding in whites and terracotta tones brings warmth, vibrancy, and serenity to the room — aligning with current trends by embracing one of the season’s key colors. A carefully selected lamp ensures warm, uniform nighttime lighting, ideal for rest and relaxation. A carefully selected lamp ensures warm, uniform nighttime lighting, ideal for rest and relaxation.

Given that the clients are teachers, they needed a home office that could also serve as a guest room for visiting family. We met both needs by furnishing the space with a desk and a sofa bed, transforming it into a pleasant, dual-purpose lounge. Next to the desk, we designed a custom wardrobe with additional clothing storage and shelving for work-related materials.

In both bathrooms, we enhanced the finishes far beyond what the developer originally proposed. In the en-suite, we laid a Hisbalit radial-patterned mosaic floor, dramatically transforming the space.
We installed new vanities, updated the faucets, added shower screens and accessories — significantly improving both the aesthetics and functionality of the bathrooms.

Equipments

Entryway: All custom furniture

Living-dining room: Sofa from Kenay Home; sofa cushions from Filocolore; TV unit, coffee table, and dining lamps from Kenay Home; dining table and chairs from Kave Home; side tables from Sklum; mirror from Maisons du Monde; custom-made rugs.

Kitchen: Custom cabinetry; Neolith countertops; Balay appliances.

Terrace: Custom laundry unit; Filocolore table linens; outdoor furniture from Cotton Artean.

Master Bedroom: Custom headboard; bed and nightstands from Kenay Home; wall lamps from Amazon; bedding from Cotton Artean; cushions from Filocolore; wall shelf from Maisons du Monde; lamp from Westwing.

En-suite Bathroom: Hisbalit radial-pattern floor; vanity from Saltoki; fixed shower screen from Lasser; mirror from Kenay Home; shelves from Maisons du Monde.

Hall Bathroom: Custom vanity; faucets from MZ; mirror and shelves from Kave Home; shower screen from Lasser.

Project: Aretxabaleta.
Interior Design and Decoration: Quefalamaria.
Construction Management: Oearkitektura.
Styling: Sol Van Dorssen.
Photography: Felipe Scheffel.
Room Detail Photography: Forester fotógrafos.

María Bermúdez

“At the age of five, I asked my parents for a pot of indigo blue paint and another of eucalyptus green for Christmas. I didn’t want dolls or toys — I wanted to paint half my bedroom a color that resembled the sea, and the other half a color that evoked the meadows of the Basque Country.

Some might think I did it to keep the memory of summer alive through the long winter months — a beautiful summer I had spent by the Cantabrian Sea, near Zarautz — but deep down, I know that those pots of paint, like the after-school painting and pottery classes I later took, were the spark that ignited what would become my life’s passion: transforming spaces into unique, singular, and practical places.

Now, nearly thirty years later, I hold two great passions close to my heart: the first, returning to Zarautz whenever I can, to surf and wake up in a camper van overlooking the sea and its lush prairies; the second, naturally, is applying my love for design, attention to detail, and refined taste to every project I undertake — never forgetting the little girl who once dreamed of turning her home into the most beautiful corner of the world”.

Quefalamaria is the creative studio founded by María Bermúdez — an interior design practice specializing in the complete renovation and transformation of homes and commercial spaces.
Their projects encompass the entire process: from the initial concept to the full-scale renovation, furnishing, and final styling.
With every project, they pour their expertise, dedication, and eye for detail into breathing new life into spaces, imbuing them with a unique identity and an unmistakable personal signature.

Source: Quefalamaria.

Project by María Bermúdez. Quefalamaria