On May 22, the doors opened on Casa Decor Madrid 2014 and the two interior designers, Lluïsa Deulonder and Chone de la Sotilla could finally sigh in relief: everything was ready for the opening. And to celebrate, a toast with champagne.

A happy ending to a story that began nearly two months ago when they decided which space they wanted to reform and devised the project to be undertaken: a superb dining kitchen with heated pantry. Up to twenty operators came to work together in this space, which went from being a nondescript room -the office building formerly housed the College of Architects of Madrid – to a splendid kitchen with a rustic feel to it.

This meant many trips to Madrid, catching the AVE train up and down the country as the two interior designers live in Barcelona, together with a great deal of nerves (when at the last minute and realising that their precious cargo would not arrive in time through normal channels, Deulonder had to hire a truck from Paris to deliver the famous kitchen range the Château, which offers the exclusive advantages of the La Cornue vaulted oven. The driver had to motor all night to get to Madrid in time to coincide with the local authority permission to use a crane), as well as a race against time to get everything else done on schedule.

This year more than eighty decorators and architects have worked to create 54 different settings, brimming with great, original ideas. Regarding the inauguration itself, this year has been overshadowed by the current political elections (the European elections) and has not been attended as in previous years by the authorities.

But yes, there has been a fabulous parade of journalists from specialised press and a great atmosphere at the opening party. It can be said that the star of Calle Barquillo is Cristiano Ronaldo, who is portrayed on a large canvas kissing the «Golden Ball» at the entrance: do not panic!