Daria, flavorful cuisine

DARIA is many things and one thing at the same time. Daría is the name of the chef's grandmother, a woman with a lot of charisma and personality who inspired him in the kitchen while he patiently waited for the stew to be ready.

Bathco Atelier's intervention in the DARIA restaurant consists of three mural pieces, two ceramic pieces, and two decorated washbasins.

One of the interventions is located at the entrance to the restrooms and was carried out by Cecilio Espejo using white, black, and a teal or viridian tone that matches the tiles in the restroom itself.

In the image of the doors, two icons of art history were used, as described by the artist: “They are Michelangelo's David and Botticelli's Venus, to differentiate the women's and men's restrooms. These two figures have been surrounded by chosen elements to create a dreamlike and open-to-interpretation scene, much like the author's own cuisine.”.

Next to the sardine mural, the ceramic pieces were placed. These are two plates treated with ceramic decals that continue the aesthetic of the entrance to the restrooms, thus connecting the ground floor and the first floor. The artist himself explains the process of recreating the works, “the pieces were first sketched in pencil, and then black and blue-green enamel was applied to different surfaces, finishing with a brushstroke.”.

The other two interventions are in the upper dining room, a space reserved for gastronomic elements such as vegetables and fish. Sardines on the main wall and artichokes, tomatoes, and onions in another corner, accompanying the diners. These were chosen as a suggestion from the chef himself, Nacho del Corral, continuing with the graphic design applied to the restaurant's menus.

In the women's restroom, you can find a raw pink microcement New Toulouse sink. In the men's restroom, a raw gray microcement Lys sink was installed, both made in Bathco's workshop. The artists at Bathco Atelier applied the restaurant's logo using ceramic decals and decorated the pieces with phrases referencing the pleasure of gastronomy. Both the New Toulouse and the Lys were placed on custom-made, distressed solid wood countertops crafted by Cantabrian carpenters.

The artists at Bathco Atelier customized the restaurant's sinks. María Centeno explains that “given the small size of the spaces designated for the restrooms, our task was to focus attention on the ceramic pieces. We opted for microcement-effect compositions that had a distinctive touch.”.

Dark gray and pink tones ranging from white to orange were the colors chosen to convey sensations in each room.

Hand-finished sinks simulate the characteristic microcement stains that add depth and a very special tonal richness to the pieces.

Ceramic decals also played an important role. Through texts related to the pleasure of gastronomy and the application of the restaurant's logo, the designs were given the necessary touch of uniqueness. The complexity of the pieces lies in their matte finish and in the subsequent application of the ceramic decals, which required two successive firings at different temperatures to achieve the desired nuances.

The result of this entire process is two pieces that realistically convey the visual and textural characteristics of microcement, a highly trendy material in interior design.