An urban oasis in Colonia Juárez

Inside México: What do you do?

Image:Luz Montero

Rowena Morales spent eight months renovating her apartment, where the floors were once covered in fake-marble linoleum.

Rowena Morales: I'm a jewelry designer and part of Colectivo 7, a group of designers with a store in la Condesa. I've been working with jewelry since the 1970s, when I studied at the Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design.

IM: How long have you lived in this apartment?

RM: I've lived here for seven years. I was looking for an apartment to buy, and a friend came along with me to look at this place. It was in total ruins! My friend thought I was crazy, but I fell in love with the apartment's lovely original details. I could see what a special place it was.

The floors were covered with this fake-marble linoleum. The walls were all stucco. The door hinges were covered with layers of paint,butI took the doors off and cleaned them and they were marvelous. I opened the closet and found that underneath the linoleum were wood floors and gorgeous tiles. The apartment was in a horrible state but the details were all original. Nowadays, people don't appreciate these things, they don't take care of them.

IM: How long did it take you to renovate?

RM: Eight months. I did a lot of the work myself! I'd be down in my studio working, and the guys renovating the house would be up here. I'd come up and see what they were doing, then take the tools myself and say, do it like this, do it this way. I did so much with my own hands. I worked side by side with them.

It was like jewelry... jewelry is construction, it's architectural, the techniques I'd learned in jewelry making applied for construction as well. You have to have a logic about it as you work, you have to be very methodical.

IM: How long do you think you'll live here?

RM: Well, I've been spending a lot of time in Valle de Bravo lately. I'm thinking of opening a store there, the change and the quiet are good for me. I'm actually looking for someone to rent the apartment now, but I'm in no rush, I want to find the right person.

IM: Why is this building called Buen Tono?

RM: These apartments were built in the early 20th centuryby a man named Ernesto Pugibet, a very wealthy businessman who owned a cigar company called Buen Tono. The three Buen Tono buildings, Ideal, Mascota and Gardenia were named for the three different brands of cigars the company sold.

There was a lady who used to live here, she was in her 90s and died three or four years ago. Her parents came to live here as newlyweds. She said that at that time, Buen Tono was the pinnacle of modernity, it was one of first really luxurious buildings where you could rent, not buy. They had a team of carpenters and handymen keeping the place in top shape.

IM: What's your favorite room in the house?

RM: The studio. I spend so much time working that having a comfortable space is important. The light is wonderful. You can hear the birds singing and the children playing downstairs. Here, we're right in the middle of the city. There's so much traffic and noise and all the people, it's so urban. Then you come inside and it's quiet, and there's a real sense of peace. It's incredible to have those two things so close together.