Casa Mathilda, Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona’s newest bed and breakfast, Casa Mathilda, is the latest in a wave of understated luxury hotel openings in Catalonia’s capital. Channeling enough effortless style and reassuring homeliness to rival any Airbnb listing, Casa Mathilda has been designed by Barbara Aurell of local interior design studio Espacio en Blanco to capture the spirit of the post-modern apartments in Barcelona’s Eixample district.

Located in an  early twentieth century building, original features such as brass doorknobs, tall stained glass doors and parquet oak floors have all been painstakingly restored to their former glory. New updates include original ceiling moldings refashioned into mirror frames and shelves, and pastel cement tiles, soft green walls and vintage furniture that blend in with the post-modern mood.

'If I had to define this hotel would as a space created by people for people,’ says interior designer Barbara Aurell. ‘I wanted to escape creating a cold and impersonal accommodation for our guests.'

To foster this relaxed, domestic atmosphere, the common areas are laid out so that guests can move freely between them from the lobby, kitchen and lounge to the leafy patio. Guests staying in one of Casa Mathilda’s 14 unique guest rooms can also look forward to breakfasts of homemade cakes, natural juices, seasonal fruits and different types of breads prepared by Assumpta Baldó, the hotel’s owner.