IF DON DRAPER LIVED IN BARCELONA

I suppose that if Don Draper lived in Barcelona he wouldn’t be Don Draper. He would be an extremely handsome expat probably wearing espardenyes instead of suits and smoking hand rolled tobacco instead of Marlboro. But in an imaginary world, I could see Mr. and Mrs. Draper renting a summer house in the Costa Brava, getting away from their busy city life, diving in the pool with their spoiled children and taking touristy instant pictures in front of the Sagrada Familia to stick in their photo albums. I am sure that this house would have been furnished by Apriori.

The story of how I got to Apriori is not really connected to Mad Men, but to a previous post I did on a cute little place in Gràcia called Mama’s Café. Coincidentally, the chef behind this restaurant, Enrique Masso (we almost have the same last name!) is also the owner of Apriori and is an interior designer (talk about multitasking!). I began talking to him to find out about his work as a chef at the restaurant, and between one thing and the other he mentioned he had a vintage furniture shop and invited me to stop by without compromise. I have to admit I was a bit hesitant about going because well, you never know if you’re going to find the most amazing thing in world or a complete piece of crap, but I couldn’t stop myself from the luring proposal to check out vintage Italian sofas. And surprise! It was beyond anything I expected. It knocked my socks off.

As if I wasn’t obsessed with Scandinavian furniture already, these guys hold a very large, beautifully curated selection of it -plus gorgeous Italian furniture from the 50′s and 60′s-. They are true lovers of design. They go around markets and fairs looking for hidden gems to restore and sell to mid-century suckers like myself, and boy, do they make a great job at it! I’ve been missing this true vintage scene in Barcelona. I’m not talking about the markets that happen every Sunday at the Ciudad Condal, I’m talking about true knowledge of designers, of their pieces, of what they mean and how they go. These guys are pros.

While speaking to Enrique about August and its non-existence in Spain –I still can’t grasp the idea of a whole country shutting down for a month- he said that it was actually their busiest month. What?! Apparently, those who can’t get away for summer, redecorate.

I left Apriori feeling happy, knowing that those beautiful pieces of furniture will live a happy, long life sitting on Catalan tiles or, in my imaginary world, in Don Draper’s Manhattan flat.

Apriori is located in Paseo San Juan, 161, in Barcelona :)

All pictures property of Paula Maso.

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