The Winter Fashion Issue '21

TROORA MAGAZINE

WINTER FASHION ISSUE 2021

Pick & Mix

WRITTEN BY ROBYN ALEXANDER

A gorgeously colourful house in Soller, on the island of Mallorca, is the vibrant holiday home of Spanish designer and creative director Damián Sánchez

Ask designer, decorator, and Mango creative director Damián Sánchez about his favourite spot in his vibrant, contemporary holiday home, and the answer comes quickly. “Definitely the space where the oak table sits beneath the magnolia,” he says. “Although I do spend lots of time in my kitchen when I’m here, preparing my signature dish, los arroces [the rices].”

The entrance to the house is an inviting and attractive one. Visible in the background are mountains that form part of the Sierra de Tramuntana range.

In the entrance hall, the hallway table is French and was bought at Madrid’s Galería de Marita Segovia (galeriamaritasegovia. com). The blue artwork is by Joaquin Chancho, and the smaller artworks are from A Casa Bianca (acasabianca.com).

This is the sort of vacation home that’s the complete antithesis of the rustic shack. It’s elegant, exquisitely decorated and appointed, and every aspect of it has been as carefully thought through as the equivalent part of an urban residence. The result is that whether you want to celebrate a special birthday with a group of friends, spend half a day crafting something special in the kitchen, or indeed simply relax under that magnolia tree, this house will come to the party.

The stone-clad, three-storey structure, which is situated just outside Soller on the idyllic island of Mallorca, needed a complete renovation when Damián bought it in 2009. “There had to be a total reorganisation of space, as well as the renovation of the bathrooms, and paving of some areas—plus a big update was made to the garden too,” he says. “My aim was to create a space that reflected its roots in the countryside in which it’s set, but also had the comfort of a more modern home.”

Arrive at the house today and, once you have navigated your way through the manicured grounds filled with fruit trees that were once part of the extensive orchards that long existed on the property, the ground-floor entrance hall provides a warm welcome. Also on the ground level are the living room—which was reconfigured to lead directly out onto the beautifully laid out and furnished patio and pool areas—as well as the dining room, kitchen, and pantry.

Trained as an industrial and interior designer, Damián has been working in this field for 25 years, and his design experience is very much in evidence. The entrance hall and living room are spacious and elegant and feature confident splashes of colour—especially red—that add plenty of energy. Boldly embroidered and patterned

In the entrance hall, the elegant French hallway table is from Galería de Marita Segovia in Madrid (galeriamaritasegovia.com).

From the entrance hall, a step down takes you into an extended hallway with a French table— made of wrought iron and natural stone—in its centre. The blown crystal candle holders were sourced locally in Mallorca. The vintage wooden moulds (with red-painted interiors) were used to make cast-iron items in the 1950s.

A detail of some of the objects on the hallway table: the blown crystal candle holders were sourced in Mallorca, as were the artisan-made red ceramic pomegranates. The vintage wooden moulds (with redpainted interiors) were used to make cast-iron items in the 1950s.

The living room features two sitting areas. On the left-hand side of the room, a pair of Flexform (flexform.it) couches sit atop a Turkish rug and are piled with scatter cushions from online store A Casa Bianca (acasabianca. com), which homeowner Damián Sánchez launched three years ago. The store features a wide range of “unique pieces for the home, developed in an artisanal way and handcrafted from the finest materials: beds, table textiles, tableware, glassware,” says Damián. This area also features a pair of Le Corbusier LC2 lounge chairs from Cassina (cassina.com) that are upholstered in fabrics selected by Damián, as well as French wrought-iron chairs and a French chandelier. The Tizio standing lamp is from Artemide (artemide.com). The white metal sculpture is by Carlos Evangelista.

The living room (seen here from the entrance hall) features two sitting areas. On the righthand side of the room, the furniture is grouped around a steel fireplace. The rug is Turkish and the cushions on the couches are from homeowner Damián Sánchez’s online décor store, A Casa Bianca (acasabianca. com). The wrought-iron chandelier is French, the red metal sculpture is by Carlos Evangelista and the artwork above the hearth—for which Damián has a special affection—is by Günther Förg.

The living room features two sitting areas. On the right-hand side of the room, the furniture is grouped around a steel fireplace. The rug is Turkish and the cushions on the couches are from homeowner Damián Sánchez’s online décor store, A Casa Bianca (acasabianca.com). The wroughtiron chandelier is French, the red metal sculpture is by Carlos Evangelista, and the red artwork— for which Damián has a special affection—is by Günther Förg. scatter cushions from one of Damián’s design ventures, the online decor store A Casa Bianca are piled on the couches. The living-room hearth is accented by stunning red artwork and a bright red sculpture. And gleaming chandeliers adorn the space too. The work of Mallorcan artisans is also featured here, with locally sourced objects ranging from a set of red ceramic pomegranates to a range of beautifully simple lead-crystal candleholders.

The dining room, which also leads out onto the patio and pool area, features a wooden table from St-Paul-Home (home-st-paul.com) and red Tolix chairs purchased from Galeria Miquel Alzueta (galeriamiquelalzueta.net) in Barcelona. The Nautic glass and metal pendant light is from Tekna (tekna. be) and the display cabinet is from antique dealer Enric Serra Planes. The Turkish rug is from A Casa Bianca (acasabianca. com), and the artwork, by a young artist from northern Spain, was purchased at ARCO MADRID (ifema.es/arcomadrid_06/).

