The walls are painted with a decorative painting technique in which multiple colors of latex enamel (in this case reds, grays and white) are mixed with glaze during application. It creates a visually rich surface that is durable and easy to clean.

The floor tiles are rectified porcelain tiles, from Azulejos Peña. They are slightly textured and slip resistant.

We did not add a bottom cabinet to the left of the sink, preferring to have an area where someone could sit while working or having a cup of coffee. The kitchen has an excessive amount of available electrical outlets in order to have the flexibility to use small appliances in various locations. Their plates are stainless steel, matching the appliances and hardware.

The backsplash is glass tile, with a two-inch strip of the Quartz Compac countertop below. The kitchen sink is a deep double-sided ceramic sink, with a commercial style faucet. It is from Ikea, which at the time was the only store which carried this type of large sinks.

The glass tile backsplash takes on a greenish tone in relation to the reddish walls. To the right of the sink is a rail, from Ikea, for hanging tools and storing fresh herbs.

The backsplash is deeper on the stove side of the kitchen, where more cooking prep is done.  The cabinets are framed with wood panels to give them a more finished look.

To the right of the stove, we added shelves cut from a butcher block countertop, for everyday cooking supplies such as spices, sugar, and flour.

This photo is a little out of focus but it shows the fake beam we constructed to hide the stove hood ducting. The shelves to the right of the stove are deep and hold a lot of supplies.

The stove hood is by Nodor. It is large and powerful, allowing it to be hung high enough to not get in the way while cooking. Even though it is strong, it is quiet.

The gas cooktop is from Smeg. It is an excellent high-performance cooktop with an auto shut off valve. It is easy to use, and its low profile makes it very easy to clean. The oven is a Samsung electric oven.

The light fixtures are white opaque glass with green and blue accents which nicely contrast the reddish tones in the tile flooring and wall color.

This is a very cluttered photo of the interior of the pantry, however, its messiness shows its large storage capacity.

This photo is similar to the last. I just happen to really like it. It is one of my favorite photos taken in the apartment.

Since we were planning to install a sliding door, we were able to widen the opening between the kitchen and living room, allowing in more light.

This image shows the spacious interior of the built-in cabinet. We added two more shelves increasing the storage capacity. We have a lot of small appliances; bread machines, juicers, toasters etc, all of which could be hidden away.

We lay the new tile floor directly over the old one, using the same tile in both the kitchen and laundry room.

This is a photo of the kitchen sink plumbing. Even though PVC piping is more commonly used in Spain, we installed copper piping for drinking water.

The built-in cabinet had been painted so many times that the doors stuck. We had to sand off many layers and strip the paint off of the silver hinges.

The door to the courtyard terrace was so warped that it couldn’t close, even though it led to an exterior space.

In places the white tile had been stained yellowish by grease.