A hidden hydraulic tile became the defining discovery in this 75-square-metre Madrid home. Paula Mena incorporated the original flooring into the dining room instead of covering it again, helping make Casa Carmen a tribute to Carmen and the childhood home her daughter, Luna, remembers.
The apartment is in a 1945 building and belongs to Luna, an editorial and graphic designer. She asked Mena, founder of Yeyé Estudio, to create a home connected to her mother. Carmen was an artist and designer who built a collection of Polish posters, giving the renovation a purpose beyond simply updating the property.
Casa Carmen also pushes back against the neutral interiors that shaped much of 2000s design. Mena has criticised that approach for reducing homes to muted palettes and simplified spaces. Her answer appears throughout the apartment. Blue walls feature in some rooms, while green cabinets add contrast. The bathrooms pair black with yellow, and a purple sofa provides the strongest visual accent.
Color gives the home a clear structure and helps each area feel distinct without getting in the way of daily use.
The studio first removed space the layout did not need. This freed up usable room and let the plan focus on daylight and everyday tasks, with room to move. The result is a home shaped around the person who lives there, not an impersonal visual formula.
The hydraulic tile appeared beneath the existing floor during the work. Keeping it turned an unexpected construction detail into a visual rug in the dining area, connecting the renovated interior with the apartment's earlier life. The flooring fragments are no archaeological curiosity; they are part of the room's active design.
The choice keeps memory and everyday use together. Materials and strong colors work side by side, with texture adding another layer, while the recovered surface ties the room's most expressive features to the building's past. The apartment gets as much of its character from what was already there as from what the renovation added.
Luna's brief also explains why the decoration feels specific rather than interchangeable. The reference to Carmen comes through in the home's atmosphere and in the decision to preserve a surprise found during construction. Casa Carmen feels personal because its design is tied to a family relationship and to the visual world of an artist and designer.
The project also belongs to a wider revival of historical ceramic references. Peronda, for example, presents contemporary collections inspired by classic hydraulic tiles. The motif remains part of current interior design, not just a preserved architectural fragment.
Casa Carmen makes a strong case for interiors that show their owners' histories. Color and the recovered tile are part of the home's identity, not passing effects or nostalgic props. A good renovation does not have to erase what came before: a functional Madrid apartment can be vivid without becoming anonymous.
The project account places the renovation in a broader architectural context. It identifies Paula Mena and Yeyé Estudio, names Luna, and links the project to Carmen's Polish poster collection.
