How do I read an interior studio's portfolio?
A portfolio shows composition, colour and light on the best day after the best shoot. It does not show joints, noise, budget, schedule or who actually built it. Read it as a shop window and ask questions about each project.
Three questions always work: what in the picture did the studio do and what belonged to the owner; who built it; what it cost and how long it took. The answers separate the realised work from the pretty picture and show how the studio deals with reality.
How can I tell a built project from a rendering?
A built project has details that are hard to draw: joints, sockets, ventilation grilles, signs of use. A render is too clean: perfect reflections, no switches, no technical elements and objects placed symmetrically.
Look at the small things. A real room has an extractor and ceiling air-conditioning grilles, switch plates, fire detectors, door openings with real architraves or a concealed frame. In a render these are usually missing or hidden. Light in a real photo is uneven, with burnt-out areas by the window; in a render it is even and soft.
Ask for evidence: construction photos, before and after, dated working drawings, the owner's or contractor's contact. A studio normally photographs the same home from several angles, which shows the whole layout. If the portfolio holds only frames from which you cannot work out how rooms connect, ask.
What does a photo usually hide?
It hides what matters most in daily life: sound, joints and the condition after a few years. The photographer uses a wide-angle lens, sets up light, removes clutter and arrives right after completion.
A photo does not show how doors and drawers close, how ventilation works or whether the climate system is noisy. It does not show how different materials meet or how they behave after a year: stone and timber, parquet and underfloor heating, marble and taps. It does not show practical solutions that fell outside the frame: storage, technical niches, access hatches. It does not show changes: something planned did not work out and was replaced.
Another hidden thing: how many people worked and what the studio gave up to hit the deadline. That can only be asked in conversation.
What should I ask about the budget and timeline of a portfolio project?
Ask about floor area, year, cost range per square metre, time from signing to move-in and causes of delay. A studio that works honestly answers calmly. "Client confidential" to everything at once is a warning sign.
A useful list: area and type of home; year of works; budget range; construction and design time separately; whether there were delays and why; what changed from the first scheme; how many approvals and revisions took place; who built it, the studio or an independent contractor; whether materials were substituted and on whose initiative.
Budgets in a portfolio without context are useless. An Eixample flat with a marble wall, herringbone parquet and timber slats and one of the same size with paint and laminate differ by several times. Compare projects at your level and ask what the price included: furniture, appliances, lighting, design supervision.
Can I visit a finished project?
Often yes, if the owner agrees. Studios confident in their projects usually offer either a visit or a conversation with the owner. Refusing both is not proof of poor work, but it is a reason to ask for other confirmation.
Respect privacy: visiting someone's home is a favour from the owner. Go for a short time, without filming, to a plan agreed in advance. If a visit is impossible, ask for a video call with the owner or the contractor. Three or four specific questions about living in the home say more than ten photos.
If you live outside Spain, arrange the visit for the day you come for a meeting. It should take thirty minutes to an hour.
What should I check in person on a finished project?
Check what is hard to hide: joints, silence, how doors close, evenness of light and the state of surfaces. That is ten minutes of careful observation.
Look at shadow gaps and how skirting and panels meet: they should be even along their length. At stone joints and grout: no cracks or stains. Open and close doors, cabinet doors and drawers: do they shut firmly, quietly, without misalignment? Switch on the climate system and listen at medium speed. Walk the floor and listen for creaks. Run the lighting scenes in full daylight and see how they work. Check whether sockets and switches are aligned.
After a year or two, surfaces already show where a material was chosen wrongly. Light wear is normal; cracks and open joints are not.
How does BCN YARD show its projects?
In the projects on our site we describe real work with facts: the Urgel flat in Eixample of 109.80 m² with four bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open kitchen, herringbone parquet, slatted timber panels and a marble wall; a 250 m² children's psychology centre in Eixample; a private house with a pool. Ask any studio the same questions you would ask us: what is in the picture, who built it, how it was paid. We give the exact price for your home after the visit and measurements. Write to us in Spanish or Russian and we reply within an hour.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell a built project from a render?
Look for everyday details: ventilation grilles, switches, signs of use, imperfect light. Ask for construction photos, before and after, dated working drawings and the owner's or contractor's contact. Renders are too clean and symmetrical, and technical elements are usually hidden.
What should I ask about the budget and timeline of a portfolio project?
Area, year, cost range per square metre, design and construction time separately, whether there were delays and why, who built it and what the price included. An honest studio answers calmly. A budget without scope compares nothing. Ask for the figures to be confirmed by documents or a call with the owner.
Can I visit a finished project?
Often yes, if the owner agrees. If a visit is impossible, ask for a video call with the owner or contractor. Go briefly, without filming, to an agreed plan. Look at joints, silence, how doors close and wear on surfaces.
What does a photo usually hide?
Sound, joints between materials, climate noise, how surfaces behave after a year or two, technical solutions outside the frame and changes made during the works. Photos are taken right after completion, with a wide-angle lens and prepared lighting. So ask about daily use directly.