The refurbishment of this building from the 30’s in the picturesque Toscal neighbourhood in the city centre of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is marked by our desire to respect the original architecture as much as possible, bring back elements of its memory and update it with subtle interventions that will transfer it to our time, such as the new pistachio-painted aluminium window frames.

The pre-existences are the generous height of doors, windows and ceilings; the original encaustic tiles, showing a different pattern in each room and a sensible distribution, good ventilation, patios and light throughout the day.

The general arrangement of the house is maintained as the original by the architect Pintor y Ocete – author at the time of some emblematic buildings – apart from a partition that was demolished to create a spacious living-dining room.

The kitchen is a clash of textures: original encaustic tiles, stainless steel units and Indian green marble countertop. All surrounded by walls exposing the original lime paint. Part of the house has been dedicated to the studio on the ground floor, with independent access from the hall.

The patio is an oasis of light for a bright home in a jumbled neighbourhood. During the construction works – say the architects – we spent many weekends tearing the wallpaper from the walls and scratching layers of paint from successive episodes of the house, which includes a few years of squatting.

We came across the remains of the first lime paints that still retain vivid tones and are very harmonious with each other. This finding became the common thread of the refurbishment.

We decided to dress the walls with a new plinth, finished off with a cornice. The new colours are dictated by the hues discovered above.