Meaningful spaces by Patricia Bustos
StoriesBathco and Patricia Bustos Studio will participate together in a space at Casa Decor 2022. To this end, the interior designer visited the company's facilities, which specialize in the bathroom sector, and more specifically the Atelier where handcrafted pieces are made thanks to the experience of artisans and artists who work with ceramics. Interior designer Patricia Bustos tells us about her Unique, meaningful projects that aim to surprise. He also tells us about the style of his interior design projects, the 2022 trends, and the importance of the bathroom in his work.
Brief presentation of Patricia Bustos Studio: Who are you?
Patricia Bustos Studio is an interior design studio. I believe we specialize in creating unique spaces. In the studio, we always talk about three values that are our three S's.
Surprise, because we try to create spaces that inspire and surprise—and I believe those are the ones that stick in people's minds. Spaces with sense, that also serve a functional purpose in addition to an aesthetic one and that meet the needs of the people who will live in those spaces. And spaces unique, as I was saying at the beginning, unique spaces that are created by and for the very people who will avoid those spaces.
How would you describe your style?
Our style is a fresh, innovative, avant-garde style, Sometimes a bit feminine, but above all new—because we believe that novelty is very important for moving forward, for changing, for growing. We believe that novelty is what gives us that zest for life, that sense of surprise, and the drive to always evolve, change, and strive for more—and that is the «key» to our style, which We try to be very innovative.
It's not about novelty for novelty's sake, but rather always striving for growth—whether you're designing a home for someone, for example, or a space for a brand, we always ask Who do you want to be? Where do you want to go? What do you want to surround yourself with?. In the end, the house or space is where you're going to live your life, and it's important because it will influence you, and it's the space where you'll project your dreams. That sense of newness and seeing where you want to go, who your new self is, is what we believe is important.
Color plays a major role in your projects. How do you conduct the preliminary color analysis to achieve balance?
I believe that Color is one of the most important elements in design, in any design discipline. When you really think about it, it comes down to lines, shapes, space, textures… there are many elements that make up a design, but color is the one that carries the most meaning. When you suddenly say: Pass me the jacket—which jacket? The red one. Not the wool jacket, not the triangular one—the red one. In the end We believe that color imbues a space with so much symbolism and such power we need to handle it in a novel, different way so that it is truly loaded with content.
When we design, we usually combine just a few colors; we try to be a bit minimalist in that regard—we don't try to include everything, but rather let one color predominate. a specific color that we want to imbue with meaning. It’s true that color is a very subjective matter that’s closely tied to your own experiences—because it really depends on the person you’re talking to—but there are certain concepts that are more widely accepted, and if you connect with them and incorporate that color into a space imbued with that intention, aided by the other elements, it gives the design strength.
If I want to create a space that reminds me of the future and I want it to remind me of the 1960s, then the shapes I’ll use will be curved, the designs will be more naive, and the colors will be a little glossier, because back then they used those kinds of colors—even more feminine colors like pink and indigo blue.
We're trying to go in the same direction for the project so that sense and coherence are visible.
What can we expect to see this year in interior design and home decor? Can you tell us about the trends?
We'll keep watching curves, we will see many squares and stripes: checkered patterns, Vichy checks, wide, narrow, and thin stripes—all kinds. We'll continue to see plenty of them Natural materials and imperfect and vernacular materials, We'll continue to see ceramics, brick, plaster, and all these kinds of materials.
We may see a lot more color. We’re coming out of a period when we were a bit overwhelmed, and we’ve seen a lot of neutral spaces; last year at CASA DECOR, there were many spaces that looked very similar in those shades. Now, all of a sudden, we want to enjoy life again: we need to return to color.
What is the importance of the bathroom in your projects?
The truth is that The baths we take are very special, I think it's one of the places in the house where you need the most silence, the most peace and quiet, and the most inspiration; the time you spend there is usually a special moment.
For me, for example, my best ideas come to me in the shower, so we put a lot of thought into designing the bathroom; plus, the architectural aspects and the actual construction of the space are areas that really interest us. There are interior designers who are perhaps phenomenal at handling the decorative aspects—fabrics and so on—while I focus more on spatial volumes. So the bathroom and the kitchen, for example, allow me to play with those kinds of elements that interest me.
Casa Decor 2022
You are regulars at CASADECOR, we could say it's almost impossible to talk about your career without talking about this annual event. What does this meeting bring? How would you define CASAdecor?
For me, this is the event that allows me to express myself as a designer and as an artist—100%, as I usually do. Even when I participate with a brand, they usually reach out to me because they know my personality; they give me a lot of freedom, and I really enjoy exploring. I understand that when you have a client, there are much clearer limits and definitions of what you have to do, and in the end, that’s what you have to do: adapt to them, understand their way of life, and try to come to an agreement… Here I can experiment more, and if I don’t experiment, I’ll die.
What will we find in the project you've created for the Bathco space at Casa Decor 2022? What will you surprise us with?
I'm going to tell you that the mural will surely be something important in the space. We will use ceramic, we will use paint, we will use all these artistic techniques that I have been getting to know here and as I am now very influenced by Bofil, because we were at his house-studio on Wednesday and for us he is a brutal reference, I would say that we will do something brutalist but also romantic, which is how he defined his works: brutalist and romantic.
Bathco Atelier
What did you think of your visit to the Bathco Atelier? What would you highlight? What opportunities does having the workshop open up for an interior design studio in developing its creativity?
The truth is that it blew my mind because I love it, and as I've told you before, novelty, experimenting, curiosity... that's what drives me. Really, coming here, seeing a workshop live and seeing that you guys are doing that all day: researching all day, trying things out, coming up with new techniques, etc. You're not always doing what works for you, but you're always pushing the boundaries.
I didn't know it in such detail, I didn't know you had this artistic side so developed, and honestly, I find it brutal. Nobody who makes sinks and bathrooms in Spain does this, I find it incredible.
What do you think of the Bathco brand and its products?
The versatility of your product. You have an infinite number of finishes, textures, and shapes, where the sink takes on a bit more prominence. Especially for us, who are so aesthetic and a bit closed off in that regard, when we see that the design has to be a certain way, we need this, we need it matte, a certain shade of white, well, we have that here.
#AD100
AD magazine has once again included you among the talents of the year. How do you achieve this position and how do you maintain it?
It's maintained and achieved with incessant curiosity. As I was telling you before, we are super curious by nature; we spend all day researching, all day thinking about different things, and I believe that in the end, you are just as good as others. It's not that you're better or anything, but I do think that the act of trying to be there, at that limit, is what has worked for us.
Probably some of my colleagues are for other reasons, but in my case, it's definitely that, and I'm going to keep doing it. Firstly because it excites me, and secondly because it works for me.