If you scroll through property listings in Portugal, you’ll find numerous stone ruins that are ripe for renovation. Such was the case with this rustic stone house, originally built in 1925. It sits on 960 square meters of agricultural land in the historic town of Belmonte, mostly populated by olive trees. It has been owned by the same family for 20 years—yet sat vacant for 15 years of that time.

In 2015, the family approached Filipe Pina and Maria Inês Costa of the firm Filipe Pina Arquitectura for a rebuild. “The goal was to rehabilitate a family home and build with a minimal investment,” says Pina. “The challenge was to control the demanding budget with a simple and flexible program.” They accomplished their goal with a budget of just €105,000 (about $116,213).

After the original stone shell was rehabilitated, the firm removed a one-story annex that had been built in the 1950s and replaced it with a two-story volume tucked under the extended roofline. The roof was then rebuilt with ceramic roof tile.

The new floor plan is optimized for flexible use. On the ground floor, there is a combined living area with a powder bath, as well as an en-suite bedroom. Upstairs, there is another open living space and a second en-suite bedroom. In the rear of the building, a third en-suite bedroom is accessed only by an exterior door, making it possible to use that area for sleeping, working, storage, or rental. “At this moment, the house can be a vacation house, a permanent house, or in the future, a guest house,” says Pina.

The streamlined interior palette combines concrete, wood detailing, and simple white walls to adhere to the strict project budget. The firm widened the openings between rooms and lined pass-throughs in wood, which conveys a sense of warmth and luxury. Attention to detail—such as door framing done in exposed plywood end-grain forming a herringbone pattern—creates a sense of surprise and discovery as one moves through the home.

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Project Credits:

Architecture: Filipe Pina Arquitectura / @fp_architectures + Maria Inês Costa

Builder: Leonido & Filhos, Lda

Structural and Civil Engineer: Ricardo Pereira

Landscape Design: Filipe Pina + Maria Inês Costa

Lighting Design: Filipe Pina + Maria Inês Costa

Interior Design: Filipe Pina + Maria Inês Costa

Styling: Maria João Correia

Furniture: Miljö

Photography: Joao Morgado Architecture Photography

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