Artists Delcy Morelos and Gabriel Sierra have transformed their home into a gallery of their own with stacks of books, inspiration boards and sculptures covering most available surfaces—but their style of arranging is intentional and shouldn’t be confused with clutter. “Everything we own has to be useful or at least have an important symbolic meaning,” Gabriel says. “Objects must be arranged by following the geometry of the space, which is shaped by the architecture.” Living in the bustling neighborhood of Las Aguas in Colombia’s capital of Bogotá, the couple has carved out and carefully created a nest amid the surrounding government buildings and offices. “Our apartment is a kind of sanctuary where we escape from the world,” Gabriel says. He and Delcy and have lived in this apartment with their four pets—cats Bacalao and Ratón and dogs Sopa and Plato—since 2001, but the building has been standing since the 1930s. Some of the structure’s history may have even unconsciously influenced their decorative choices. “Sometimes we think our home is composed of information and memories from other houses we knew in previous lives or in parallel universes,” he says. When they moved in, the duo didn’t do any major renovations beyond painting the doors and cupboards with white enamel to help brighten up the space. Instead, they focused primarily on making the space more functional and comfortable by adding bookshelves, tables and chairs to match their needs. Accepting the inescapability of an artist’s never-ending work cycle, they also chose to integrate a workspace into their home: Gabriel has a room inside the apartment for smaller projects like drawing and model-making, and Delcy has a larger studio on the ground floor of the building for her projects. When they need a break, the artists journey out from the facade of their unassuming dark brick building for a walk in the vibrant city center. But they also enjoy spending a lot of time simply pondering and relaxing at home. “I believe the house is an important layer of our personalities through which we discover and dwell in the physical world,” Gabriel says. This story appeared in The Kinfolk Home in 2015. "Our apartment is a kind of sanctuary where we escape from the world.” TwitterFacebookPinterest "Our apartment is a kind of sanctuary where we escape from the world.” A wooden architecture model, an old natural history book and a figurine found at a Bogotá flea market sit on a small table. The larger chair is an Eames design. Gabriel created the wood screen with a carpenter friend using cloth hinges. It was originally going to be part of an art project, but he ended up using it to divide the living room area from the couple’s library. The images on the walls are a combination of old postcards and pictures found in newspapers, magazines and books. Related Stories Interiors Issue 19 Prankster’s Paradise Is the nine-to-five grind approaching monotony? Arrive at the office early to even the playing field and invoke mirth for your co-workers. Interiors Issue 18 A View from the Porch The shapes and sizes of our homes are changing, and society along with it. Avi Friedman has come to make sense of the new era of household realities. Interiors Issue 16 My Bedside Table: The Fashion Designer Starr Hout, who cofounded fashion brand Apiece Apart with her friend Laura Cramer, talks about her evening rituals and a kid-friendly bedroom. Design Interiors Issue 15 The Community Entrepreneurs: The Food Enthusiasts Food can be used to enrich, strengthen and connect people of all societies and cultures: All you need is a passion for tasty morsels and tradition. Interiors Issue 14 My Bedside Table: The Editor The editor in chief of Milk Decoration magazine in Paris discusses what she likes to have at hand while slumbering. Interiors Issue 14 Home Tour: The Evergreen Cottage For this home tour, we look inside a festive house in a cobblestoned corner of Copenhagen.
Interiors Issue 19 Prankster’s Paradise Is the nine-to-five grind approaching monotony? Arrive at the office early to even the playing field and invoke mirth for your co-workers.
Interiors Issue 18 A View from the Porch The shapes and sizes of our homes are changing, and society along with it. Avi Friedman has come to make sense of the new era of household realities.
Interiors Issue 16 My Bedside Table: The Fashion Designer Starr Hout, who cofounded fashion brand Apiece Apart with her friend Laura Cramer, talks about her evening rituals and a kid-friendly bedroom.
Design Interiors Issue 15 The Community Entrepreneurs: The Food Enthusiasts Food can be used to enrich, strengthen and connect people of all societies and cultures: All you need is a passion for tasty morsels and tradition.
Interiors Issue 14 My Bedside Table: The Editor The editor in chief of Milk Decoration magazine in Paris discusses what she likes to have at hand while slumbering.
Interiors Issue 14 Home Tour: The Evergreen Cottage For this home tour, we look inside a festive house in a cobblestoned corner of Copenhagen.
