A simple home that's magic inside

Izelle du Pisanie Izelle du Pisanie
Casa de la Luz, Arturo Campos Arquitectos Arturo Campos Arquitectos Patios & Decks
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Today we have a light-filled house with four rooms that was restored and its structure rescued. The floors were lifted for maintenance and were placed down again to preserve its history. It is tiny, being only 8 meters wide by 15 meters deep and a backyard of 24m2, within 120 m2 of land.

The house in question is located in the historic centre of a city founded in the sixteenth century on the ruins of an old Mayan church. Today, it is one of the most beautiful cities in Yucatan, characterized as a magical town and remembered for his notorious opulence of gold that simulates the sun worshiped by its original civilization. The architects achieved this splendour fitting to the location in this project.

An unasuming facade

Our first look at this house, situated in the old Mayan village, does not inspire any particular or great enthusiasm. It looks like many other homes in this style and in this location. We can certainly see that it is a home heavily influenced by colonial architecture, and which had been preserved as such, however, we cannot find any nostalgic aspect in this first view. 

Now, let's go see what's on the inside to distinguish this home from its neighbours!

Lobby

When we first enter the home environment, we can see that the nostalgic air of the home’s past is recreated by the use of mosaics and the coatings used. It is pieces with a wide range of colours and designs, always with a special, somewhat imperfect finish, reminiscent of the manual and artisanal manufacturing process.

There is a strong verticality in the doors that somehow approximates an arc, as seen here in the image, which is a typical emblem of this city. The lobby is large and double the height of standard modern homes. Lots of light reflects on the white paint and symmetry is strongly present.

Entrance hall

We move on to the next space that acts as a receiver and TV area. If we look at the furniture, we can infer the size of the area. We also see some of the rooms of the house on one side of the lobby, and the other an area that leads to the garden.

Look how the scene diffuses the light from yellow, which is therefore doubly brilliant.

Kitchen

Here we find ourselves in the kitchen. We immediately get a sense of elegance and grandeur of a bygone era. Particularly striking is the high table with two stools covered in leather, reminiscent of pubs and beer glasses for two.

A very beautiful arched cornice, which extracts smoke from the kitchen, has a coating texture which simulates natural clay paint, somehow remembering the colonial era

Pool

From the kitchen window we see the patio. If we go outside here, we will find the activity centre for relaxation and rest. The pool achieves the goal, and although tiny, cascades filtered through a large stone. We can just imagine the beautiful sound especially at night, which is perceived from the room at the end of the staircase.

We could not miss a comfortable and spacious Mayan hammock, Yucatan style, with raw natural woven wire and made for two.

Main bedroom

We arrive at the main bedroom. We can see a continuity of themes from throughout the house. The closet looks just like the doors of the kitchen cabinets, designed with lattice type blades, and the floor also has a mosaic paste-like coating.

 The lighting scheme in this room is fantastic, raising the reflection from the floor through colour and the sun, expanding its strength.

If this caught your fancy, take a look at another colonial-inspired project with a surprising interior: the Pandora's box home!

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