It’s something else entirely when an interior designer decorates their own home. Sometimes the space becomes a distilled portfolio piece, showcasing their design DNA for prospective clients. And other times it borders on hedonism — an experimental exercise for their enjoyment alone.
The latter was true for Kristina Busko, whose maximalist Spanish apartment is entirely free of limitations — an explosion of sensual materials, bold color, eclectic vintage, and theatrical gestures. “I wasn't thinking at all about other people and their feelings, to be honest,” says Busko. “I was thinking about myself and what I want to feel like at home. My very own space with no clear vision or expectation.”
Shared with her fiancé, who lent a hand in the renovation, the apartment is lightly shaped by its surroundings. High in the Sierra de Mariola range, a 13th-century castle punctuates the horizon, and a 16th-century cathedral rises above the town square outside her window. The streets are paved in Rojo Alicante stone and branch into checkerboard-patterned alleys, while the surrounding plaster facades bring hints of peach, burgundy, and mint into the mix — there are worse palettes for inspiration.
But the apartment was unremarkable. “Nothing was worth keeping,” admits Kristina Busko. She created a blank canvas, removing rigid divisions from the floorplan’s many small rooms (besides a bathroom and a utility space) to ease flow. That soft fluidity is one of the home’s first impressions: her guests often comment on the ‘velvety’ look of the space.
Kristina tackled the kitchen first. “It was the only area designed in detail from the start,” she says. She wanted the type of Spanish-style kitchen where curtains stand in for cabinet fronts, a detail that would later become a running motif throughout the apartment. Tradition is merely the backdrop, however, as the space centers on an unusual focal point: a kitchen island designed like an altar, for the daily ritual of coffee.
The island was constructed entirely with leftover materials, repurposing “what had already been carried up five floors without an elevator,” says Kristina. But those leftovers are also sentimental — after moving to Spain, Kristina had a renewed appreciation for Polish craftsmanship, and she covered the stepped island with handmade tiles from Dom Rustykalny, a family-run maker in northern Poland. It’s just one of many Polish makers embedded into the home’s palette.
Using similar tiles in a cobalt blue, Kristina created a patchwork floor that interweaves ceramic inserts with wood parquet. And, doubling down on pattern, the flooring shifts into checkerboard tiling across the kitchen floor. It’s a nod to the side streets and keeps the eye moving — and delighted — from surface to surface.
One of the many tricks up her sleeve was a deft use of draping and curtains; Kristina worked with reels of fabric and textiles throughout the apartment. There are curtains across doorways, rods skirting the kitchen cabinets, silver textiles wrapping the dining room credenza, and heavy drapes framing the bedroom — and yes, curtains on the windows, too.
“They make the usual interior unusual, bringing magic, a runway vibe, which is very flexible and diverse, works with light, and can be easily changed,” she says. “You can create many forms out of it, which can also be soundproof and intimate.”
It’s pure theater, the type of space that ought to be lit by candelabra — and indeed, Kristina has candlesticks on hand, like candle holders by Poland’s Hasik Design Studio, which hang above her bed.
There’s something of a stage in the bedroom, and raised on a platform of reclaimed stone (mixing anything from onyx and granite to red Rojo Alicante marble) rests a peach-colored Omnires bathtub, in full view of the bed. The design choice is polarizing — some designers praise the look for its hotel-like feel, while others say the opposite.
Nevertheless, she softened the feature with drapes on either side of the wall, plus more draped fabric above the tub to form a canopy. It added an extra touch of intimacy, she says, to the exposed tub.
The bedroom itself leans eclectic, introducing the apartment’s only splash of sky blue. She had the headboard crafted and upholstered in her hometown with moiré jacquard, a textile that’s enjoying its moment throughout interior design. It reminded Kristina of museum interiors, one of her favorite excursions, adding a vintage boudoir effect.
Wherever your eye lands, you’re likely to spot a handcrafted detail. That’s true of the kitchen flooring, but also the rugs anchoring the bedroom and living room. “For me, rugs are like paintings — they must be intentional and harmonious,” says Kristina, who worked with a maker in India to bring her motif-driven designs to life.
Even the walls are her handiwork: after selecting the paint, she added her own textures into the color herself, creating a tactile finish that connects the entire home.
Technically, the apartment will never be finished. Resolute to decorate as she went, certain elements of the home were completed on a whim. “One day I felt like painting on the ceiling while my fiancé was putting tiles on the floor, and together we worked like that — he did his thing, I did mine,” she says of an impromptu Eastern European-inspired fresco across the bathroom ceiling.
And she’s adamant that photos capture the apartment in its current state. “We know the space will continue to change," says Kristina. "And that is exactly our goal.”
