Wonder Walls
Pabllo De La Cruz and his boyfriend Peter have lived in their Hackney apartment for just over 3 months. After searching for over a year for a new place, and quickly outgrowing their previous rented Colombia Road apartment - largely in thanks to Pabllo’s unquenchable thirst for oil paintings and antiques - they found their current maisonette just a short walk from Hackney Downs and settled in with more space to fill with finds both old and new.
Although this wasn’t the first place that they put an offer in on, they’ve transformed the rooms to work for all areas of their lives, especially in a current COVID work from home situation. “When we moved in it was a blank canvas with not really any personality as the previous owners had tried rather hard to cover any original features to suit their more modern tastes. The first thing we did was to strip back the rooms to their bare and most original state, exposing the wooden floors and from there choosing colours and furniture that complemented the history of the building”.
“We both love the idea of mixing contemporary and antique pieces, so this place was the perfect opportunity to do so” says Pabllo, who is currently studying for a degree in interior design. When asked about their favourite spaces within the apartment, we were told it changes depending on the time of day, something we discovered as the sunlight danced around the space during our three hour shoot. “I would say the space we use the most often is the open plan kitchen - we wanted it to be as cosy and make use of as many natural textures as possible, all whilst keeping everything low and open so we can host and chat to guests as we cook or prepare drinks”.
Artwork has been a major factor in all of the homes that Pabllo has lived in and this was definitely a factor when searching for a new home for him and Peter.
“We think that that’s one of the most successful parts of the apartment, how we’ve managed to fit both new, old and pieces we’ve bought especially for the space without anything feeling particularly busy or cluttered”.
The painted chair in their kitchen/living space was hand painted by Pabllo in an effort to rescue the piece when the fabric was stained.
Pictured left to right: This collection of pictures that create a column on the corner of living room space, are antique hand painted opera costumes. Middle: A natural fibre rug dominates the majority of the floor space and grounds the living area, sectioning it from the kitchen. Right: This chair was restored by a friend of the couples using paper cord intricately woven over a frame.
With a lifetime of collecting behind him so far, Pabllo has amassed a collection that’s not only visually beautiful but that contains pieces of significance throughout his life and with his time with Peter, with his mind immediately thinking to the painting in their snug/office, “It’s the first piece of artwork that me and Peter purchased together and it’s from a queer Irish artist called Sharon Millar of the Belfast coastline where Peter is from. We both love Ireland and the painting marked the moment we decided to get a place together, so it’s very special”.
Although every inch may seem curated, there’s still changes the couple want to make, “The next thing we’ll be changing is the bedroom flooring; probably just exposing the original wooden floor and replacing the carpet on the stairs”.
If your house was on fire, which three items would you take with you?
“Peter, one of my dads paintings and our passports, because I’d need a holiday after that”.
How would you describe your style?
“My style is very eclectic, but it always centres around craft and natural aspects of design. I love classic, natural design pieces”.
How has your taste evolved over the years?
“My taste is still evolving and I don’t think it will ever stop. You find that you both learn with time and your taste changes depending on how you feel, different things you experience and meeting new people”.
who/what inspires your taste?
“My Dad. He was such a stylish man. Aside from him I would say nature - organic shapes and colours are what attract me the most and definitely inspire my taste in design”.
If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?
“Ireland or Scotland. I love the idea of living a simpler life near nature and I love the idea of solitude. Depending on where you are in both places, you can be so close to everything but you feel a sense of distance at the same time”.
This painting by Sharon Millar was the first piece that Pabllo bought together and marked their decision to buy an apartment together.
Follow Pabllo on Instagram at @pabllodelacruz and Peter aka @sweenp where you can follow their ever changing space and find where they sourced some of his pieces in Pabllo’s memories under ‘Home DIY’.