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Architect Andrés Gutiérrez renovated a 1962 modernist home in Mexico City’s San Ángel neighborhood for a young couple who wanted a more playful interior without losing the house’s architectural character. The project retained features including original floors and woodwork, restored the living room’s library, and introduced colorful furniture and artwork by Mexican makers and artists.
Architect Andrés Gutiérrez has renovated a 1962 modernist home in Mexico City’s San Ángel neighborhood, giving its interiors a brighter, more playful character while retaining much of the original architecture. The young couple who inherited the house wanted it to feel more personal and contemporary without erasing the work of architect Jaime Ortiz Monasterio, according to a report by Livingetc.
Gutiérrez, who led the renovation and interior design through his studio, A-G estudio, said the owners wanted to soften the house’s formal atmosphere. They also asked for a distinctly Mexican identity that avoided what he described as folkloric clichés. The project’s response included colorful rooms, sculptural furniture and artwork by Mexican creatives, alongside a restrained approach to changes in the structure.
The palette includes lilac rugs and sofas, duck-egg-colored walls and pea-green upholstered chairs. Furniture was made in Mexico, the report says, including pieces by established designer Antonio Attolini Lack and contemporary studios Ad Hoc, Bibi Bibi and Comité de Proyectos. Some pieces were customized, while Gutiérrez designed several items himself, including cabinets, credenzas and outdoor dining chairs. The artwork was also made by Mexican creatives, with some works referencing the country’s pre-Hispanic past.
Rather than overhaul the house, the renovation prioritized restoration and repair. Gutiérrez said the team aimed to preserve the original floors and extensive woodwork, replacing some timber and renewing window frames and glass. They also restored the living room’s floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, which earlier owners had removed, reviving the house’s original library concept.
Color Reframes the Modernist Interior
The project shows one way owners can update an architecturally significant home without treating its original design as untouchable or disposable. Here, the changes are concentrated in the interior palette, furniture and art, while repairs and restoration retain key parts of the 1962 structure. That distinction matters to owners facing a similar tension: a home can reflect new residents while still making its architectural history legible.
The Mexican-made furnishings and artwork also give the interiors a specific cultural point of view without relying on a single historical style. Gutiérrez’s approach, as described in the report, places work from different periods and creators together rather than recreating a particular era. The result is presented as a contemporary home rooted in local design and visual culture, not as a period replica.
The source does not provide a project budget, construction timeline or independent assessment of the renovation. Its account is primarily based on the architect’s descriptions and photographs, so the design choices and preservation details should be understood within that scope.
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Restoring the House’s Library Idea
The house stands in San Ángel, a Mexico City neighborhood known for colonial architecture as well as modernist buildings. It was designed in 1962 by Jaime Ortiz Monasterio. The couple inherited the home and liked its architecture, but felt its interiors were too serious for how they wanted to live, Livingetc reported.
Gutiérrez said the house had originally been conceived as a kind of “library to live in”, but that little of this idea remained when he first saw it. Restoring the bookshelves and making the library central again gave the renovation a point of departure: instead of imposing an unrelated style, the team could build on an existing architectural idea.
The architect has said that research into Mexican culture and art informs his practice. In this home, that interest appears in the selection of furniture and art as well as in the decision to let references from different moments coexist. The report describes an interior-design project as much as a structural renovation, with the architectural work kept comparatively light.
“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
Project Costs and Scope Are Unreported
The Livingetc report does not state when the renovation was completed, how long it took or what it cost. It also does not give a detailed inventory of original materials retained, nor explain whether any structural or planning approvals were required. The phrase “light touch” is the architect’s characterization; the source does not provide an independent construction assessment.
The account does not include comments from the homeowners, so their views are represented through the brief as relayed by Gutiérrez. It is also unclear how much of the home’s original arrangement or fabric remained before the work began beyond the floors, woodwork and library details described in the report.
No Further Project Milestones Listed
The source presents the renovation as a completed design project and does not announce additional work or a future opening. Livingetc’s report documents the finished interiors through photographs credited to Leandro Bulzzano and descriptions from Gutiérrez. No further project milestones, homeowner plans or follow-up disclosures are specified.
For readers seeking a fuller account of the intervention, the remaining details would include the project’s completion date, budget, construction scope and the owners’ own perspective. None is supplied in the report, so those points remain unconfirmed.
Key Questions
Where is the renovated home?
It is in San Ángel, a neighborhood in Mexico City.
Who designed the original house and when?
The home was designed by architect Jaime Ortiz Monasterio in 1962.
Who led the renovation?
Andrés Gutiérrez of A-G estudio handled the renovation and interior design, according to Livingetc.
What original features did the team preserve or restore?
The report says the team aimed to retain the original floors and extensive woodwork, renewed some timber and window components, and restored the living room’s bookshelves.
What is not known about the renovation?
The report does not give the project’s cost, completion date or construction timeline. It also does not include direct comments from the homeowners or a detailed accounting of all original features retained.
Source: rss
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