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PHOTOGRAPHER BY TRAINING AND OBSERVER BY NATURE, MARTA WALL CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF SPACES AND THE WAY WE INHABIT THEM. INSPIRED BY 70S DESIGN, SHE ALWAYS SEEKS THE PERFECT BALANCE BETWEEN AESTHETICS AND FUNCTIONALITY. A VISUAL PHILOSOPHY THAT BRINGS TO LIFE HER TWO MOST PERSONAL PROJECTS: HER HOME, AND HOLGURA, HER CREATIVE STUDIO.
For those who don't know you yet, Marta, how do you define yourself professionally, and what are you most passionate about when capturing spaces and design?
Although I am a photographer by training, I like to think of myself as someone who looks, lives, experiences, and captures. I find in the everyday, the architecture, the landscape, and the objects around me different ways of expressing my way of seeing and being in the world. What interests me most about capturing spaces is being able, through photography, to transmit sensitivity, atmosphere, and a visual narrative. I try to make each image not only show a space but also suggest how it is inhabited.
"I like that the objects I use daily, like tableware, textiles, or furniture pieces like the Winsi armchairs from The Masie, besides being practical, have an aesthetic intention and are part of the visual whole of the space."
What is your favourite space in your home or your personal refuge and why?
The kitchen. It has a privileged spot, one of the largest windows in the house, overlooking a setting that mixes the natural and the urban. Furthermore, its yellow colour gives it a very special personality. Its uniquely shaped island, designed, like the rest of the house, by the architecture studio ba-rro, becomes the heart of the space. Being an open area, connected to the living and dining room, it is where we gather with friends, celebrate, eat, toast, and, at the same time, it becomes our personal refuge during our dinners every night.
What design trends currently inspire you and how do you apply them in your home?
I am very inspired by the 70s and the mid-century modern style. I'm interested in that mix of pieces with character, the freedom in composition, and materials like stainless steel, wood, or velvet, alongside more unexpected elements like—why not—a mirrored column!
How do you decide which objects become part of your space? Is it an aesthetic, emotional, or functional decision?
The need arises from function: we need a sofa, a chair, a table... but when it comes to deciding which specific pieces will be part of our home, the decision is a mix of emotion and design. But I don't believe an aesthetic decision can be considered superficial; that's why when we think about the pieces we choose for the house, besides their appearance, we take other factors into account: who designed them, what story they tell, where they come from, what materials they are made of, etc. For us, all these are elements that add value when choosing our objects.
How important do you think colour is in the experience of a space?
Colour can bring warmth, calm, or vitality, and it has the ability to completely transform the perception of a single place, even beyond its shape or furniture. And it not only modifies the experience of a space but also the way we present ourselves when we dress. Colour also speaks to how we want to express ourselves and the energy that lives within us.
"Colour plays a fundamental role in the experience of a space; it directly influences how we feel and inhabit it. It not only defines its aesthetics but also its energy."
Which piece of furniture best represents your lifestyle?
The chair. I am interested in it as an object in itself: its shape, its materiality, and everything it can express. It is a very everyday piece, yet it holds great aesthetic and narrative potential. It is probably the piece of furniture that best represents my lifestyle. I love how a chair can transform a space, add character, and even become the focal point.
For those who don't know it, tell us a bit about Holgura. How was this project born?
Holgura is a project that inhabits a rehabilitated industrial space in Carabanchel. We understand it as an open container, a flexible space designed to adapt to different situations (shoots, photo sessions, events...). Additionally, it is the space where I carry out my studio photo sessions. From a design point of view, there was one thing we were clear about when we rehabilitated the space: we had to pay special attention to recovering the existing structure, damaged and aged, without erasing its past, but rather making it visible.
"Travelling always inspires me. I lived in Mexico for two years, and I feel that was where the seed of my interest in photography was planted. Everything was inspiring to me: the streets, the food, its people, and the energy in the air."
3 tips from Marta Wall to achieve harmony in a home?
1. Start with a neutral base, giving importance to the pre-existing elements, and build from there.
2. I like to play with colour by introducing it through personal objects, furniture, and other changeable elements that can evolve over time, and with them, the colours as well.
3. Find the balance between aesthetics and functionality: create beautiful spaces, but also lived-in ones. Something like finding order within disorder.
Why do you choose The Masie?
I like The Masie for its way of understanding design, where colour, shapes, and materials play a very leading role. Its pieces allow you to build spaces with personality without losing functionality. It fits very naturally into my home because it dialogues with that mix of light, textures, and pieces with character that is part of my way of understanding space: freer, more expressive, but always with a careful aesthetic eye.
What do our furniture pieces inspire in you?
They are pieces with a strong presence, but at the same time, they allow the environment and the light to build very organic scenes. In photography, they interest me especially because their shapes, colours, and materials bring a lot of personality to the space.
Favourite piece from The Masie
I really like the Biarritz chair because it reminds me of the classic, traditional chair, but taken to something more contemporary.
A colour
I'm not exactly sure why, but whenever there are several options, I always end up choosing that colour.
Favourite style
The 70s. I am very interested in its mix of naturalness and experimentation, the warm materials, the organic shapes, and that way of understanding spaces in a freer and more lived-in way.
Countryside or city
I love the countryside, but being realistic, I think I am more of a city person. I really enjoy the rhythm, the energy, and the life in it.
Your references
It would be impossible to choose just one! Le Corbusier, Miguel Milá, Cesar Manrique, Coderch, Donald Judd...