At Ujo+Partners, we’ve been designing residential spaces for 26 years, with 1,135 projects completed in 288 cities across 25 countries. Throughout this journey, one question keeps coming up: What makes an interior truly luxurious, beyond the price of the materials? In this article, we review five of our own homes—all built and photographed—and explain what sets each one apart: the style, the initial challenge, and the defining design decision.
We analyze five homes by Ujo+Partners in Barcelona, Cerdanya, and Collserola. Each one addresses a different challenge: classic elegance for a large family, a complete redesign of an urban apartment, a walnut wall serving as the home’s backbone, the restoration of a traditional farmhouse, and a meticulously planned renovation with spectacular views. At the end, you’ll find a comparison chart and the most frequently asked questions about luxury interior design.
What sets the interior of a luxury home apart from a house that's simply expensive?
A luxurious interior is not measured by the price of the materials, but by the harmony between the design, the layout, and the lifestyle of those who live there. At Ujo+Partners, we define it as understated and essential luxury, where every element serves a purpose and nothing is superfluous. A house can be expensive yet uncomfortable or incoherent; a luxury interior, on the other hand, functions first and is perceived as elegant only afterward.
The following five projects illustrate this idea from five different perspectives.
1. Pedralbes, Barcelona: Classic elegance with a European flair
This 170-square-meter apartment, renovated in 2024, combines Parisian charm, British understated elegance, and the warmth of Ralph Lauren Home into a single design language. What sets it apart is the way it resolves a common dilemma: a family with three young children needs a home that can withstand daily wear and tear without sacrificing sophistication.
The chosen materials—natural oak, classic moldings, linen, velvet, and tartan—add texture and a timeless character. The contrasts in anthracite grays bring balance to a composition that could easily have veered into decorative excess. The layout is designed to accommodate both children’s free play and adults’ relaxation, with built-in storage in every room.
The result is not a “magazine-worthy” home designed solely for the camera, but a home with a European spirit that is lived in every day. Here, luxury is understood as comfort that endures over time, not as a one-time gesture.
2. Ronda General Mitre, Barcelona: urban sophistication with walnut as the unifying theme
This comprehensive renovation of 160 m², completed in 2021, was driven by a unique challenge: transforming an old, compartmentalized home into an open space without losing its warmth. What sets it apart from others is that the main focus was not on decoration, but on a complete redesign of the floor plan.
The common areas were opened up to visually connect the kitchen, dining room, living room, and terrace, making the most of natural light. Walnut wood serves as a central element, present in both the living spaces and the private areas, providing visual cohesion throughout the entire layout. The bedrooms were designed with sliding doors to allow for greater flexibility, and the master suite combines fine materials with lacquered finishes.
This project is the clearest example of how, in luxury interior design, the greatest impact sometimes comes not from what is added, but from how what already exists is reorganized.
3. Tibidabo Avenue, Barcelona: The Walnut Wall as an Architectural Statement
At 220 m², this 2018 home is the largest in the selection and best exemplifies our holistic design approach. What sets it apart is a single design element that ties the entire house together: a long wall clad in walnut wood that connects the living area to the master bedroom and conceals the entrances to the bedrooms and closets without interrupting the visual continuity of the space.
Indirect lighting, integrated into the hallway’s suspended ceiling, highlights the texture of the walnut and enhances the sense of calm. The hallway is no longer just a passageway; it has become the functional—and sculptural—backbone of the home.
Here, we handle every phase of the process: design, planning, custom furniture fabrication, installation, and construction supervision. This project best illustrates what a turnkey project entails, where architecture, interior design, and execution all align with a single, cohesive vision.
4. Saga, Cerdanya: Contemporary rural luxury in a restored farmhouse
Unlike the previous three, this 160-square-meter home in Saga, Girona, completed in 2020, is not located in the city of Barcelona. We’ve included it because it represents a different take on residential luxury: warm and rustic, rather than urban and minimalist.
The project restores the original wooden structure of a traditional house through a sandblasting process that lightens its tone and increases the brightness of the space. The flooring is replaced with natural wood, and the wall alongside the staircase is covered with herringbone wallpaper to add texture and create a sense of cohesion across the home’s four floors. The ground floor is reorganized to improve the living area, while the master suite incorporates contemporary elements without compromising the home’s original character.
What sets this project apart is that luxury is not created by adding new elements, but rather by thoughtfully restoring what already had value: the beams, the structure, and the history of the place.
5. Esplugues, on the slopes of Collserola: the project that illustrates the studio’s evolution
This 135-square-meter renovation, the oldest in the selection (2016), presents a very different challenge from the rest: a compact space with an extensive program and spectacular views of Barcelona.
The design approach focuses on spatial optimization, where every square meter serves multiple functions without sacrificing clarity. The interior layout maximizes natural light and frames views of the landscape, with compact and efficient circulation paths. Warm materials and custom-made furniture compensate for the limited floor space without sacrificing a serene atmosphere.
We’ve included this project because, compared to the other four, it illustrates how our design language has evolved over the past eight years: from a style of luxury more closely associated with signature pieces and stark contrasts to the understated, timeless luxury that defines our most recent residential projects.
Comparison Chart: The 5 Projects at a Glance
| Project | Location | Year | Area | Dominant style | What Sets It Apart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pedralbes | Barcelona | 2024 | 170 m² | European Classic | Everyday Family Elegance |
| General Mitre Boulevard | Barcelona | 2021 | 160 m² | Contemporary Minimalist | Complete Plant Restructuring |
| Tibidabo Avenue | Barcelona | 2018 | 220 m² | Full-body sculpting | A walnut wall as the focal point of the house |
| Saga | Cerdanya, Girona | 2020 | 160 m² | Contemporary Rustic | Restoration of the Original Structure |
| Esplugues | Collserola Hillside | 2016 | 135 m² | Spatial Optimization | A Reference for Stylistic Evolution |
How does Ujo+Partners choose the materials and style for each project?
We do not start with a fixed catalog of finishes, but rather with an analysis of the site, the light, and the lifestyle of those who will inhabit the space. This approach varies depending on the project: in Pedralbes, it was tailored to an active family; in Tibidabo, to the need for a unifying architectural gesture; and in Saga, to the desire to preserve the character of a traditional home.
This process is part of our interior design service, where every decision regarding materials and layout is made based on the specific project, not on a cookie-cutter approach.
Frequently Asked Questions
What sets luxury interior design apart from a house that's simply expensive?
What materials are commonly used in the interiors of luxury homes?
What is "quiet luxury" in interior design?
What role does natural light play in luxury interiors?
Does a luxury interior design project always include a complete renovation?
- Ujo+Partners — About Us — Firm history (years, projects, cities, countries).
- Ujo+Partners — Sectors, Residential Section — defining an approach to understated and essential luxury in residential projects.
At Ujo+Partners
We design residential interiors where every decision regarding materials and layout is tailored to a specific project, not based on a cookie-cutter formula. From design to completion, the same team manages the entire process. If you have a home you’d like to transform, let’s talk.
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