After getting stuck in Australia for two years of lockdown during the pandemic and losing the Montreal apartment they had previously called home, Silk Laundry founder Katie Kolodinski and her family had to rethink things. “Europe was in the cards,” Kolodinski recalls. Specifically, Spain. Eight years of staging photoshoots for her ready-to-wear label in Barcelona and building out her network there made the coastal Spanish city a natural fit. Before she knew it, she was scouring apartment listings and moving into a rental that turned out to be way too small. “I wanted to get a piano for the kids, and I didn’t have anywhere to put it,” she says.
Through a four month-long apartment search, she came across a spacious four-bedroom apartment with its 19th century millwork still intact. “A couple of years ago, I don’t think dark walls were trending,” she says of embracing the walnut-clad walls in her living area. It took Kolodinski’s knack for styling, along with years’ worth of vintage furniture finds and travel keepsakes, to make sense of the space’s dramatic proportions and dark paneling.
“Thank goodness everything I brought over sort of all worked,” she says. The floral couch she picked up for $20 at a Montreal vintage store and the flowerlike fiberglass lamp she later found at her favorite antique store in Barcelona look right at home against the ornate moldings and parquet floors. “It brightened and lightened everything. I think that space could have been so mature…it allowed it to be more fun,” she shares.
Ahead, Kolodinski gives us the complete tour.
The entrance was really large and really grand and I have quite a small table in there. I was always looking for something bigger. But that was just a table that I had from Montreal that I found, it’s almost like a Chinese lacquered table with a shell inlay. Once I put a big thing of flowers on it, it sort of ended up making sense. | Chairs, Kartell.Eventually it was just like, if I’m going to be here in Barcelona, I’m going to be here in Barcelona and get the feeling, and be in the space and create a beautiful, unique place. That [lamp] I love. It seems like it’s handmade; it doesn’t have a marking on the bottom. I found it at an antique store that I go to a lot called 177 Kensington. The windows overlook one of the main streets of Barcelona, Avenida Diagonal, and I love the way the city moves around it; it’s a mix of stillness and energy. That balance played a big part in why I chose this apartment. The light, the architectural details, and the sense of peace it offers above the hustle and bustle of the city make it feel grounding and inspiring simultaneously. | Candle Holders (on credenza), Abenval; Table Lamp IKEA; Floor Lamp, 177 Kensington; Candles (on coffee table), Loewe. I like collecting memories. Anytime I travel, if I find something beautiful, whether it’s a really cool sculpture, shells, or candles, instead of buying one, I buy multiples to make sure I can give them to other people as well as have [them] myself. I always like looking at 1stDibs, mostly to check prices on some of the things that I currently have. My dining table is by Willy Rizzo, I think from the 1960s or ’70s, which is super cool. | Candles, Cereria Subira; Table, Willy Rizzo.
I think the kitchen is very close to original. When we moved in, [the owner] was like, “Well, I can update it if you want. We can change out the tiles.” And I was like, You know what? I kind of like this. As soon as I put dried flowers and herbs up and—I have a cute cat clock and little elements from Mexico, all over the place—it changed the space. | Clock, Kit-Cat; Coffee Maker, Smeg.
The counters are incredible, they’re real marble that’s thick and cold, so they’re perfect for cooking and baking and making pasta. My drawers don’t have nice soft-close [hinges] on them but the countertop is one of the most important things. If you have that old, cold marble, you can cook well on it.
I started collecting rosaries on my travels many years ago, as they are a tiny memento of a place in time. They are all so unique once you start paying attention. This one I found in Valencia, Spain. I tried to keep this guest bedroom blue and a bit more bright and fun. It’s going to lift the space and not have it look too old or antique or dated. | Chair, Moustache; Table, Kartell; Bed, EQ3.
When I walked into [the bathroom] for the first time, I was like, Okay, this is kind of cool. But having black in your bathroom just shows every water mark and every streak. Do not have black in your bathroom! I love these little, Italian hand-painted trays. It’s easy, when I put my products on because I can kind of separate my things, rather than just having them all over the counter. Because I do have a fair amount of skincare. | Brushes, Koh-i-noor and Isinis; Comb, Officine Universele Buly.
If you have a little bit of art, a plant, and a few nice things, it can make it feel less like just a bathroom.
My kids, they’re both boys. They wanted purple sheets and they’re happy to have some florals. I’ll always get sheets from Merci and blankets from my travels. The cat [pillows] are from Turkey. Their beds are from IKEA—they’re actually really practical because they’re single beds but they’re stackable. | Bed, IKEA.You don’t need much in a bedroom apart from your bed and some things that you like. In those spaces I’m like, What am I going to put there so I can wake up, look at it and feel happy? For me, it’s really nice sheets and some Turkish rugs, and you’re good. | Bed, EQ3; Sheets, Merci; Lamp, Moustache.
