Discover the Santos space at Casa Decor 2025
03 / 04 / 2025
Santos, the kitchen furniture brand, will be at the 2025 edition of Casa Decor, an annual exhibition for interior design, design, trends and lifestyle which will be held in Madrid from 3 April to 18 May.
For its 60th edition, the organisation chose a truly one-of-a-kind space steeped in history and with great architectural value – in keeping with the venues where it has been held throughout its 33 years of history. It’s the building at Sagasta 33, located in the Chamberí neighbourhood and built in the late 19th century in the eclectic style of Madrid befitting that period.
The exterior of the building boasts an impressive façade, topped by three turrets and with 90 windows with balconies. Its meticulous design combines exposed brick, rendered stone in white and metal to create a structure that’s visually striking, based on symmetry and a distinctive alignment of all the elements.
Covering a floor area of 7,141 square metres distributed across the ground floor and four upper floors, the inside of the building has been divided into more than 50 large and bright rooms. These will be fitted out and decorated by the professionals participating in this edition of the exhibition.
El umbral invisible
The Santos space at Casa Decor 2025, called El umbral invisible (‘the invisible threshold)’, seeks to go beyond what’s readily visible to offer an experience that encourages visitors to discover and explore.
In its initial state, the kitchen showcases a discreet and austere splendour based on three elements: a centre island, a row of tall units and a composition of glass door units. The imposing presence and careful arrangement of the units – bathed in light that streams in through the large windows – creates a cosy, dream-like atmosphere, where a certain barely restrained excitement encourages visitors to follow the trail that will reveal the room’s hidden secrets.
The first clue is found in the glass door units that – serving as a mirror – bring more depth to the kitchen, suggesting a second layer of meaning that requires delving deeper beneath the surface.
Nevertheless, the clincher is actually the composition of tall units when it’s revealed to be a pocket door system. Upon opening, these doors not only reveal a new functional area – the washing-up area – but a whole adjoining room fitted out to be a pantry and laundry.
This way, through a subtle integration of elements, there’s a play of contrasts between what’s hidden and what’s visible, which – just like the secret passageways and hidden rooms in old royal palaces – calls the visitors’ perception into question, letting them experience how the space transforms as they move around it.
A dialogue between past and present
Based on an exhaustive analysis of the floor plan, the Santos project for Casa Decor 2025 came up with a layout that makes the most out of all the available space, including a large kitchen with island and glass door unit, as well as a fully functional pantry and laundry.
For the furniture, the brand’s iconic designs – defined by simplicity and their clean lines – were chosen. Planning for the different areas mainly addressed ergonomics criteria, in order to make it easier to move around and streamline workflows. The choice of long-lasting, sustainable materials, together with the deployment of state-of-the-art technology, has also been intended to improve the overall user experience.
The base of the canvas has been prepared using a palette of neutral colours, applied to the ceilings, mouldings, walls and plinths by Orac Decor. Fine materials such as wood and natural stone, which confer the room with a sophisticated touch, are beautifully set off by these shades. The fronts lacquered in Dark Brown Silk Matt, as well as the smoked glass of the glass door units, bring a contemporary touch that befits the building’s timeless elegance.
The reclaimed heart pine flooring, with its natural finish, brings to mind the passage of time and pays tribute to the richness of traditional joinery techniques. It’s reminiscent of the essence of traditional floors in Madrid which – despite the wear and tear of generations of use – preserve their beauty. As it’s found all throughout, it also ties the different atmospheres together, bringing warmth and character to them.
As a whole, the project designed by Santos establishes a respectful dialogue with the iconic building where it’s found. Balancing tradition and innovation, past and present, it creates a delightful and attractive space that’s also practical and cosy at the same time.
Wooden kitchen with adjoining pantry and laundry
The main room of the Santos space at Casa Decor 2025 is a kitchen fitted out with the CUADRO NATURA model, featuring fronts in Vertical American Walnut wood framed in solid wood.
The room has been laid out around a large centre island with a worktop in Dark Emperor Marble by Cupa Stone. This unit, aside from holding the preparation and cooking areas, includes a hob unit with an induction hob by Miele, and five large drawer units with full-extension, large-capacity drawers and double drawers. Plug sockets have been fitted along one of its sides, keeping them safer and cleaner as they’re far away from areas prone to spillage.
Parallel to the outer face of the island, there’s a spectacular composition of glass door units with black aluminium frame and smoked glass fronts. Inside, they come with a side lighting system, which helps to enhance both their finish and the items from Vista Alegre displayed in them. It’s a discreet profile that runs vertically along the sides of the units, projecting indirect light consistently and evenly towards the back. Its design with a diffuser keeps the light from shining directly into the eyes of users, avoiding any annoying glare. As the glass shelves are laid out evenly, the light spreads all throughout their interiors, emphasising the see-through nature of the whole.
What looks to be a run of Dark Brown Silk Matt KARMEL model tall units is found along the partition wall that runs parallel to the inner face of the island. Nevertheless, it’s actually two systems of double pocket doors with mechanical-assisted opening. Thanks to their design, these doors make it possible to discreetly and seamlessly conceal auxiliary areas and adjoining rooms in the interior design, promoting the creation of more harmonious and uncluttered spaces.
Behind one of the door systems is the washing-up area, fitted out with a Miele dishwasher, a sink unit and a waste collector unit. This area also features a wall panel with two shelves, both with dimmable multi-white lighting profiles. Thus, while the upper shelf integrates it on top to project light onto the panel, the lower shelf has it on both sides, to illuminate the panel and the worktop alike.
The other door system leads to an adjoining space shared between a pantry and a laundry. The pantry recreates the feel of a small preserve-making workshop, evoking the tradition of home cooking while providing an interesting counterpoint to the technology in the kitchen. Its sleek and functional furnishings are based on a modular composition belonging to the Santos Living line which – by combining panels and shelves in Horizontal American Walnut – divides and makes use of the entire partition walls from floor to ceiling. Beneath one of the shelves, one of the brand’s exclusive lighting profiles was installed, with plug sockets for small appliances and a slit to hold practical kitchen accessories. In order to make the whole look even more cohesive, the front and sides of this profile have been customised in the same finish as the panels and shelves.
The laundry, fitted with a Dark Brown Silk Matt LISSE design, was designed to be a serene and practical room, where the colours and finishes reinforced the sense of continuity with the kitchen. Meticulous planning has made it possible to optimise every nook and cranny, creating differentiated areas for washing, drying and organising laundry. The first of these areas boasts two sink units and a quartzite worktop by Cupa Stone, giving rise to a laundry sink that draws inspiration from the stone laundry sinks of old. The rest of the furniture includes two tall utility units, a tall washer and dryer unit with appliances by Miele, and a storage unit with pocket doors, shelves and lighting profile. The top box units extend the capacity of these cabinets all the way to the ceiling, offering valuable extra storage space. What’s more, just like the tall units, they come with assisted-opening systems, facilitating access to their interiors.
CASA DECOR 2025
Calle Sagasta 33, Madrid
Santos space: P1-15
https://casadecor.es
Photos:
Building at Sagasta 33: Nacho Uribesalazar
Santos space: Amador Toril
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