Home is a hardworking place for David Roy, a director at James Gorst Architects, and Angel Perez, founder of consultancy agency Asamper Inclusion. Their light-filled flat on the first floor of a 1930s block near Hackney Downs, east London, is by turns a base for work, play and everything in between. Not only are the couple self-proclaimed social butterflies (and founders of a tomato-filled queer club night), but they also co-parent four-year-old twin boys with another couple down the road. “We moved here to consolidate the family that we have made,” says David. “The boys have got two daddies, two mummies – and two homes.”

Forget those fairytale, love-at-first-sight stories of house viewings, says David: “The flat was a complete wreck. It had been empty for years and the walls were quite literally falling apart.” Something, though, persuaded the architect to linger in the hallway, pondering its potential and, one head-to-toe renovation later, in which he had the pluck to turn a four-bed into a two, he’s rather glad he did. Over a good cup of coffee, David and Angel tell us how they created a Mediterranean-tinged haven – and why that isn’t Yves Klein blue on the doorframes…

David: “Moving here was strategic, as the mums of our boys are nearby in London Fields. However, we have a strong network in Hackney too. We had been living in an end-of-terrace Victorian house in Tottenham, north London. It was a very domestic, two-up two-down setup, but it was lovely. It had a large back garden that we completely redesigned and we grew huge amounts of tomatoes.”

Angel: “On the side of our day jobs, David and I run an east London club night called Gayzpacho, which is a nod to my Mediterranean heritage and inspired by Spanish festivities in which people throw tomatoes at each other. Gayzpacho is about not taking yourself too seriously and creating a place for joy and entertainment. We wanted to do the same with our home.”

David: “This block was finished in 1930 as social housing for Hackney. It’s a low-rise brick construction, which is typical of the period, but its internal layout feels quite northern European – in the UK, it’s unusual to have a central corridor with rooms off to each side. Then there’s the bay window, which borrows from British Victorian architecture. It’s a strange amalgam, with the benefit of both worlds.”

Angel: “Maybe it’s because I’m from the Mediterranean, but what I love about this flat is the big windows and the way they let the sun in. It’s a real joy to have light like this. It feels luxurious.”

David: “We haven’t really moved any of the functions around, but we have knocked a room through. When we moved in, this was a four-bedroom apartment and we turned it into a two-bed. The stud partition had massive holes in it and when you looked through you realised the length of the space could make for a really dramatic drawing room.

“We were toeing the minimalist line in the old house, with white-blonde floorboards, so we wanted to add more colour here – something theatrical and maybe a little Mediterranean. It felt more fun for the kids.”

Angel: “I’ve always relied on David to make most of the design decisions – sometimes I don’t get the vision until it happens. But I knew I wanted this place to have more colour.”

David: “Most of the paints are from Edward Bulmer. They’re quite complex in their colour spectrum and they go on beautifully. The neutral is ‘Teddy’, which is part of the nursery range, and the WC is painted ‘Invisible Green’. We placed an emphasis on the doorways with a slightly Egyptian or even Greek blue from Mylands. It’s from their British Film, Television and Theatre range, so it also has a slightly 1970s feel. Everyone calls it Yves Klein blue but it’s actually much lighter.

Angel: “It’s a colour that keeps coming back to us in different ways. I had to have that blue somewhere.”

David: “Angel grew up in Ibiza and the blue of that sea is unforgettable. He couldn’t really understand the colour of the sea when we went to visit the coast in Suffolk, he was like: ‘What’s that?! No that’s impossible!’”

Angel: “I had never seen – nor imagined – a sea that wasn’t as blue as what I was used to. I remember feeling so ignorant, but it was a real shock.”

David: “The axial corridor runs in a loop, which is good for the kids – they love chasing each other through the doorways. We chose a ‘Berlin Red’ linoleum chequerboard floor from Forbo, which is made from linseed oil so it’s naturally antibacterial. It’s reasonably affordable and you can arrange it in complex patterns. I had asked the builders to cut the big tiles into four smaller ones, but by the time I visited the site, they’d laid it all. But I love it. There’s something rather ‘Italian country house’ about it.”

Angel: “Or Alice in Wonderland.”

David: “The wooden floorboards, meanwhile, were already here underneath a carpet, so we refurbished them and gave them a nice dark polish. The deep skirting boards contain all the pipework, which runs all the way around the main living room, avoiding the disruptive and expensive task of having to chase all of the pipes into the walls. It’s slightly Art Deco, so it works with the period of the house.

“We had various important pieces – some chairs, rugs and lamps, plus all of the art – but the sofa we had to buy. A long drawing room is quite difficult to furnish because you can’t make it into one homogenous seating space. The layout works well if we have a party because there are different spaces for people to peel off and have their own conversations.

Angel: “The sofa acts as a partition. I remember we were discussing what could go behind it – and then we walked into Chase & Sorensen and found the bench, which was ideal for the space.”

David: “We can bring the bench to the dining table if we are hosting. The table itself is a pre-finished walnut door blank. It makes for quite a narrow table, which I like because it brings you closer together as you’re eating. We also work there every now and again.”

Angel: “We tried to think about functionality and how simply moving things around can transform a space. For instance, this is an office and a dining room, and then when we put down the kids’ rug and the train set, it becomes a playroom. This place is very flexible in that way. It’s worked out a lot better than I expected.”

David: “I really like the apartment at dusk, when we switch on the side lamps for a warm glow. At the end of the day, we clear everything away, reset the space and open a bottle of wine. It becomes a calm space to just be in and talk.”