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Architect Andrés Gutiérrez renovated a 1962 modernist home in Mexico City for a couple who wanted a more youthful, colorful interior without losing the building’s original character. The project restored its living-room library and retained features including the floors and much of the woodwork, while adding Mexican-made furniture and art.
Architect Andrés Gutiérrez renovated a 1962 modernist home in Mexico City’s San Ángel neighborhood, adding vivid colors, sculptural furniture and Mexican art for owners who wanted a less formal feel without abandoning the house’s architectural character. The project also restored the home’s original living-room library, which earlier owners had removed.
The owners, a young couple who inherited the house, valued its design by mid-century architect Jaime Ortiz Monasterio but felt the interiors were too serious for them. Gutiérrez, founder of A-G estudio, led both the renovation and the interior design. He told Livingetc the brief was to make the home feel younger, fresher and more reflective of its owners, while respecting the original structure and creating a Mexican identity without relying on folkloric clichés.
The interior uses lilac rugs and sofas, duck-egg-colored walls and pea-green upholstered chairs. Furniture throughout the home was made in Mexico, and the art is by Mexican creatives, according to the report. The furnishings include pieces by designers and studios such as Antonio Attolini Lack, Ad Hoc, Bibi Bibi and Comité de Proyectos. Some were customized for the home, while Gutiérrez designed items including cabinets, credenzas and outdoor dining chairs.
The architectural work was comparatively restrained. Gutiérrez said the team aimed to preserve the floors and extensive woodwork, replacing some timber and renewing window frames and glass. They also brought back the living-room bookshelves, which had once stretched nearly from floor to ceiling. Gutiérrez described restoring that library as a way to recover an idea central to the original house.
Colorful Interiors, Preserved Structure
The project shows how an inherited modernist home can be adapted to its current owners without treating its design history as something to erase. The contrast is central to the renovation: the interiors became more expressive, while much of the building’s material character and the original library concept remained.
That balance matters for readers interested in renovations of architect-designed homes. The reported changes focused on selected repairs, restoration and furnishings rather than a wholesale redesign of the structure. The result, as described by the architect and Livingetc, pairs a bold palette and substantial forms with retained architectural features. It also makes the project’s Mexican identity concrete through the stated choice of locally made furniture and work by Mexican artists.
These details are specific to this house; they do not establish a general renovation method or a measured effect on property value. The story is a design report, not an evaluation of costs, construction performance or the owners’ experience after the work.
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The House’s Original Library
The house stands in San Ángel, an affluent Mexico City neighborhood known for colonial architecture as well as modernist buildings. Ortiz Monasterio designed it in 1962. The owners inherited the property and asked Gutiérrez to update it while retaining its architectural character.
According to Gutiérrez, the home had originally been conceived as a “library to live in,” but little of that quality remained when he first saw it. The former owners had removed the living-room bookshelves. Restoring them became a starting point for the design, alongside retaining the floors and much of the woodwork. The report describes this as a renovation that relied substantially on retrofitting rather than reinventing the structure.
Gutiérrez told Livingetc that his practice draws on research into Mexican culture and visual identity. For this home, he said the goal was not to recreate one historical period, but to let different moments in Mexican design and visual culture sit together. The report does not provide a detailed construction timeline or a full inventory of original and replacement materials.
“They wanted to take away some of its seriousness and make it feel younger, fresher, and more reflective of who they are.”
— Andrés Gutiérrez, architect and founder of A-G estudio, speaking to Livingetc
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Project Costs and Timeline Not Reported
Livingetc’s report does not state when the renovation was completed, how long it took or what it cost. It also does not identify the specific timber replaced or provide technical details about the window-frame and glass work. The story does not include comments from the owners, so their views beyond the brief as relayed by Gutiérrez are not independently presented.
There is no reported assessment of the building’s condition before or after the work, nor information about permits, contractors or energy performance. Those points should not be inferred from the project description.
restored mid-century library shelves
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No Further Project Milestone Listed
The available report describes the design decisions and renovation work but does not announce a forthcoming phase, follow-up or additional milestone. No next construction step is identified. Any further details about the project’s schedule, cost or long-term performance remain unreported in the source material.
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Key Questions
Where is the renovated home?
It is in San Ángel, Mexico City, an area with colonial architecture and notable modernist buildings.
Who designed the original house?
The home was designed by mid-century architect Jaime Ortiz Monasterio in 1962.
What did the owners want to change?
They wanted a younger, fresher and more colorful interior that felt like them, while keeping the house’s original architectural character.
What original feature was restored?
The renovation restored the living-room library and its near floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, which had been removed by earlier owners.
What is known about the renovation cost?
The report does not give a project budget, completion date or construction duration.
Source: rss
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