Exterior of the palace house

The building consists of a ground floor, mezzanine, three upper floors and a fourth floor below the roof. It is built on a plot of , almost rectangular in shape, with a façade that extends to the rear. The plan has a central body, with two light patios on the sides, and a wing in the east area that closes an open interior patio, of .[5]​.

The façade, in a classic, sober and elegant style, has twelve grated balconies topped by moldings and an upper cornice with corbels of floral and plant ornaments. The front at street level is made of granite, in which the large, profusely carved wooden gate stands out. Its windows are large and balconied, providing natural light to its rooms. At the back, a cobbled interior patio has been preserved, a former recreation space and entrance for carriages.

Inside

Inside, the first thing that stands out is its old carriage passage located at the entrance, whose height reaches 7 meters and which leads to the rear garden. The lavish main staircase, one of the original and protected elements of the building, shows natural wear and tear on its melis pine steps due to continuous footsteps throughout its history, and has a metal railing and beautiful ornamentation based on corbels, masks and plant motifs in plaster. It ends in a skylight adorned with a large fascia molding. The staircase serves, as in its origin, as the axis of the two areas where the homes are located.

Almost all its rooms were restructured, eliminating partitions that gave rise to spacious and bright spaces 3.5 m high. The floors were replaced with jatoba wood slats and in some spaces the old wooden beams were left visible. According to Casa Decor, "the most notable feature of this stately building in its current state is the surprising marriage of nineteenth-century architecture with loft-type homes, considered one of the most modern concept housing solutions of the 21st century."

Much of the original decoration of some spaces has been preserved, such as the large living room and the “royal room” on the first floor, with great ornamental wealth. They are accessed through the carriage yard and the main staircase, and their windows open onto Atocha Street. Their task was to dazzle the guests with their wealth, since the most important social receptions organized by the owners of the palace took place there. This room had an attached living room with a fireplace, where the gentlemen retired after lunch to smoke and talk about business and politics.

The decorative elements that remain mean that the decorative style, as in the rest of the building, can be inscribed in the Second Empire or Napoleon III style, which began in France, of neo-rococo inspiration and which had great success among the bourgeoisie throughout Europe between 1850 and 1880. In Spain, its equivalent was the Elizabethan style.

The only perfectly preserved space, in the absence of furniture and curtains, is the smoking room, whose walls are decorated with wallpaper, probably from the Madrid Royal Wallpaper Factory. The golden moldings are a recreation of the Louis XVI style, which became fashionable again at this time, in which it returns to a sinuous taste full of polychromes. The protagonist of the room is a fireplace front made of white Carrara marble.

The space before this was reserved as a ballroom or reception room. The ceiling of the main room is decorated with moldings in the shape of fasces or birch rods joined by ribbons, which were also used to decorate other spaces in the building and allude to the status of jurists of its first owner. The decoration of the ceiling is completed by a large tondo from whose center hung a large crystal chandelier that illuminated the room.

Regarding the distribution of its floors, it should be noted that, in large cities, social classes, in addition to being organized by neighborhoods, were organized, above all, "by heights." A building like the Atocha 34 palace housed a wide spectrum of social classes. As there were no elevators, access on foot, several times a day, via the stairs to the upper floors required a significant effort. For this reason, the most expensive and luxurious homes were housed in the lower part of the property, and the most precarious and cheap ones in the upper part. This distribution changed with the appearance of elevators, which reversed the horizontal assessment of buildings. Therefore, commercial stores, warehouses or offices were housed on the floor located at street level. In the main one, as its name indicates, were the most notable rooms of the building, such as the large halls and others with high ceilings and rock ornamentation. The most well-off classes lived on this floor, while on the following floors lived the middle-income, the lower class of office workers and workers and, finally, on the top attic floor, the servants who worked in the property and other people with less purchasing power. These spaces could also be occupied by painters or photographers, both due to the lighting needs of their profession and, often, due to their bohemian condition.[6]​.

Extensions and subsequent interventions

The building was rehabilitated in 2006. In this intervention, materials from the original construction were preserved and recovered, such as wooden beams, plaster moldings and ironwork. In this sense, an effort was made to enhance the elements that represented a luxury or benefit for its inhabitants.

