The ground is parched and dusty in the old quarter of San Antonio de Areco as we pull into Julián Benedit Prebisch and Micaela Suide’s home for an asado, or Argentine barbecue. All is quiet except for buzzing bees and chirping cicadas.

The couple’s life in Argentina’s rural Pampas region is a far cry from the bustle they left behind in Buenos Aires. Julián, an artist, and Micaela, a textile designer, had been living in the capital when the Covid pandemic struck in early 2020. Later that year, their son, Florian, was born, and they started to feel claustrophobic in the city.

When lockdown restrictions were relaxed that September they began to escape to Santa Coloma, a small Pampas town less than two hours north of the city, where Julián’s family has a weekend home. On the way, they would often stop in San Antonio de Areco to stock up on fuel and provisions, then linger over lunch and explore the neighborhood’s 18th-century old quarter and colonial residences.

The couple soon began to fantasize about living in the countryside town. “It’s one of the most traditional towns of the Buenos Aires province,” says Mica. “It’s very special—all of the gaucho traditions are still there. There’s such a lovely culture of old bars and artists.”

Mica and Julián wanted something old and full of character but soon realized that finding a historic house that had its original features within their budget wouldn’t be easy. Still, a house with a garden would be much more attainable in San Antonio de Areco than in the capital. So they searched for months until they found a home they both agreed on. But it wasn’t without its problems.

Locked up for 12 years, the early-20th-century property was at the center of an ongoing inheritance wrangle between 30 estranged heirs. It was a casa chorizo—a colonial housing type characterized by a rectangular facade and a succession of rooms that open to an internal patio—with a rear garden and preserved period details. The couple’s real estate agent warned them it would be a herculean task to get the family to come to an agreement. “It was like being in a film—the thirty heirs who weren’t talking to each other, with their respective lawyers,” says Julian with a laugh, recounting the moment they finally negotiated a price and met up to sign the deeds. “But we made it in the end.”

“We saw the space we could have here—in Buenos Aires, it would be impossible.”
—Julián Benedit Prebisch, resident

Despite not having been lived in for more than a decade, the house “was in great shape,” Julián says, noting its original pine and ceramic-tile floors. The couple worked with architects Vanessa Cordoba and Verónica Azcona to preserve those details while updating the living space. “We replaced a few of the beams which were rotten and moved around a few of the windows and doors but not much else,” Julián adds. “It was essentially the plumbing and electrics which needed an overhaul. We had a surprise with the roof, which we discovered we had to redo. That was…painful,” he says, laughing again. “But we covered the existing roof with a new one.”

“A living room overlooking the garden excited us most.”
—Julián Benedit Prebisch

The traditional Argentine farmhouse takes up 3,767 square feet of the plot’s roughly one-quarter acre. The rest includes a courtyard and a sizable rear patio and garden, where Julián and Mica built a pool with the last remnants of their budget. From the street, an arched, dual-pane door gives way to a long, narrow entry hall. On one side, a guest room doubles as Mica’s studio and showroom, exhibiting designs from her textile brand, Agave: A grand vintage bed is made up with one of her bedspreads, and her hand-dyed kimonos and jackets hang on display on a rail. Opposite is Florian’s bedroom and en suite bathroom, the latter replete with handmade glazed tiles by Buenos Aires designers Noi Estudio.

Through another arched, dual-pane glass door, the narrow walkway opens to a wider corridor where the left wall is two-tone: pastel pink and brick brown divided by a bold, Klein-blue horizontal strip. To the right, there is a sizable patio. At the rear is the capacious dining/living room, with a long, English oak dining table that was originally owned by a local tailor, and Thonet chairs that were a wedding present to Mica’s parents more than 50 years ago. An imposing work by Julián hangs above the table, a painted cowhide with copper. Both the living room and the adjacent open-plan kitchen connect to the rear garden; the latter also leads out to the central courtyard.

“The idea was to live in an old house and make [the details] noticeable.”
—Julián Benedit Prebisch

Throughout the house, wardrobes, cupboards, and custom cabinets were made to order by a semiretired nonagenarian carpenter, whose name Mica won’t divulge despite my insistence. The rest of the furniture is vintage, found online and at flea markets.

The project took two years, and the family finally moved in in February 2023, but it continues to be a work in progress. “We love everything about the house,” says Julián. “We made such an effort to make it welcoming. We use the fireplace in the winter. In summer, we sleep with the windows wide open.”

He and Mica hope to cultivate the rear patio and garden and are eagerly waiting for the internal courtyard plants to flourish and take center stage. We have our asado from a temporary makeshift grill on the patio, but Julián tells me he’s looking forward to building a formal parrilla using recycled bricks from a hen roost in the yard that they dismantled. Hopefully, I’ll be invited back for its inauguration.

Project Credits:

Architecture: Vanessa Cordoba and Verónica Azcona

Lighting: Huup and Griscan

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