A century-old house got an eco-friendly makeover thanks to an architect couple Maddalena Cerruti and Vincent Baisnée, who purchased the property to build their first family home.
What started as a rundown property in Liguria, Italy, that hadn't been occupied in over 30 years turned into an oasis with repurposed stone patios and a 30,000-square-foot cascading garden.
The house was originally crafted from locally-sourced stone and stood at only 807 square feet, with its best feature being its incredible view of the Italian countryside. Today, its best features from the remodel are easy competition for the view.
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My HVAC unit ♨️ "We firmly believe that architecture should be made with natural materials and those that can be reused or recycled later, or returned to nature, with a low or negative carbon footprint," Maddalena shared with loveproperty.com. "These materials, such as timber, lime, earth, and straw, allow the house to breathe and create a healthy environment for those living there."
During their remodel, they planted a vegetable garden, re-plastered their inside walls with a mix of hemp and lime insulation, repurposed old stone for their patio, repurposed old chestnut beams into lintels for their custom window frames, and added hempcrete screed over a layer of gravel to insulate their floor.
By installing natural insulation and air-tight windows, they set up their home to be energy-efficient and reduce their overall home expenses, which moved up their home's energy class from G to A4 — the highest in the EU.
"Our home is heated by a very efficient wood stove, and to reduce the consumption of our electric water heater, we installed a solar thermal system," Vincent said to loveproperty.com.
These upgrades to their home will reduce their heating and water bill, keep their temperature more stable throughout the year, allow them to grow their own food on their property, and save electricity. Their addition of furniture sourced from secondhand shops and prioritizing working with local suppliers who only used natural and eco-friendly materials allowed them to produce less waste overall during their build.
If you want to upgrade your home similarly to Vincent and Maddalena, this guide on modernizing your home is made for you.
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