Conceived as both a residence and a creative sanctuary, the renovated Valencia apartment of Emma Sepúlveda by HOMU Arquitectos explores a delicate balance between openness and introspection. Set within a historic Gran Vía building, the 237 m² home is reimagined as a spacious, luminous, and deeply personal residence that embraces Mediterranean sensibilities while preserving the spatial freedom the owners had grown accustomed to across the Atlantic. The result is a stimulating domestic landscape designed to support writing, photography, and artistic exploration.
Rediscovering Mediterranean light without losing American openness
Emma Sepúlveda and her husband moved to Valencia to be closer to their son, choosing to anchor their new life in a Gran Vía apartment shaped by the rhythms of Mediterranean living. The renovation brief was precise: recover the full height of the ceilings, preserve or reinterpret the original moldings, and establish a sequence of open, continuous spaces reminiscent of their American homes, while maintaining a visual dialogue with the tree-lined boulevard below.
From the outset, the project was defined by a productive tension between openness and retreat.
As Sepúlveda’s creative practice unfolds largely within the domestic sphere, the apartment was conceived as a place where spatial continuity coexists with the quiet conditions required for writing, photography, and artistic work.
A generous home with an intentionally compact program
Despite its 237 m² footprint, the apartment was conceived with a deliberately reduced program. Accustomed to expansive domestic environments in the United States, Emma Sepúlveda and her husband requested a single principal suite with a walk-in wardrobe and a small guest room intended mainly for their granddaughters, allowing the majority of the layout to unfold as an expansive day area dedicated to cooking, gathering, working and contemplation. A spacious entrance leads into a vaulted corridor that draws the eye toward a luminous kitchen organised around a large central island, conceived as the social and functional heart of the home. A concealed laundry room is discreetly integrated behind sliding panels, preserving visual clarity.
The main living space extends beyond through a sequence of open yet subtly articulated zones. Partial-height dividers preserve long sightlines and the flow of natural light while introducing differentiated atmospheres. A large dining table anchors the space, while a softly enclosed, cave-like nook offers an intimate retreat for quiet conversations or moments of pause, counterbalancing the openness of the overall layout.
Particular attention was given to the integration of workspaces within the domestic environment. An open studio area, defined by a custom display unit for photography equipment, sits adjacent to the living zones, allowing creative activity to remain visually connected to daily life. Two reclaimed doors, carefully selected and restored by HOMU Arquitectos, mark the threshold to Sepúlveda’s private studio.
This layered spatial strategy enables a gradual transition from collective to individual uses, reinforcing the house’s dual identity as home and atelier.
Minimalism with soul and intent
The interior language aligns with what the architects describe as a “minimalism with soul and purpose.” A restrained palette of whites, greys and ash tones evokes the neutrality of a blank page, allowing artworks, photographs and personal objects gathered across decades to emerge naturally within the space. Although the original moldings could not be preserved due to the installation of a new HVAC system, the intervention allowed for increased ceiling height and the introduction of larger, contemporary moldings proportioned to the renewed volumes and integrated into the bespoke carpentry. A continuous ash-grey porcelain floor runs throughout the apartment, enhancing spatial continuity and visual calm.
Materiality balances contemporary finishes with reclaimed elements, including interior doors and stone washbasins sourced from demolition sites and carefully restored to align with the couple’s aesthetic sensibility while ensuring durability.
Discreet lighting by Arkoslight is seamlessly integrated, supporting rather than competing with natural light, which remains the primary protagonist of the project.
A home for a new chapter
Emma Sepúlveda’s personal journey is embedded in every square meter of this home. A poet, essayist, literary critic, photographer and civil rights advocate, Emma spent more than fifty years in the United States, where she became a public figure in Nevada. After years of witnessing growing social unrest, she and her husband chose to begin a new chapter in Valencia.
Her home reflects that search for refuge—a place to create, remember, converse, rest and start anew.
Facts & Credits
Project title Emma Sepúlveda’s Home
Typology Interior Design, Residential Renovation
Location Valencia, Spain
Architecture HOMU Arquitectos
Team Belén Pla (Creative Director), Javier Hernández (Project Director), Pedro Martínez (Construction Director)
Contractor Enue
Area 237 sqm
Photography Bacon Studio
Text provided by the architects
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