Casa Uva: a terracotta staircase towards subtlety

Barely a dozen kilometers from the coast of Cádiz, and a couple hundred meters above sea level, stands the town of Vejer de la Frontera, famously known as one of the most beautiful villages in southern of Spain. Vejer is within the ecosystem of the Andalusian “White Towns”: a set of small villages and cities in the provinces of Cádiz and Málaga that keep intact the most recognisable features of their vernacular architecture, like the traditional whitewasing of its walls, which give its name to the historical set of towns.

In this privileged enclave is Casa Uva, a little rural guesthouse managed by a Spanish-Dutch couple that fell in love with Vejer and its culture long ago. The N J Studio, run by artist and interior designer Naomi Venetiaan, chose our rustic bricks for the terracotta staircase of the house. This brick format is a classic, versatile and timeless classic, that adapts to different projects and aesthetics, generating a warm and classic but discreet atmosphere, which allows the coexistence with contemporary elements and groundbreaking components.

Capturing the light in a terracotta staircase

Just one glance at the photos of the project is enough to realize that the interior design of Casa Uva is an exercise in experimentation with light and its nuances. A large Mediterranean patio, wide windows, and a skylight allow light from the Cádiz coast to enter at will, and the interior designer has selected shapes and materials that capture this characteristic luminosity, shaping it to create an atmosphere full of texture and character against a seemingly flat space.

The color palette perfectly matches the one found outside, staying within the light, warm, earthy tones that cover the streets of the city. To achieve this, N J Studio has used traditional materials from the vernacular architecture of Vejer: lime mortar, natural fibers, and ceramic bricks for the floor and stairs.

The handmade tiles from todobarro have found their place on a staircase that receives direct light from the patio. This fortunate circumstance allows us to appreciate in a single stroke how the different shades of our ceramics react to light changes: on the first flight, where natural light falls directly, all the warm nuances of the Straw color stand out. You can appreciate the pink and yellow hues that the firing process naturally gives to this color. And on the second flight, which is in the shade, you can appreciate the deeper tones of the clay, where the palette of earthy browns that forms the base of the ceramic bricks unfolds.

In short, this is a project brimming with finesse and delicacy, demonstrating once again that fired clay is an infallible ally for conveying both subtlety and forcefulness in the form and substance of architectural and interior design decisions.