An Accidental Sunken Living Room Warms Up This Concrete Guatemalan Home

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs.

Graphic designer Victoria Herrera had dabbled in interior design when she decorated her Mexico City apartment from scratch and filled it entirely with finds from local markets. But when she purchased a plot of land by Lake Atitlan near her mother’s home in Guatemala, there wasn’t yet an interior to decorate—designing and building the house would be entirely up to her.

Green window pane doors leading to outside — In the area, most houses are built out of cement blocks in a boxy geometric style. “It’s interesting how an outsider might call this Brutalist architecture, but for the locals there’s no aesthetic take on this; it is purely functional,” says Herrera.

view of outdoor staircase with green door

green bannister to concrete stairway — The material selection for the house was based on what was available at the local hardware store. “The front door is just a standard steel door, the kind of thing that would be at the front of a storage unit or a random shop,” says Herrera. “People helping me with construction kept asking, ‘What do you mean? Why don’t you want a beautiful front door?’ And I had to keep saying, ‘This is beautiful to me!’”

“I have so much respect for architecture, so in many ways I thought I had no business doing this,” recalls Herrera. But taking inspiration from the area’s traditional building techniques inspired her. “The construction style of the small Mayan villages around the lake is simple, functional, and of another time,” she says. Think: concrete blocks and metal doors. The approach helped make the construction affordable and the look completely trendproof. “I was able to root [the design] in something that felt more important than aesthetics,” says Herrera.

To begin, Herrera used the software she was most familiar with as a graphic designer—Adobe Illustrator—to make the house plans, then had an architect review them before breaking ground. For construction, she leaned on her mother, who lives in the area and knows plumbers and electricians, and a local pro contractor, Alfredo Quiche, who brought in experienced local bricklayers. “Electricity is not easily available, so the construction of this home was done without any power tools,” says Herrera. Plus Lake Atitlan is surrounded by volcanoes, so digging isn’t easy work. “It was incredible to watch how efficiently the construction team broke through layers of volcanic rocks by hand to lay the foundation of the house,” she notes.

boucle seating near kitchen in concrete living room

Concrete kitchen with wooden cabinets — In the kitchen, the poured concrete sink was modeled after local *pilas*, wash basins that people do their laundry in.

After the design was set, there were still some surprises during construction. “We really wanted to preserve trees on the property, but in order to save these two large avocado trees, we had to incorporate a large hill of lava rock,” says Herrera. “What I thought would be a flat, single-story house ended up being a cool elevation change that led to a sunken living room design.” The pivot ended up creating 17-foot-high ceilings in the living room, which makes the 600-square-foot home feel exponentially larger than it would have otherwise. “It almost has a cathedral-like quality now,” says Herrera.

view of pool next to patio — Another way Herrera added the feeling of more square footage to her small structure: making sure the outside acted as an additional living space. From a plunge pool to a rooftop firepit, the outdoor area is designed for relaxing.

view into backyard from concrete living room — Everything in the house is made by local artisans: “My mom has been collecting local art for years, and I was able to pull from her collections.”

Another design choice contributing to the small space’s grandiose feel? Nooks. Instead of embracing the open layout trend, Herrera divided the home up into even smaller areas defined by their function: cooking, dining, lounging, and sleeping. “It makes you feel like you can really spend the whole day here, even though it’s so small,” she says.

meditation window seat with cushion — Herrera’s favorite spot in the house is this meditation nook: “I meditate for 10 to 20 minutes every single day, so having a spot where I could get comfortable next to a big window was very important to me.”

When construction was nearing completion, Herrera finally got to dive into decorating. To discover local treasures, she didn’t have to go far: “My mom and I would jump in the car and drive around the lake for hours, just stopping whenever something felt interesting.” Together, they discovered a “hole in the wall shop” with piles of ceramics that they used to outfit the kitchen. Plus they had their choice of textiles. “Guatemalan textiles are really special because each region has its own,” explains Herrera. For example, the 12 villages surrounding the lake each has its own unique handwoven textile patterns.

red and white bedding on bed next to green windows — “The house is basically a giant concrete box, so it needs lots of light,” says Herrera, who took inspiration from American artist James Turrell when designing the bedroom skylight.

interior concrete staircase with green railing

Basement bathroom sink next to staircase — All of the wood is conacaste, a local tropical type Herrera chose for its warmth, prominent graining, and slightly red undertones. “I love the way it contrasts with the concrete and the green paint color,” she says.

After the home was completed, next came the most important part: Herrera worked with a Mayan shaman and family friend to bless the structure. “The volcanoes have life, so out of respect, you ask permission to be there and to modify the land and to bless your existence going forward,” she explains. “Everything in this house is to honor local traditions, from the materials to the spiritual practice.”

EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel