When São Paulo natives Nicholas Beggs and Joyce Prestes made an offer on a somewhat run-down and narrow house near the city’s financial district, they had no hesitations about their choice. Its location was ideal—on a quiet street in Vila Madalena, an artsy residential enclave—and its 1,000-square-foot backyard was larger than any they’d seen in the area. They had no hesitation about their next steps either, which involved bringing on Arkitito, an award-winning local architecture firm, to transform the property into their ideal home.

“They are really original architects, so it was always my dream to buy a house and have them work on the project,” says Joyce, a content strategist at a tech multinational. The fact that the studio’s founders, Chantal and Tito Ficarellii, are Nicholas’s cousins helped seal the deal.

But familial bonds and professional admiration aside, both Joyce and Nicholas had clear instructions for the architects. “One of the main things we discussed with them is to have an integrated space and more natural light,” says Nicholas, a metallurgical engineer. “The house was very compartmentalized, with lots of rooms and walls, and we wanted to see more of the backyard from inside.”

The renovations to the 2,400-square-foot, three-story structure were extensive. Walls were torn down, windows were expanded, and bathrooms were relocated. Except for a few restored elements, including a beautiful star-patterned parquet floor in what is now the home office, and the distinctive cracked tile demarcating a patio in the backyard, every surface is new. At street level, on a downslope, is a garage and storage room; the second floor holds the aforementioned office plus a spacious, open-plan living and dining area integrated with a single-row kitchen overlooking the garden in the back; the top floor has three bedrooms.

In the living area, the architects created an extension by making use of what was once a narrow side passage into the garden. This addition features a row of skylights with views of the surrounding treetops.

“We had a special intention to add life to the space; beyond using colors, it meant bringing nature into the house, through openings to the garden and the sky,” says Arkitito’s Larissa Ragaini, who led the project together with Chantal Ficarelli.

Speaking of colors, Joyce and Nicholas wanted to make bold hues a focal point of their home, and the architects—well-known for their color expertise—were more than happy to oblige.

Bright yellows and deep, grayish blues are predominant shades, the latter seen in the kitchen cabinets and the primary bathroom, and the former, to striking effect, in the built-in shelves in the living area, as well as a powder room and the staircase leading to the bedrooms.

“We took care to bring the joyous personalities of the residents into the house, hence the name ‘Joy House,’ which is also a play on Joyce’s name,” says Ragaini.

Outdoors, there are pops of red, specifically a reddish maroon that covers the front gate and the garden’s side walls. “A lot of renovations today have so much white and gray, and we wanted to run away from that,” says Joyce. “We really wanted color; I think the architects were excited about this.”

Working with cousins turned out so well that the couple decided to collaborate with additional family members. They called another cousin, Olívia Uliano, to design the garden, now filled with fruit trees, and an aunt, Inês Aquino, owner of Design Brazil Mobiliário, to supply many of the furnishings.

These days, family and friends are frequent guests at the Joy House. “Because we have this open space and the backyard, people can be all over the house and we can still see and talk with everybody,” says Joyce. “It’s a really amazing and comfortable house.”

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Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Arkitito / @arkitito

Builder/General Contractor: Domenge Construtora

Structural and Civil Engineer: Domenge Construtora

Landscape Design: Olı́via Uliano

Interior Design: Arkitito and Inês Aquino, Design Brazil Mobiliário

Cabinetry Design/Installation: Made Marchi Marcenaria

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They Call It the Joy House—and It Lives Up to Its Name