Favorites

The kitchen features a marble backsplash and a precisely placed window. The floors and internal walls are also crafted from clay and concrete.

Steps lead down the sloped site from the patio to the pool, allowing the home to “drape” over the topography.

The pinewood bedhead is attached to the wall and is made of a piece of selvedge left over from the kitchen workbench.

The kitchen was the first room to be modernised and revealed some surprises, including the arched stone wall.

Towering bamboo plants conceal a cedar deck with a sunken redwood hot tub from California Hot Tubs.

The detached, one-bedroom guest house is smaller in size but comes full equipped. "Overall, these two buildings could offer a unique setting for creatives,

What used to be the driveway is now a private side patio where the family regularly eats dinner. Ikea chairs join a table the couple made themselves.

At Las Rocas, architect Ignacio Urquiza and interior designer Ana Paula de Alba sought to integrate nature as much as possible—allowing existing rock formations to define the space complemented by minimalist design elements.

At Las Rocas, you always have two views: the lake and the rocks, which was the impetus for erasing the corners of the home. “The corner openings were a must for this project, because they really connect you to the outside,” says architect Ignacio Urquiza.

Architect Ignacio Urquiza explains that in Valle de Bravo, everyone has two living rooms, an interior and exterior. “You spend the whole year in the exterior because of the weather, even if it’s raining. All the interior spaces become abandoned. We wanted to erase the interior one. With the design of the windows, it would turn into the exterior façade. That was an important part of the project.”

The courtyard and open-air kitchen are the home’s hub, where Ernesto’s guests can convene for meals he prepares using local ingredients. “There is an incredible amount of produce in the area. It’s the simple things,” he says. Ellen designed the table and benches, which are surrounded by plantings added to the property.

The tower has a sunken ground-floor suite, which allows for a higher ceiling and helps it stay cool, as does the window facing the pool. “The wind passes over it and brings in fresh air,” Yektajo says. “This is how pools are built in the Middle East.”