A Place of My Own: A Haven of Recycling
Cecilia Vietto, a bookbinder, and her husband Fabián Andino, a graphic designer, have lived in this renovated Gràcia apartment for four years since moving to Barcelona from their native city of Rosario, Argentina. They previously lived in the Raval, but for a pregnant Cecilia, living on the fifth floor with no lift soon became impossible.
By a stroke of luck, the couple found this second-floor apartment and immediately began knocking down walls and rearranging the layout. Light started to infiltrate and what was once a dark tunnel-like corridor running the length of the apartment now opens up onto the kitchen and dining area. “The kitchen used to be a bedroom,” Fabián revealed. “But we converted it so the whole family could access the balcony, where natural light floods in.”
Aside from the walls, everything in their home is constructed from recycled rubbish found on the city’s streets. The kitchen features a breakfast bar made from plastic tubes and reclaimed wood, which has been covered in old newspaper sheets and varnished to create a smooth surface; old headlines offer a welcome distraction as they sip their morning coffee. Also in the kitchen the work surface is made from an assortment of wood pieces, and its glossy, ink-blue finish is intriguing. “It came about by error,” Cecilia admitted. “One of the varnishing stages created this bubbled texture. It was totally by accident, but it made a rippled effect, like water flowing, and we realized it actually worked well alongside the kitchen sink.” The couple’s waste-not-want-not attitude towards renovating reflects a positive philosophy of life in general. “Mistakes are inevitable, so it’s a case of giving up or rolling with them.”
Cecilia and Fabián combine their creative talents in their collaborative company, Espaibuenrollo, meaning "a place with good vibes." They make a variety of products from recycled materials, including lampshades, plant pots, restored books and trinkets, and they source all materials from the streets, proving that you can’t put a price on good taste. “You don’t need a lot of money in order to have a beautiful home, you just need a lot of dedication,” Cecilia assured.
Their fascination for rubbish dates back to their early life in Argentina, where materials were always reused, primarily out of economic necessity. Part of the fascination also comes from the availability of used materials in the city. “Barcelona is a paradise for rubbish!” Fabián chuckled. “There aren’t many major cities where you can make a home entirely from basura.” Fabián is a self-confessed “weirdo” when it comes to rummaging the streets, but is saddened by the fact that a full-blown recycling system isn’t utilized by everyone across Barcelona. “Becoming a parent, and with age too, you start to question how we can and should work with our planet. Collaborating and cooperating with the natural world is essential because, ultimately, it’s the home of all homes.”
Two years ago, when the opportunity arose for the couple to buy the flat next door, they were able to remodel their home to combine living and work space by knocking through a partition wall to create a workshop. With plenty of room, they welcome traveling friends to stay, enabling their designs to be tested under normal living conditions. One stand-out feature is a hand-painted map of Gràcia in the hall. “We like to encourage friends who stay to explore Gràcia, so we’ve highlighted key points of interest. We don’t own a car, and we think the best way to soak up the city’s culture is on foot,” Cecilia noted.
Although the initial renovation took under six months, they both say that home improvement is a constant process. “It’s a live experiment happening every day,” Fabián confessed. “The place in which you live is alive itself. While it remains the same structure of walls, its soul is constantly changing.”
And it’s fair to say their home has a lot of soul. The skirting board in the hallway is imprinted with the first few lines of the 1946 Magic Realism story, Casa tomada by Julio Cortázar, which can provide a moment of spiritual reflection as you amble along the long, echoing corridor. Turn right into one of the bedrooms, and you come across a lampshade made from discarded VHS film, which reveals old movie scenes while the lengthy reels float in the breeze. It’s obvious that this is the home of two artists.
On the balcony, the celebrations of the Sant Medir festival can be heard, which Fabián will be attending later on with their daughter, Lua. The couple believe Gràcia is perfect for family life. “It’s muy barrio. It has that loving neighborhood feel.” With birds tweeting and water splashing from a neighbors coveted pool, they acknowledge that they’re lucky to live close to Parc Güell and Parc de les Aigües. They also love their terraza, which they have converted into a bohemian haven—think cacti in bathtubs and a barbecue assembled from abandoned shopping trolleys. But now they’re moving into a new phase of experimentation. “We’re looking for a new place that offers a huerto, a piece of land, where we can develop new designs in the horticultural world.”
It’s clear that wherever the family move to next, it will be a home made in Barcelona. Their use of discarded materials may highlight the rather daunting reality that nothing lasts forever, but their admirable craftsmanship gives new life to both the rubbish they find and to their own home, over and over again.
If you have made yourself an interesting home from home and would like to appear in our Place of My Own feature, please send an email to editorial@barcelona-metropolitan.com