The search for well-being through decoration and transformation of spaces into a “home” have been the essence of this solidarity project carried out by the Madrid School of Decoration and Ikea in the intervention of a center for battered women. And it is that the decoration has a powerful emotional component. What a space is capable of transmitting, the sensations it produces, can have a very large impact on our state of mind.
Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of its foundation, women and children, residents of the Center for Recovery, Attention and Recovery of Battered Women (CARRMM) now enjoy spaces redesigned with a completely renovated furniture.
The Madrid School and Ikea have launched the initiative in recognition of the work of the center and for contribute to the well-being of its residents. Thus, together, they have combined knowledge and resources to rehabilitate and condition five rooms of common use designed to create well-being for these women.
Winter 2021 news – IKEA
The space Before and the keys to its transformation
In order to better understand the profound transformation of space, we share the Before images.
The project they have carried out has been based on filling the spaces that, although furnished, were “empty” because the furniture was few and badly sized. This, together with the materials such as the terrazzo flooring, the exposed concrete and especially the dark color of the wood, resulted in “cold” and somewhat soulless spaces in which a space dedicated to children was also missed.
The Head of Studies of the School, Aitor Viteri, and a dozen students They have been responsible for the project that has transformed five rooms; the hall, the living room, the children’s area, a cinema area and an interior garden.
For Viteri the great challenge has been “transform the space into its emotional part to create a home”. For this they have focused on remove the cold weight of materials to give home quality, something they have achieved by painting the dark wood of the railing and doors white and above all filling the space with rugs, other textiles and different textures that enrich the space.
The real uses of the spaces and the needs of women and children have also been taken into account.
The spaces after the intervention
Each room has been decorated to meet specific needs. As Viteri pointed out, the large and very open main room, is now a space for use shared but it can be used in a more collected or intimate way, thanks to the reading chairs. In this sense, the distribution of the sofas and rugs also serve to delimit or zone the large space.
The outdoor garden is the meeting place for womens, which is not usually accessed by children. That is why a more serene and relaxed decoration has been sought but with touches of color in which the lighting has been taken care of. The garlands surround the trunks of the trees, and the lanterns are distributed at different points to create a beautiful atmosphere.
As soon as to the children’s area that opens towards the television or cinema area, fun and very functional work has been carried out attending to the different ages of the minors of the center. Rectangular in plant, they have been divided into different areas in a “U” shape thanks to the kallax shelves, as they do not have a back, they are a classic for dividing spaces.
Upon entering you are greeted by an area designed for babies and younger children. With sofas, rugs, and age-appropriate toys. Below is a play space for young children, then another designed for creative activities like painting and finally the area for the elderly. Its walls have been filled with numerous frames that frame the drawings of the little ones, as if it were an art gallery.
At the back of the room is the tv zone or cinema. Several Landskrona sofas in light green have been arranged like a cinema, in parallel To enhance this cinema effect, although if you change the arrangement of these sofas, this area can also be converted into a nice lounge.
The director of the Raquel Simón School, has expressed her satisfaction with the result because “We have managed to capture the life of a home in a social health center like this one” . Raquel is convinced of the transformative power exerted on people by the beauty and decoration of the spaces in which they live, of its ability to transmit peace and well-being. “That is what we have intended, that resident women feel that there is a better future for them, may the power of the beauty that will surround them from today be another prop in their recovery ”.
With the premise that “We all deserve a true home”, this project is part of the social contribution that Ikea is making in Spain with its “True Homes” campaign. Laura Escalante, from the IKEA Sustainability team, points out in relation to this project “We hope to alleviate the situation of these women and their sons and daughters, and create well-being in their day-to-day life. They are spaces designed to foster relationships, moments of enjoyment and, in the case of the little ones, fun and healthy growth”
Information via Ikea. Images Silvia Caballero.
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