An Unlikely Source Inspired This Designer’s Mexico City Apartment: Catholic Convents
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In 2021, graphic designer Victoria Herrera was living in Los Angeles when she bought her first home: a 900-square-foot apartment in Mexico City’s Condesa neighborhood. “The plan was to live there part-time and rent it on Airbnb part-time,” Herrera says.
The apartment’s large windows and abundant natural light were major selling points. “The windows were what sold the apartment for me,” Herrera says. “It’s unique because it has a perfect square layout with a courtyard opening in the middle, which means there’s natural light in every room.”
“I love that there are no hard corners in the house,” says Herrera. “Everything is rounded, from the doorway arches to the place where the wall meets the ceiling, so it’s the ideal juxtaposition to the industrial windows.”
The previous owners had already done a lot to preserve the apartment’s original details while updating the electrical and plumbing system, so, with the major renovations already handled, Herrera focused her budget on decorating and nailing the paint colors. “I wanted something a little warmer and that would celebrate all the reasons I love Mexico so much: The heritage, the culture, the religion—I grew up Catholic.”
The apartment’s hallway and entryway have a blue and black tile that initially intimidated Herrera, but she grew to love it: “It wouldn’t have been my first choice, but after I saw how it felt so integrated into the space, it actually inspired me to go bold with the paint color in the bedroom.” She ultimately settled on a yellow limewash, which reminded her of the walls of a Catholic convent.
Herrera’s design approach is a master class in balancing vintage and modern finds. “A tulip table with antique chairs was the perfect pairing of old and new,” she notes.
Herrera’s journey to furnish her new home was centered around Lagunilla Market, an expansive weekly furniture, vintage, and flea market where she sourced nearly everything in the apartment. Every Sunday for three months, she would wake up early to arrive at the market by 8 a.m. “The first couple of times, it’s overwhelmingly large and I had to figure out how to haggle, how to get around, and who to befriend,” she says.
Other favorite shopping spots in Mexico City include El Resplandor Vidrio for blown glass, Pericon for artisan pottery, and Utilitario Mexicano for mercado-inspired decor and kitchenware.
Eventually she became adept at spotting hidden gems amid the market’s vast offerings. “I’d go by the same stall three times and then find something the third time. Getting your eye trained to be able to look through that much stuff is a skill,” Herrera says. Many of her finds, including old artwork from Catholic convents, brought the sense of tradition and beauty she had been seeking.
Herrera made custom throw pillows for the beds out of jerga fabric. “It is the cheapest roll of fabric you can find in Mexico and typically used on mops to clean floors,” she says. “It has these cute graphic stripes and comes in so many colors that I couldn’t resist!”
Her favorite Lagunilla finds include a sun sculpture that currently sits on a console table in her living room. She discovered it behind a pile of junk at one vintage dealer’s stall. “I loved the look and got a great deal on it,” she says. Later, a friend pointed out that it was an Emaus Talleres sculpture, a collector’s piece.
After the apartment’s design was finished, Herrera’s plan to rent it out as an Airbnb worked for a year or so—until she realized she hadn’t furnished it like a rental; she’d furnished it like a home. “I had to admit that I had designed the whole place for myself,” she says. “I literally moved into my own rental.”
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