I am currently on a plane, flying over the Atlantic, returning home from a whirlwind trip to Spain with my high school senior to visit my oldest daughter, who is studying abroad this semester. Lucky, lucky me – ditching the freezing temps in Chicago for the temperate climate of Madrid and then the beach vibes of Malaga.
I am so grateful for the time away, the memories with my girls and their friends, and the opportunity to expand my world yet again with travel. I find that travel ignites my passion for design and refreshes my creative eye, and while this trip catered more to the 18 to 20-year-old set, I soaked up so much beauty and I can’t wait to find ways to incorporate it into our work.
Here are a few of the highlights:
The color everywhere - Ochre and raspberry and plum, pale blue and teal – the richness of the palette of Madrid’s architecture was stunning. We are definitely entering back into a more is more color preference in the design world and I’m so happy about it.
The floors, streets and tile work – Such craftsmanship and originality. You see this all over Europe and also stateside in older cities, but I never get over how much intricacy and good design historic floors have. It makes me want to drive the tile installers crazy with something special sometime soon! :)
The art and antiques - Duh! I didn’t get to fully indulge fantasies of picking through markets and vintage stores (again, this trip catered to the college set) – and our departure date meant I missed the famed El Rastro market, but I did pick up enough special stuff to justify an extra suitcase home. Prized finds are a set of hand drawn maps of Spain done by a general in the late 1800’s and a gorgeous oil painting. I couldn’t fit the frame in my suitcase so I had to do some hotel surgery and left the frame behind. Broke my heart a little but got me all the more motivated to figure out affordable shipping on the next trip.
The doors - It must be a creative thing but I don’t think designers can stop themselves from getting giddy about historic doors. Seriously, I probably took the most photos of doors. (My girls really loved stopping at each one - hah!). So much of construction these days is picking from standard offerings, but seeing the variety and character of something more original, including the hardware, inspires me to push harder for creativity in millwork selections.
We traveled from Madrid down to Malaga – the birthplace of Picasso on the southern coast of Spain for our last few days. It was a magical city, and I’m already scheming for trips to ramble along the Andalusian coast.
A huge thanks to my team for holding down the fort while I was gone; it's a gift to trust the folks you work with!
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