Construction Diary: Jaime Hayon’s 1920s Valencia Apartment Is a Master Class in Color

Spanish designer Jaime Hayon has always been a trailblazer. His creative endeavors, which have evolved from decorative pieces in porcelain to large-scale interiors for leading hotels and restaurants, exhibit a humorous, optimistic language that is still finding new territories and contexts.

On a more personal level, Jaime has also stoked the contemporary design culture of his adopted city, Valencia. He moved there in 2009 when the city was a mere blip on the international design map. Today, Valencia very much stands on its own, as demonstrated by its turn as World Design Capital in 2022. As part of the program, Jaime was given the opportunity to stage a major retrospective, where he talked about his love for the city and its role as a source of inspiration.

At the opening of the event, he highlighted his ventures around the city’s Mercat Central, a glorious art nouveau–style food market surrounded by tiny shops selling the hand-tooled ephemera of everyday Valencian life. To introduce others to Valencia’s warm charms and creative buzz, Jaime bought an apartment dating from 1925 opposite the marketplace and has converted it—with his colorful and exuberant signature—into an artist residency. Here, he walks us through the process.