The world of Patry Montero and Álex Adróver

Keeping up with Patry Montero (@patrymontero) and Álex Adróver (@alexadrover) is quite a challenge. She’s a presenter, actress and yoga teacher, he’s an actor, singer, presenter and dedicated foodie. They recently published a book together and love spending time with daughters Lis and Layla.

We enjoyed this interview with Patry and Álex, who are clearly devoted to their two girls, their work and to each other. Read on to hear all about it.

How would you define the style of your home?

Álex – I'd say that the style of our house is a little functional.

Patry – I was going in that direction, too. I was going to say practical. It’s functional and practical because we have kids, and when you have kids it’s not easy to keep the place looking beautiful, nicely decorated and, above all, tidy. So it has few things and all of them are practical.

Álex – We should acknowledge that we live in almost constant chaos.

What’s the essential item when it comes to making a house a home?

Patry – Well, people always say that the two of us have an ability to make our home in any space. And it’s true. Because we’re one of those nomadic families that travels a lot and is constantly on the go. We’ve moved house so many times that wherever we’re go feels like home within a week. People who visit us ask what have you done to make this place smell like home already? Smells, essential oils, photos... we always have things that represent us, especially in the kitchen, living room... I think that’s what helps us to feel at home quickly wherever we go.

Álex – If you had to point to one thing? Let’s see if it’s the same as me.

Patry – I don’t know, you’re going to catch me out. I don’t know, what?

Álex – If we both had to agree on one thing, I’d say it would be the sofa, without a doubt.

Patry – Ah yes, of course. That’s for sure.

Álex – Tell the story of the sofa.

Patry – The sofa is indispensable because it’s not just a sofa. It’s a sofa, a sofa bed, a play area and it even turns into a theme park because the girls pile all the cushions onto it and play constantly... On the first day it arrived, Layla decided to christen it with a ballpoint pen and drew on it right here at the front. I don’t believe it! we both said. We’ve just bought it, Layla! Luckily it came out. We’re not sure what this sofa is made of.

Álex – Using some wonderful baby wipes.

Patry – It’s being tested to destruction. It’s amazing!

Which one of you chooses your home decor?

Álex – It seems that I’m the one who chooses the decor but she has the final word. Always.

Patry – Do you know what? We always agree, to tell the truth. We always understand each other really well, we like the same things and when he doesn’t see something the same way or I don’t, in the end we always end up agreeing. It’s very normal for us to like the same things. We’ve been together nearly 13 years.

Which part of the house is the most important to you?

Patry y Álex – The kitchen.

Patry – The kitchen, without a doubt. We spend hours there.

Álex – Yes. In fact, it doesn’t matter if the kitchen is huge or 3 m². I don’t know why but everyone always ends up in the kitchen.

Patry, you spend a lot of time practising yoga and seeking inner peace. Which part of the house do you choose for your practice and some time to yourself?

Patry – Well, the truth is that since we’ve had the girls, choosing a place to practice is almost impossible because they always follow us everywhere. When I practice on my own, I always do it outdoors if the weather is good. If not, I always choose the living room because it’s the nicest part of the house, where we’re more comfortable and have more space.

What motivated you to start practicing yoga? When and why did you take that step?

I’ve been practicing yoga for more than 10 years now. I’ve just completed my first year as a teacher. Yoga came into my life more than 10 years ago now. I injured my back filming a series and I was told I should practice every day to keep improving and stretch it out. I was reluctant at first, I must admit, but I gave it a chance for the sake of my back and my health. I started practicing and the week after I started I noticed that my back was much better, as well as my mood, skin, appearance, attitude and the way I interacted with other people and myself. I smiled more, slept better and felt happier... What’s happening to me? I wondered. I’m changing my life for the better. And so it stuck, it started to become part of my lifestyle and now my life wouldn’t make sense without yoga. It’s part of my philosophy on life and now that we have the house, the family, the girls are starting to grow up with those values, I just need Alex to get on the mat, let’s see...

Álex – Someone needs to record you...

Which part of the house is the most peaceful?

Patry – The living room. We’ve made the living room-kitchen the top priority because we spend so much time in the kitchen. In fact, that’s why we put the living area in the kitchen, with this kind of open-plan American kitchen with everything all in one place, so that this space is where we spend pretty much 24 hours a day. Our daughters play, we cook, they sit and watch TV, we keep an eye on them... it’s the space where we hang out constantly and are very happy. And when the girls are asleep, our bedroom.

Álex – For me it’s being right there at the kitchen bar watching you all play while I cook. Normally you’re on your own while you cook. Not here. When I cook, I’ve got company – you can sit here next to me, working.

