“We like the idea of ??having everything at home. Everyone understands that spirit, even the people who work here. Furthermore, with so much work, opening a door and entering the office is the most comfortable. We are not late and it is also very ecological,” Pol Castells smiles about the decision he made with Benito Escat to join their home with his interior design and design studio. The creators of Quintana Partners receive Magazine in a charming house in Putxet (Barcelona) to show their inner world. There they rehabilitate centuries-old places, being faithful to their history, reusing materials and highlighting the patina with which time caresses beautiful things.
His house, built in the 1930s, is located in the private forest of the Bertrán palace and is bustling with art, “pieces of stories, of years of accumulation,” explains Pol. The aromatic pomegranates of Santa María Novella and cubes of amber perfume the rooms. stays. “Our identity as creators has always been to show our customers who we really are, so that they understand our spirit and imbibe our vision. That’s why we like to receive them here, in our home and office,” explains Benito.
They have united home and office, also love and work, and far from being overwhelmed by being together 24 hours a day, that formula works for them. “We decided to venture together when we were 21 years old and we have been a couple for ten years now. It’s hard to find someone who shares your vision and dreams, and who is willing to fight for the same thing every day. Finding each other was a blessing and I think it is key to everything we have achieved at such a young age. We live together, we are a couple and we have no external distractions; We’re in this together. I think that is key, in addition to the effort and hours we have dedicated to it,” they explain.
Both have put their stamp on the Parisian hotel Château del Fleurs, Isabella’s de Llafranc (Girona) or La Bionda (Begur). Also in the Llibreria Finestres de Barcelona or the Allegra restaurant (Madrid). They are now working on their second hotel in Paris, a restaurant in the French capital, a mansion in Saudi Arabia and are making their debut in Puerto Rico.
When they met, they discovered that they shared a passion for antique objects and boats, present in every corner of their large house. “Since we were children, we spent summers in Menorca, where our company started. There we have renovated about 28 houses and mansions in four and a half years.” Pol’s father and grandfather come from the world of jewelry, but he, at the age of 13, was already playing with drawing plans. It was his mother who encouraged them to find abandoned houses at a good price in the interior of Menorca, renovate them and sell them.
“Finally, we decided to return to Barcelona because we felt that Menorca was too small for us and we wanted to expand. Plus, we missed the family,” they explain. But the island remains in his heart and in his portfolio of projects. In the couple’s opinion, “Menorca has a magic, a special energy. You arrive and if he doesn’t love you, he takes you out. We don’t know how he does it, but that’s how it is.” Your particular paradise, your magnet of attraction is in Maó.
Now they are in their thirties and continue to constantly evolve, but always faithful to one premise: “We try not to follow trends that may expire in a few years and that force us to reform and create more waste. We like it to last and gain beauty over time. We always work with local materials and nearby artisans, to give them support. We like to maintain a long-standing relationship with them. That helps make each project unique.”
Their creativity is fueled “especially by travel. I really like watching documentaries about different things, music and art. Benito is another person from music and videos. I think that feelings also have a main role that plays a lot are feelings, your vital moment,” explains Pol. His world is very tactile, but they are also a digital generation. “Before, designers had walls full of reference photos, I have more than 7,000 inspiring photos on my phone. I love looking at books, but in the end you end up taking a photo of the page and you always carry it with you,” he summarizes.
Both advocate good design, regardless of whether it is from a recognized designer or not, and they avoid “museum pieces,” because the fundamental objective is to create a home. “I remember that when I was little, the living room of my house was only used for my parents to receive clients and friends,” Benito recalls. Nobody stepped on it, it was cold like a museum. Our house is the complete opposite, even the work space is a lived space.” So much so that every Wednesday, like the day of the interview, the designers prepare food for their 15 employees. Today it is brightly sunny and they will eat in the garden.
In their defense of authenticity, they have gone further and created their own door handles for the Château des Fleurs hotel. They are hand-shaped and made of chrome-plated cast brass. “It is going back to the way of thinking and working from years ago to offer something non-standardized.” Now they will design fabrics and launch their home decoration brand, “it will be called House of Quintana, we started the first collection with a complete table set, there will also be cushions and candles. some lamp… Within this website there will be a section that will be Ermitage. What we want is to find old pieces and give them a second chance, not restore them, change them, or perhaps create a lamp from a vase. This is a bit of our origin. Because when we started at Quintana Partners we didn’t have much of a budget. “We don’t want to lose that essence, we also want to reach many people beyond the world of luxury.”