Casa Josephine: A Design Couple’s Country House and B&B in Rioja, Spain
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Iñigo Aragón and Pablo López Navarro may be Spain’s fastest-rising design stars. Together the pair are Madrid-based Casa Josephine Studio, which they started in 2012 after graduating from university with degrees between them in photography, art history, and fashion design. And they’ve been on a rapidly ascending track since then.
Today Pablo and Iñigo are taking us on a tour of their country house in the tiny town of Sorzano in northern Spain’s Rioja wine region. “We bought the house 13 years ago, remodeled it completely, and did a renovation, rethinking, and re-organization of the decoration two years ago,” Pablo wrote to us via email. It’s airy, cheerful, and impeccably designed, with color-blocked rooms and frescoes by architect and muralist Elvira Solana. “Rather than focusing on a selection of design pieces, we wanted the decoration to create a feel-good atmosphere,” Pablo adds. “Colors, furniture, and textiles are chosen following that idea.”
Best of all? To everyone’s luck, the couple operates the house as a bed and breakfast, with five guest bedrooms available for stays.
Join us for a look around.
Photography by Ricard Labougle courtesy of Casa Josephine Studio, except where noted.
Above The entry to Casa Josephine It is a country house and we wanted to be very respectful to the pre existing architecture and to the context where the house is Pablo says
Above Stepping inside It was a family house built mainly in the 1920s says Pablo and we wanted to keep the spirit of a low key non pretentious casual summer house where a mix of pieces from different periods styles and even qualities is possible Photograph by Iñigo Aragon<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 872 class=ezoic adpicker ad style=displayblockimportantfloatnoneline height0margin bottom15pximportantmargin left0importantmargin right0importantmargin top15pximportantmax width100importantmin height90pxmin width728pxpadding top15pximportanttext aligncenterimportant>Above The house is about 300 square meters in total or 3300 square feet with built in niches throughout as here in the dining room Photograph by Iñigo AragonAbove The first floor has terra cotta tiled floors arched openings and original white washed ceilings The sofa is Iñigo and Pablos own designAbove The living area one of two has a built in desk and bookshelves The house can sleep up to twelve peopleAbove Guests have full access to the kitchen with a tiled sink and floor In the village there is a bakery bar restaurant and pharmacy as well as artisanal cured meat and sausage makers and extra virgin olive oil producers according to the bed and breakfast websiteAbove The duo commissioned muralist and architect Elvira Solana to paint frescoes of windows and small tableaux on the walls In order to respect the motto of the guest house murals cannot show an outside world different from the existing one the artists writes on her site The actual location must be seen through the windows To carry out this project I was voluntarily locked up in the house for over three months During this time I worked on the murals while exploring the house the village and the objects Read more about her process here<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 868 class=ezoic adpicker ad style=displayblockimportantfloatnoneline height0margin bottom15pximportantmargin left0importantmargin right0importantmargin top15pximportantmax width100importantmin height250pxmin width300pxpadding top15pximportanttext aligncenterimportant>Above The original stairway<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 877 class=ezoic adpicker ad>Above A sunny swath of yellow in a lounge included in Architectural Digests book <em>The Most Beautiful Rooms in the World<em><span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 878 class=ezoic adpicker ad style=displayblockimportantfloatnoneline height0margin bottom15pximportantmargin left0importantmargin right0importantmargin top15pximportantmax width100importantmin height90pxmin width728pxpadding top15pximportanttext aligncenterimportant>Above Many of the five guest rooms have colorful painted ceilings<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 879 class=ezoic adpicker ad>Above The house is filled with a mix of vintage fittings and findsso its perhaps no surprise that the duo also operates a shop both online and in Madrid at Calle Santa Ana 15 stocked with French Italian and Spanish designs from all eras textiles and craftwork with character according to their site Find more about their shop here Photograph by Iñigo Aragon<span id=ezoic pub ad placeholder 880 class=ezoic adpicker ad style=displayblockimportantfloatnoneline height0margin bottom15pximportantmargin left0importantmargin right0importantmargin top15pximportantmax width100importantmin height90pxmin width728pxpadding0text aligncenterimportant>Above A vignette in a guest room window Photograph by Iñigo Aragon
Above In another room a stripy guest bed pairs with a vintage tapestryAbove A color blocked bath one of four in the houseAbove An open sitting area under the original beams Photograph by Iñigo AragonAbove Another guest room in shades of blue Photograph by Iñigo Aragon
Above: Iñigo and Pablo. Photographs by Iñigo Aragon.
For more on the bed and breakfast or to book, head to Casa Josephine.