In the kitchen, the central island is made of black flamed granite and the fronts of the cabinet units, which were made by Danish manufacturers Dinesen (dinesen.com), are Douglas fir. The Nautic glass and metal pendant light is from Tekna (tekna.be), and the Meto.02 kitchen tap is by Dornbracht (dornbracht.com). The collection of plates displayed on the wall was found at Marché aux Puces de St- Ouen flea market in Paris; they are among homeowner Damián Sánchez’s favourite items in the house.

The state-of-the-art kitchen is somewhat quieter in terms of colour, but a collection of handmade ceramic plates (discovered by Damián at the famous Marché aux Puces de St- Ouen flea market in Paris) adorns one wall, adding a vibrant and artisanal touch to an otherwise sleek, smart space. The plates are, he says, among his favourite items in the house. In the adjacent dining room, the bold pops of bright red return in the form of a set of classic metal Tolix chairs.

The Mallorcan glassware and handmade crockery, for which homeowner Damián Sánchez has “a special affection,” are from his online store, A Casa Bianca (acasabianca.com). The pastries are from the bakery in the nearby village of Soller.

In Damián’s study on the first floor, the red Eames office chair complements the 1950s iron desk beautifully. The bookshelves were sourced from an antique store, Maestro Paco.

In Damián’s first-floor study, a classic Eames office chair (in a shade that’s pretty close to that of MAC’s iconic Ruby Woo lipstick) and artwork by Eduard Arbós add yet more pillar-box-crimson touches to the house. Like many fashion people, he clearly adores this bold and energising hue. “My life has always been linked to the decoration of houses,” Damián says. “And this has been intertwined with my experience in the fashion world, which started with my work at Mango,” a place where he was creative director for many years.

A detail of the decor in Damián’s The main bedroom, study on the first floor: the iron desk along with an open-plan and lamp are both vintage, and thebathroom and dressing bright red artwork is by Barcelonabased painter Eduard Arbós. area, takes up the entire second floor of the house. The brass chandelier is a Paris flea-market find, and the headboard was custom made by St-Paul-Home (home-stpaul.com). The white lamp is by Lampe Gras (lampegras.fr), the wooden side table is by Roda (rodaonline.com), the woodburning stove is from Stûv (stuv.com), and the Turkish rug is from A Casa Bianca (acasabianca.com).

The Kos freestanding bath is by Zucchetti Kos (zucchettikos.it), and the standing mixer tap is by Dornbracht (dornbracht.com). The white floor-standing lamp is by Lampe Gras (lampegras.fr).

A detail of one of the guest bedrooms, both of which are en suite. Homeowner Damián Sánchez proudly says that his guests have been known to tell him when they are here, “they feel as though they are spending time in their own home.” The wooden side table is by Roda (rodaonline.com), and the Turkish rug is from A Casa Bianca (acasabianca.com).

The two guest bedrooms on the first floor, both of which have en suite bathrooms, are furnished in a slightly more low-key style. Here, as in the main bedroom upstairs, effortless elegance is the key phrase. The top floor is a single, restful, open-plan room featuring the sleeping space, a dressing area, and a bathroom complete with a luxurious tub from which you can contemplate the views of the Sierra de Tramuntana mountains. Handmade linen and rugs, a rustic brass chandelier, and chunky wooden furniture in the sleeping area are offset by sleek, ultra-contemporary fittings in the bathing space.

The side table in the bedroom area is by Roda (rodaonline.com), the wood-burning stove is from Stûv (stuv.com), and the Turkish rug is from A Casa Bianca (acasabianca. com). In the bathroom space, the Kos freestanding bath is by Zucchetti Kos (zucchettikos.it), and the standing mixer tap is by Dornbracht (dornbracht. com). The white floorstanding lamp is by Lampe Gras (lampegras.fr).

Initially attracted to Soller by “the tranquillity, the scenery, the friendliness of the people of the area, and especially the light,” Damián says that he comes here “anytime that I have a break in my work, and I always try to spend a few days here over Christmas, Easter, and in summer.” Not that he has much spare time. Damián’s latest project, based in Barcelona and launched in August 2015 with business partner and fellow interior designer Alfons Tost, is called Alfons & Damián.

The pool area is the perfect spot for magical summer parties alfresco. Visible behind the pool is a grove of orange trees, and it has a wisteriabedecked walkway along one side. The brightly coloured cushions were made in Turkey for A Casa Bianca (acasabianca.com).

The patio is perfectly appointed for relaxing outdoors, day and night. The metal pergola was custom made and is topped with natural cane from the surrounding area. The outdoor lounge chairs are from Roda (rodaonline.com), and the tables are homeowner Damián Sánchez’s own design, available from A Casa Bianca (acasabianca.com).

There are several small ‘pockets’ of space in the garden, which divide it into separate spaces in a very charming way. The day bed was designed by homeowner Damián Sánchez and is available from A Casa Bianca (acasabianca.com) as are the striped cushions. The wooden side table is by Roda (rodaonline.com).

The area under this beautiful big magnolia tree is homeowner Damián Sánchez’s favourite place to relax. There are several of these small ‘pockets’ of space in the garden, which divide it into separate spaces in a very charming way. The outdoor table was designed by Damián, and is available from A Casa Bianca (acasabianca.com), as is the table linen and glassware.

It’s an interiors shop, art gallery, and interiordesign studio that treats every project as “a new challenge” and specialises in giving clients “unique solutions.” But no matter how busy his various business ventures become, Damián’s house at Soller will doubtless remain a place to retreat for much-needed rest and relaxation—as well as an ongoing source of inspiration.

DAMIANSANCHEZ.TVACASABIANCA.COM

ALFONSDAMIAN.COM

TrooRa Magazine - The Winter Fashion issue '21 - Written By Robin Alexander

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