How Marta de la Rica Reimagined her Childhood Home in Madrid

HOUSE TOUR | ROOMS & GARDENS | WORLD OF CABANA

Exclusive: In a deeply personal project, Spanish designer Marta de la Rica breathed new life into the family house her parents built decades ago, where she spent her childhood and where her father still lives today. Marta tells Busola Evans how she balanced collected antique treasures and emotional ties with a fresh perspective.  

BY BUSOLA EVANS | ROOMS & GARDENS | 2 OCTOBER 2025

In a quiet, hilly enclave of Madrid stands a detached house richly layered with decades of memories. Its terracotta facade and spacious four floors are only too familiar to interior designer Marta de la Rica – not just because she spent 18 months painstakingly renovating the property, but because she grew up within its walls. 

Built from scratch by her parents more than 30 years ago, it was where Marta and her two younger siblings enjoyed their formative years and her earliest creative instincts began to take shape. “I remember my mother picking me up from school and passing by the site every day,” says Marta, whose studio is based in Madrid today. “My parents were very into interior design and my mother had boxes of fabric samples and magazine clippings. I remember picking samples I liked and putting them into a folder of my own.”

It is fitting then that Marta’s professional journey brought her back to the very place where it all began, although over time, of course, the role of the house changed. By 2021, Marta and her siblings had left home and their parents had long separated. The house was solely her father’s and while it remained full of beautiful objects – he is an avid antique collector – it had lost its spark. “At one point my father thought that we should sell it. But my brothers and I did not want that. So we decided that we would redo the house.”

Marta was given full creative control and approached the project as both daughter and designer – being sensitive to the history of the house but also nudging gently towards reinvention. “It was a big responsibility but I know what my father likes and there is an understanding there. He is definitely a maximalist,” she says with a smile. With that, Marta embarked on a thoughtful renovation. 

On the ground floor, the tired yellow hallway with the sweeping staircase was refreshed with a botanical mural by Madrid-based artist Johina G. Concheso and a bold geometric white limestone and green marble floor. “I was keen to give it a lighter feel,” says Marta. The living room, while teeming with antiques, has a similar air helped by a wheat-coloured woven rug which dials back any heaviness. “When I was young, the room was quite dark and felt very serious – children were not allowed in,” recalls Marta. “Life has changed now and I wanted to make it a room everyone would use.”

When it came to furniture Marta was spoilt for choice, thanks to her father’s discerning eye. She worked as much as possible with the pieces that were already there – some since her childhood – such as a pair of Russian chest drawers and armchairs upholstered in floral Pierre Frey fabric in the living room as well as a set of green amphoras now standing proud on Baroque consoles in the hallway. In other instances, Marta introduced additional pieces, including antique framed doors in the living room.

“They are 18th century Italian wood painted as marble. When I bought them, I didn't know what I would do with them. But this project came along and was perfect for it.” Marta leans into a palette of warm earth tones, rich patterns and tactile materials. Green is a colour thread that weaves itself throughout the house. While there is lightness of touch in some areas, others display richer hues such as the second sitting room which has aubergine-coloured walls on which hang giant ornate marble-painted frames.

Meanwhile, the dining room features a floral wallcovering from de Gournay alongside crystal chandeliers from La Granja de San Ildefonso, one of the most emblematic glass factories in Spain. A new addition is a bar area, off the living room, once a section of the dining room. Marta lined the walls with Colony’s Marly and lacquered cabinetry, painted Farrow & Ball’s Red Earth, gives extra punch while reflecting light. “My father collects dinnerware pieces and we needed a lot of cupboards, so it has a practical element as well as a beautiful aesthetic,” says Marta.

The top floor houses the primary bedroom, again with a healthy helping of antique furniture, and a dressing room-cum-shower room which is wrapped in a sunset-hued fabric wallpaper by Phillip Jeffries. “We don’t consider the bathroom here as a separate space but one large room with different elements,” says Marta. “I thought having the shower on a platform in the middle of the room would be fun.”

Renovations often seek finality but Marta - knowing full well her father’s love for collecting is unlikely to dissipate – has designed a home with flexibility. ‘It’s not rigid so he is able to add to it, which he will. My father loves the house now and it is a special place where all the family enjoy gathering and spending time.”