Set in the stunning surroundings of Catalonia, this family home is well placed to soak up the sun. Looking for their ideal holiday home, a Scandinavian family bought this property in a small valley near Barcelona to make the most of their downtime. It’s a space big enough for the family to hang out together, and plenty of room for guests too in the attached annex.

The main house is a long building that makes plenty of optimal space for views over the valley from its two floors.

One of the major drives towards perfecting this home’s interiors was to make sure it had a special balance between feeling warm, full of light, but also relaxed at the same time. Through its deep color palette, it maintains a sophisticated, dark and yet international atmosphere.

Tobias Laarman and Yolanda Yuste, the creative directors behind YLAB Arquitectos were enthusiastic about their work on this project.

“We love the reduced but harmonious material palette in this house, combining dark tinted natural eucalyptus, dark coffee lacquered wood veneer, natural Grigio Ash stone, ivory white tones and brass.”  — YLAB Arquitectos

The floor throughout the house is finished with taupe Pandomo cement.

Natural light streams in through the large windows from the garden.

The kitchen area has slathers of storage, tucked behind these dark coffee lacquer colored cupboards. The backsplash and Neolith worktop are well matched.

Extra storage is hidden through doors to the back, for those extra bits of kitchen storage, equipment, laundry and preparation areas.

The kitchen island in the middle of the room makes cooking an outward and shared experience, with the space using tall stools to also serve as an informal dining area.

The central part of the house, where you walk in through the front door, features this eye-catching stairwell. I like the way the glass side shows off parts of the cement staircase and its zig zag structure, created against the backdrop of the olive tree in the inner courtyard.

The dining room and living room are in a shared space. The rich texture of the wood stain continues throughout the house here as well, with the paneling and cabinets housing the television unit, and the table. Brass and black elements in the room play between being matte or shiny in texture.

What’s more is that hanging above the dining table are a collection of brass Beat lights by Tom Dixon; they work really well against the collection of different chair shapes and the room’s color accents.

Also, a fireplace is integrated into the cabinet, and the living room furniture has been selected to go well against the sandstone walls.

Many of the furniture pieces were custom upholstered for the space, which is probably why they look just right!

Besides, the light colored sofas are excellent in this spot, to soak up the sun but to be cautious of fading fabric over time. The soft h cream color contrasts to the sleek black framed marble coffee tables.

From downstairs there is plenty of access to the pool and to looking out over the beautiful countryside setting. This open plan shared style of space also continues upstairs.

The master bedroom once more sees itself immersed in those dark chocolate-colored wooden slats, with large sliding doors splitting the space between bedroom and bathroom.

The custom-made bed is inlaid with a leather headboard, globe lamps either side and a soft silk rug which changes up the feel from the concrete underfoot.

As you can see the wood slat ceiling stretches across much of the upper floor in this building. It allows for the doors to slide in and out in an interesting fashion. Further to the back of the corridor you can see the playroom and landing that links to the staircase.

Another key point is, the two black tinted glass side doors give access to more private areas in the bathroom, partitioned from the sleeping areas by large sliding doors.

Moreover, the stone cupboards are perfect for concealing television and audio equipment, as well as any other bits and bobs.

Surprisingly, to the other end of the corridor is the playroom, and children’s rooms. The funky furniture is from local company RS Barcelona. With the bright red foosball table, this area is drawing your attention in all the way from the other side of the house!

Actually, I adore the green sinks in the family bathroom, such a change from the usual and really brings out a bit of fun to brushing your teeth. The areas of the house designated for the children are much brighter, with white walls and vivid colors, as opposed to the walnut, chocolate and charcoal parts of the grown up quarters.

In addition, the bedroom has plenty of space for sleep and finishing up any summer school projects.

With such stunning surroundings, it would be a shame to have flattened the landscape that bears many pine and holm oak trees. Therefore, the courtyard area connecting the house and the guest annex still has an old tree, with a specially made canopy that allows the tree to push through. There are still many gorgeous patches of greenery to frame the scene.