"This is living pleasure": Interview with Studio LYKE
In their projects, they help their clients to create a unique home completely adapted to their lifestyle, accompanying them through the entire design and renovation process.
The creators of @StudioLykeThe #livingpleasure, an architecture and design studio from Alicante, is the basis of the #livingpleasure. They collaborate with our team in Alicante to get the maximum potential out of some of our homes. That is their mission and here they tell us how they achieved it.
How did Studio LYKE come into being, a sham or a marriage of convenience?
Both of them! The creative love affair and the germ of our project arose in 2017 in Copenhagen. Although we had already been collaborating on different projects as freelancers for some time, it was on this trip to the Danish capital that the creative spark was sparked.
The context was ideal: our annual getaway with a partner from the retail sector, during which we visited the main European capitals to capture retail and design trends. There we were amazed by the Danish vision of design, their love for things that are well thought out, not overdone, honest and authentic. We marvelled at the concept of LYKKE (Danish for "happiness") and its application to design, focusing on the joy that thoughtful details, human and life-enhancing designs bring.
But of course, in every project and professional journey there must be a part of convenience, of rationality. It is a duality, a balance between passion and reason. Between the objective and the subjective. We apply this duality to our vision of design: passion must be supported by rationality. Therefore, the key was the fact that our two profiles complemented each other perfectly, something that, due to our different professional backgrounds and complementary skills, we detected from the first projects as a powerful and efficient cocktail. We enjoyed designing together, the processes were fluid and the projects were solid. It was too good not to materialise this tandem in a business project.
What makes you special?
We believe that what really makes us special is knowing how to listen to and understand the needs of our clients, both in housing and in commercial or corporate spaces. We generate designs based on an analysis of the housing or business needs and we work the space in a strategic way, optimising the distributions to the maximum and generating environments in which our personality does not prevail over the client's personality and needs.
More than just refurbishing, we like to say that we "transform" homes, as our projects are integral not only in the visible, but we approach design from a strategic approach that boldly rethinks spaces, achieving a transformation that significantly improves the quality of life, functionality and value of the homes. When working with companies, this strategic approach allows us to quickly integrate our client's identity, needs and objectives. Our designs therefore convey brand values while the strategy applied to the space delivers high commercial performance and optimal functionality.
What is it like working with you?
We take a comprehensive approach to the refurbishment process, accompanying our clients from the initial space planning to the turnkey handover of their completely transformed home. We take great care of our client's experience, structuring the phases and coordinating the entire process to reduce friction, with the aim of ensuring that they enjoy their renovation, which should flow in a simple and friendly manner.
We begin the creative process with an initial meeting with the client to find out their needs, their expectations and their level of investment. We work carefully on the layout, until we achieve the optimum fit and continue with the development of the concept, selecting the textures, colours and materials that will build the environment.
We like to make our clients feel that their home will be unique, fully designed according to their needs and personality. For this reason, we are flexible and adapt our process to the client's needs, level of intervention or characteristics of the property. And when it comes to budgets, we roll up our sleeves and get involved to find the best option for the characteristics of the project and the client's needs. We are respectful of the desired level of investment, we do not like to propose something that cannot be realised later on. This is living pleasure!
How do you see the housing sector?
On the one hand, new housing developments seek to adapt to a public that is too general, taking few risks and wanting to satisfy any user... without taking into account that each family lives in a different way. In addition, new developments are not always located in the areas where our clients want to live and there are not too many options to choose from.
"Ways of life have evolved, but the housing available on the market has not. The housing stock in cities does not meet the needs of most families.
On the other hand, the used homes available on the market, although numerous and often larger in size, often do not fit in with today's lifestyles. Potential occupants flee in terror not only because of their creepy aesthetics but also because of their compartmentalised and rigid layouts, which do not fit in with their way of understanding and living spaces.
Through our approach to home transformation, we can offer a definitive solution to our clients' needs. Homes in the locations they want, contemporary and fully customised designs, with all the comforts, space and features of a 21st century home. All based on a bold layout that fits your lifestyle like a glove and extracts the full potential of the available space, while containing the investment within reason.
How would you define your style?
The trained eye will be able to find commonalities and universal values that are recognisable in our designs, but we always try to ensure that each project tells its own story, not ours. From the first visit to the property we try to capture the essence of the container, to see its strengths, its scars, identifying elements to enhance, avoiding going against the property and the environment.
When creating the visual concept of each home, we try to select simple, honest and quality textures and materials. A well-balanced colour palette is not usually lacking, as well as the search for luminosity and simplicity in shapes and geometries. We like to generate concise and timeless concepts, finding the essence of spaces without resorting to artifice or whimsical and superfluous decorations. For us, this approach brings freshness and honesty to the design, which is perceived as authentic and leaves room to incorporate the personality of the future inhabitants, without constraining them.
But a fundamental element of our design style is undoubtedly the flowing routes and optimised layouts. We work on layouts with care, seeking a perfect fit between the client's needs and the possibilities of the property. Many clients come to us to extract the unthinkable from obsolete spaces that do not flow.
What motivates you most about your work?
Undoubtedly, the transformative potential of good space design and a well-executed refurbishment. A well-planned retail space can have a revolutionary effect on business performance and profitability. The potential is enormous.
Like our clients and followers, we love stories of profound transformation, almost magical, that make us dream of possibilities and spaces that have always been there, waiting for us to enhance them. This is a mission that we approach with great enthusiasm and responsibility every time we take on a new project. But above all, it motivates us to finish a project and see our satisfied customers enjoying the #livingpleasure.
