Interview with Jaime de Pablo-Romero (Estudio interiorismo Ynot)
An interior designer who breaks the mould from a stately home opposite the Retiro.
A flat in a turn-of-the-century manor house by the architect Francisco García Nava, in a clear French neo-baroque style, with some beautiful modernist details, is quite a predisposition as to what you think you are going to find. In this interview with Monapart Madrid Jaime de Pablo-Romero we confirm this.
I remember the first time I visited Jaime de Pablo-Romero in his interior design studio. Ynot, on Calle Alfonso XII in front of the Retiro, all my previous conceptions of what it would be like were shattered on the threshold of its door.
The spaciousness of the entrance hall surprises you as soon as you cross the solid entrance door, probably original for its preserved elegance despite its transformation, and the magical blue trees that add to the height of the space. Behind this total break with the outline of a bourgeois home from the turn of the century, you find beautiful lounges with viewpoints overlooking the Retiro gardens that open onto the main entrance, creating a cosy exhibition or work room.
And so is his designer. His work wouldn't surprise you if you know the name of his studio and have spoken to him for a while because in that “Why not?” is the intelligence of his designs, which never discard what his creativity suggests and always take risks knowing what is worthwhile. And it is indeed worth it.
I hope that through this colloquium, which zooms in and out until we enter into the heart of its Ynot, know him better.
Question: Architect, interior designer, interior decorator?
Answer: Interior design is perhaps the one that comes closest to my profession, but it is really difficult, with one surname, to gather all the services that we provide at Ynot.
Why does someone decide that they want to be an interior designer?
I imagine that everyone will have their own reason. For me in particular, I am motivated by adding value to people's lives. To improve their daily lives.
Why did you decide to set up your studio in this house so close to El Retiro?
Because human beings are moved by beauty and emotions and I believe that this space brought together the factors to generate the sensations that I seek to provoke in my clients.
What are the aspects of a home that most interest you?
They all have a crucial importance and influence when it comes to making a project. Location, surface area, architecture of the building, original finishes, luminosity... Back to the subject of sensations, when I visit a client's home I try to absorb the maximum information that the home gives me as it is so that later, combined with the needs, we can develop a unique project.
Should your project be a true reflection of your personality, that of the owners or should it be open?
Of course it has to be the owners' home, not mine, so it is important that we are able to capture the personality of our clients so that we can capture it in their home.
Do you think houses have a “soul”, something that should condition your response?
Of course. You have to know how to listen to what a house has to tell you before you start planning. In the past, someone dedicated their efforts to design that house, now we will not have access to them but the house can tell us a lot of things.
Architecture and decoration are different concepts, what makes them different?
Everything, but for me they are indispensable complements for an optimal sense of well-being. With architecture you generate spaces and volumes, you can even make a room more or less cosy. With decoration you make it habitable or uninhabitable.
What is the architectural style that moves you the most?
I have always been fascinated by Brutalism (Le Corbusier, Eero Saarinen and more recently Javier Sáenz de Oíza).
Why “why not”? Why “Ynot”?
Because it is a question-answer and, above all, it is an attitude, a way of understanding things. It is the best definition of our work and of the way to deal with any difficult question. You can't or you shouldn't are horrible phrases!
Tell us about Ynot's style.
I always say that it is a unique style and it is transferred to individual projects making them unique as well. I don't believe in fashions as such, although we always have to be up to date, the materials that development brings us were not there before and we have to take advantage of that.
What is the differentiating element of the Ynot style?
Personalisation, creativity, forcing everything we have at hand to achieve a different result. Of course, the most important thing is to create sensations, if possible with a smile on your face.
Is today's society equipped to decide how it wants to live?
No, it never has been and I don't think it ever will be. Or maybe it has, but of course, there are many inputs that do not allow it to be carried out. That is a job that should be left to the great thinkers.
I believe, as he said, that “Most people don't know what they want until you show it to them.
How do you value social media, social networks - with their intrinsic transience - in the formation of housing criteria?
I don't use them as a means of inspiration, but I do use them as a business card.
In general, people are very lazy and we will visit what many people say is good or we will trust the one that has the most followers, but it is a double-edged sword because with the intention of selling more or gaining followers they show what people want to see. For me, nothing is created, they are copies of copies, nothing original.
Is the work of Ynot -and of any interior designer- an added value to the final cost of the house?
The easy thing to say would be yes, but this will depend on the next user of the home. What you have designed for one person may seem atrocious to another, so it is a relative value. That said, there are obviously a number of improvements in terms of liveability and usability that can be considered added value.
Do you have a building in Madrid where you would like to transfer your design concept?
Many, but more than for the building, for the way it is used today by those who live or work in it. It would be nice to arrive at the Banco de España and say, “this is the new model of office in which you are going to work”.
Following our last “Speakeasy #3 Do we live as we think?”What is your opinion on the future of housing?
Sustainability is the future of everything, we are in the era of awareness that either we take care of what we have or we will collapse. This is gradually being transferred to housing, but not only in its construction or in its consumption efficiency, but also in the materials used for interior design and decoration.