Exterior of the palace house

The building consists of a ground floor, mezzanine, three upper floors and a fourth floor below the roof. It is built on a plot of , almost rectangular in shape, with a façade that extends to the rear. The plan has a central body, with two light patios on the sides, and a wing in the east area that closes an open interior patio, of .[5]​.

The façade, in a classic, sober and elegant style, has twelve grated balconies topped by moldings and an upper cornice with corbels of floral and plant ornaments. The front at street level is made of granite, in which the large, profusely carved wooden gate stands out. Its windows are large and balconied, providing natural light to its rooms. At the back, a cobbled interior patio has been preserved, a former recreation space and entrance for carriages.

Inside

Inside, the first thing that stands out is its old carriage passage located at the entrance, whose height reaches 7 meters and which leads to the rear garden. The lavish main staircase, one of the original and protected elements of the building, shows natural wear and tear on its melis pine steps due to continuous footsteps throughout its history, and has a metal railing and beautiful ornamentation based on corbels, masks and plant motifs in plaster. It ends in a skylight adorned with a large fascia molding. The staircase serves, as in its origin, as the axis of the two areas where the homes are located.

Almost all its rooms were restructured, eliminating partitions that gave rise to spacious and bright spaces 3.5 m high. The floors were replaced with jatoba wood slats and in some spaces the old wooden beams were left visible. According to Casa Decor, "the most notable feature of this stately building in its current state is the surprising marriage of nineteenth-century architecture with loft-type homes, considered one of the most modern concept housing solutions of the 21st century."

Much of the original decoration of some spaces has been preserved, such as the large living room and the “royal room” on the first floor, with great ornamental wealth. They are accessed through the carriage yard and the main staircase, and their windows open onto Atocha Street. Their task was to dazzle the guests with their wealth, since the most important social receptions organized by the owners of the palace took place there. This room had an attached living room with a fireplace, where the gentlemen retired after lunch to smoke and talk about business and politics.

The decorative elements that remain mean that the decorative style, as in the rest of the building, can be inscribed in the Second Empire or Napoleon III style, which began in France, of neo-rococo inspiration and which had great success among the bourgeoisie throughout Europe between 1850 and 1880. In Spain, its equivalent was the Elizabethan style.

The only perfectly preserved space, in the absence of furniture and curtains, is the smoking room, whose walls are decorated with wallpaper, probably from the Madrid Royal Wallpaper Factory. The golden moldings are a recreation of the Louis XVI style, which became fashionable again at this time, in which it returns to a sinuous taste full of polychromes. The protagonist of the room is a fireplace front made of white Carrara marble.

The space before this was reserved as a ballroom or reception room. The ceiling of the main room is decorated with moldings in the shape of fasces or birch rods joined by ribbons, which were also used to decorate other spaces in the building and allude to the status of jurists of its first owner. The decoration of the ceiling is completed by a large tondo from whose center hung a large crystal chandelier that illuminated the room.

Regarding the distribution of its floors, it should be noted that, in large cities, social classes, in addition to being organized by neighborhoods, were organized, above all, "by heights." A building like the Atocha 34 palace housed a wide spectrum of social classes. As there were no elevators, access on foot, several times a day, via the stairs to the upper floors required a significant effort. For this reason, the most expensive and luxurious homes were housed in the lower part of the property, and the most precarious and cheap ones in the upper part. This distribution changed with the appearance of elevators, which reversed the horizontal assessment of buildings. Therefore, commercial stores, warehouses or offices were housed on the floor located at street level. In the main one, as its name indicates, were the most notable rooms of the building, such as the large halls and others with high ceilings and rock ornamentation. The most well-off classes lived on this floor, while on the following floors lived the middle-income, the lower class of office workers and workers and, finally, on the top attic floor, the servants who worked in the property and other people with less purchasing power. These spaces could also be occupied by painters or photographers, both due to the lighting needs of their profession and, often, due to their bohemian condition.[6]​.

Extensions and subsequent interventions

The building was rehabilitated in 2006. In this intervention, materials from the original construction were preserved and recovered, such as wooden beams, plaster moldings and ironwork. In this sense, an effort was made to enhance the elements that represented a luxury or benefit for its inhabitants.