When you have people over, what do you want your home to say to them? What feeling do you want them to leave with?

Álex – I always go back to the food. When you’ve eaten well, it leaves a good taste in your mouth. We also like the house to smell good when people arrive.

Patry – Because of yoga, I’ve been using incense for years, I love nag champa and always have it burning at home. Some people say to me, what’s that smell? And they don’t like it. But pretty much everyone does like it. They can’t figure out where it’s coming from, but they almost always like it. And I have my incense stick burning where it can’t be seen. It’s also a question of energy.

Which is your most indispensable item of furniture? And your favourite?

Patry – The indispensable one is the sofa, as we’ve already mentioned. Because it’s so practical and because we spend so much time in that space, it’s a place where the little ones hang out and lots goes on the sofa.

Álex – And for the girls, the tipi is the one thing they couldn’t do without. They spend hours playing in it.

Patry – They make up stories, they tell each other tales... That space is creating magic memories at home, which is beautiful to see every day.

Let’s go out onto the terrace. What do you need to enjoy this space?

Patry – We love being outdoors and spend as much time as we can on the terrace. Again, the sofa is the star piece here. In this case, because we didn’t have much space, we put a low table here. Mainly because it looked nicer and because it’s easier to eat nibbles, or a quick or leisurely breakfast while sitting on the sofa.

Alex – There’s always a time of day that says to you this sunshine is for me! And you take you cup of coffee...

Patry – Yes, I have a bit of a sun addiction. I love it, no one can take that little moment away from me.

Since having the girls, what do you appreciate most about your home? What changes have you made to the shared spaces and how have you transformed your down time at home?

Álex – The girls have been turned our lives 180º and for the better, but there are times when you have to just have to manage without the life you used to have.

Patry – They’ve given everything a whole new meaning, that’s for sure. They arrived just at the right moment to take our relationship to a new level. We’d been together for 12 years, our love was growing every day, and the girls have made it even bigger. And the connection we have, not just as a family but as a couple, too, has got stronger. Some couples suddenly start to argue a lot when they have children, but with us it’s been the opposite. But it’s true that it gets tough sometimes, because our precious free time is always spent with them. Our free time is about making sure that they’re happy. Because if they’re happy, so are we.

Álex – [Parenthood] has meant getting rid of half the furniture in the house. Our most important books are now stored away, as is the cutlery, knives and every other dangerous thing, it all needs to be safely put away.

Patry – We’ve had to put all our decorations at least one metre above the floor. Below that, there isn’t very much. They can jump up and grab anything.

Álex, when you want to find Patry, where is she most likely to be?

Álex – She spends half the day sitting down to work. She’s very hard-working, she’s a little creative engine. She’s always doing something on the computer, here in the kitchen, sitting on one of these really comfortable chairs.

Patry – We're starting to work on a lot of personal projects. One of them has just launched, which is our book “Alegres y felices” [Joyful and Happy]. It’s a story that we started writing in lockdown. The idea came from the deepening connection we had as a result of being locked down together. We put a lot of work into it. We’re also working on another lovely personal project that we’ll share soon, which is a business idea we’ve been working on for a year.

In which space do you get together as a foursome? And what do you need to make it feel like home?

Álex – A place to spend time as a family is where the girls feel happy. Wherever their toys are, that's what helps things to flow and they feel content.

Patry – Any parent reading this will say the same. Why have so many cushions on the floor? Because you end up spending so much time sitting there. If you're going to play, you play properly. You get on the floor, you roll around with them. That's we chose the tipi area with the cushions on the floor, which are tidy now but never are usually. We build our towers, we jump, we tell stories... we like playing on the floor with them.

Álex – And a stain-resistant sofa like this one. It stresses me out when things get stained. You've already told the story but the day it got marked I nearly had a heart attack.

Patry – And all of a sudden the stain disappeared! Incredible. It's totally child-proof. It's had water poured on it and it repels it, and tomato sauce... Amazing.

Which is your favourite item of Kave Home furniture?

Álex – The mirror in the home office. We just it there and said voilà.

Patry – I remember when you put it there and said what a difference it makes!

Álex – It doesn’t need anything else. It’s also a mirror that feels heavy when you pick it up, and when you touch the wood you can feel the quality... it’s very appealing.

Patry – I'm very clear about that. I spend a lot of time sitting down. I’m fascinated by the chairs and stools we’ve chosen for the living room/kitchen. They're so comfortable. Super simple, the leather adds a lot of elegance and they’re really comfortable.

If you want to style and decorate your home like Patry and Álex’s, you’ll love this edit.