The first thing you notice is the way the windows set the tone. Dark frames, clear glazing and a measured mix of steel-look lines with wood profiles pull the eye across the rooms before anything else does. In this home renovation, the original shell of a sixties villa was kept largely intact, and the existing character was not scrubbed away. The result feels grounded in what was already there, while the new window language introduces a sharper outline.

Original details kept in view

The house had changed little since the 1960s, and that proved to be an advantage. Authentic elements were still present, so the renovation did not need to invent a new identity from scratch. Instead, materials and colors were chosen intuitively, with the style of the house as the reference point. You can read that decision in the interior images: neutral curtains, restrained wall finishes and large panes of glass allow the older fabric of the villa to remain visible rather than pushed aside.

That approach gives the rooms a clear hierarchy. The architecture does not compete with decorative additions. A window opening, a wall niche, a strip of daylight on the floor, all of it is allowed to do the work. In the living area, the corner glazing opens the view toward the garden, while the seating sits low against the room’s edges. The space feels edited, not packed.

Steel-look windows with wooden profiles

The most legible change is the window system. Steel-look windows were combined with wooden window profiles, which makes the frames feel lighter than a purely solid timber solution and more tactile than a strict metal look. From inside, the dark frames sharpen the view; from outside, the mix of materials keeps the elevation from reading as one flat surface. It is a small shift in material language, but it changes how the villa sits on its plot.

Asymmetry plays an important role in that effect. Rather than repeating the same opening pattern across every section, the windows are arranged with a deliberate offset. That asymmetrical window layout gives the façade a calmer rhythm and keeps the composition from becoming static. The lines do not mirror each other in a literal way, yet they still belong to the same family. This is where the renovation feels most considered: not by adding more, but by adjusting the proportion of what was already there.

Large glass openings and daylight

Inside, the large glass openings bring in a steady wash of daylight. In the living room images, the window wall sits beside neutral curtains and a pale interior palette, so the light reads clearly on the floor and on the edges of the furniture. The glazing also creates long sightlines toward the terrace and garden, which makes the room feel broader than the footprint suggests. It is a simple move, yet it changes how the rooms are used throughout the day.

The kitchen follows the same logic. Wooden cabinetry sits beside a stone- or marble-like wall surface, and the window treatment is kept light with blinds rather than heavy covering. The window is not treated as a separate object; it is part of the room’s working surface. Daylight lands on the wood grain, the darker countertop and the pale wall behind, so the materials remain easy to read one by one.

A garage door that people still talk about

One element continues to draw comments: the large garage door. Made in afrormosia wood, it stands out because of its scale and the vertical grain visible in the exterior image. It is the kind of detail people notice immediately when they arrive, then remember afterward. The wood softens the more rigid parts of the composition, especially where it meets the white brickwork and the darker window frames.

Seen together, the garage door and the openings above it give the front of the house a clear structure. White masonry, dark frames and timber parts sit in distinct bands, each one doing its own job. The door does not try to disappear. It anchors the lower part of the façade and adds weight where the house meets the drive.

How the exterior reads in daylight

The exterior images show a roof with dark tiles, white brick surfaces and a few strong timber accents. A dark metal balustrade is visible on the upper level, and the glazing keeps the façades from becoming heavy. The house reads as a renovation because the older structure is still legible, but the window arrangement and timber elements bring a more precise line to it. Even the entrance elements feel deliberate, with wooden surfaces breaking up the white and black palette.

Across the project, the details are never forced to the front. They work through proportion and repetition. A dark window frame lines up with a curtain edge; a timber door sits beside a glass panel; an opening is shifted slightly off center so that the wall around it becomes part of the composition. Those small moves are what give this sixties villa renovation its clarity. Nothing shouts. The changes are visible because they are exact.

Interior rooms shaped by openings, not decoration

The living spaces rely on openings rather than ornament. A corner window near the sofa, a horizontal recess above another opening, a side window bringing light from the left: each element changes the room without crowding it. The furniture remains modest in profile, which lets the window geometry stay visible. Even the curtains are chosen to sit lightly at the edges of the frame instead of masking it. That restraint is what allows the room to feel open without becoming visually empty.

There is also a clear continuity between inside and outside. The glass doors and larger panes make the garden feel close, while the muted interior palette keeps attention on shadow, reflection and surface. That is where this home renovation is most convincing: it treats the original villa as something to refine, not replace. The retained details, the steel-look windows, the wood profiles and the afrormosia garage door all speak the same language, but each in its own register.

Photographs by Buro Bonito.

Related: renovation portfolio, window and frame projects, garage door details.