Gabarda

Complete renovation of a house for a growing and changing family. 

The Villa was born as a place to stay while supervising the work on the orange fields that surround it. The owners and their ancestors -as many other families in this area of Spain- had dedicated their lives to “the orange”. Today, horses, hen, rabbits, and a gang of 4 huge mastin dogs complete the bucolic scenario of this now weekend countryside house.  

The renovation included the extension of the house to enlarge the common areas, rearrangement of all the spaces and the addition of new bedrooms and bathrooms. A main concern was also to bring light and air into a very compressed plan. The extension turned the living room into a 68 m2 space. It’s configuration allows the coexistence of an area for sitting around the fireplace, a reading corner and a dining table. The circulations were optimised and old rooms completely renovated in their arrangement and surfaces. The old windows were changed to new wooden ones, custom made by a local carpenter. New windows were opened and some of the old ones enlarged. The facade opened itself more to the calm beauty of the landscape. The house changed it’s yellow color to white to -yet again- brighten up it’s appearance. The overall feeling of the house evolved from a dense rural to a more calm mood where the neutral surfaces allow the family to fill the house with their own life and character, old furniture, fabrics and art.