5 Façades Before And After: Amazing Transformations!

Izelle du Pisanie Izelle du Pisanie
The Gables, Patalab Architecture Patalab Architecture Modern houses
Loading admin actions …

Time is our friend in many aspects of life but everyone succumbs to it and it can be a cruel enemy, especially if we talk about our house! The passage of time coupled with climate change, passing trends or simply the lack of proper maintenance can make a house decay in appearance, the material can lose its strength and aesthetic value, the colour can fade away, or spaces can become dysfunctional. In these cases, the solution is to call an architect or architects and leave the appearance and strength of your home in their hands, they will know what to do!

Usually, the façade is the site to which priority is given when it comes to renovating or remodelling a home – it is the face of our home. Not only to others but to ourselves as well. Whether we see a façade as cute, charming and colourful or dirty, dishevelled and broken, can either inspire or sour the mood in an instant!

In this Ideabook, homify presents a small selection of houses where the ingenuity of the designers and the expectations of the inhabitants in the renovation of these house's façades gave new life, a new breath, a second chance to reflect the true personality of their owners.

You will be amazed at the great changes that a series of strokes on an existing canvas can achieve…  

1. Before: A green façade

A one storey house which only distinctive characteristic is its colour and which, incidentally, is already faded, dirty and dull badly needs a change – it is urgent!

Located in Veracruz, this home displays some aesthetic intention to respect the garden space in front of it and to incorporate a bright colour into a neutral place. However, deterioration in the humid climate of the region, the rusted parts, rusty deck and the uneven fence without a noteworthy design all indicate that this house needs a hand… an experienced hand and a new life!

After: High and clear

Neutral Architects, in Orizaba, Veracruz, achieved a dramatic change in the above seen green house. For starters, they added a level for it to become a two storey house, removed the visibly wasted garden and transformed it into a small parking bay perfect for a compact car, a high planter, and a staircase leading to the main entrance where a dark wood door adjacent to a window receives guests kindly. 

The façade consists of a series of planes and angles that are hidden at different depths below the two volumes which shelter and protect each space. Two balconies extend from the second floor, which integrate the environments and connect the inside with the outside, whilst ensuring controlled ventilation. Quite a change!

2. Before: An abandoned garage

Everyone wants to live in London! For this reason, housing density had become an issue, affected by the increasing volume of residents and less and less space to devote to residential use. Spaces previously used as workshops, garages, or industrial warehouses are being renovated and re-used as residential buildings, and this is a clear example of that trend. 

In the midst of an industrial area, a garage which had once been used as a mechanical workshop is now abandoned, dirty, unkempt, and not at all functional… how uninspiring! A change in its image and the distribution of its interior could do very well, right? Those responsible for this change were Patalab Architecture. 

After: A spectacular apartment

The change is simply amazing! Who could thought that after the faded and abandoned façade in the previous photo we could find this? a light-filled modern design and colour. The façade is covered with brown and tan bricks, amid which a large window dazzles. The asymmetric gabled roof is surprising as it breaks with the classic style of the buildings, for its bold silhouette. The yard is a spacious, clean and bright place, where the brightness of the interior reflect the warmth of a home. Now, this is a home the owners really want!

3. Before: A grim façade

This is the rear of a residence located in Hermosillo, Sonora. While the structure of the building does not appear deteriorated or abandoned, the design itself suffered in the sense that it is old-fashioned, dark and heavy due to the classical columns supporting a very low ceiling. This limits ventilation and results in a terrace that is deceiving in that it should be spacious and bright, but it is not. 

It would take a big step to make way for modernity…

After: A façade of another world!

The façade, garden and the backyard in general changed completely! The previously confined and dark terrace is opened to a height that releases the visual space and increases ventilation. The columns has been removed, which allows for a natural flow between environments. The BBQ area was removed and rebuild in contemporary style to adapt to the new layout. The area once occupied by grass and unused is changed into a courtyard with a swimming pool, on which we find a magnificent floating bar and game room surrounded by windows. 

An outdated and opaque patio has become a multifunctional space with a pool, courtyard, garden, terrace, BBQ, bar and games room, where you'll have amazing view from every spot. How wonderful!

This great design was made possible by the architect Juan Luis Fernandez. 

4. Before: A façade of fear

We find this structure in the beautiful city of Puebla. It constitutes an area of a few square meters which could well accommodate a family if it were in a good condition. At first glance we can see the deterioration of the building materials: walls in disrepair and damaged by salt, useless corrugated iron roof sheets, floors broken up to a discoloured pulp, no doors… Well, what a horror story! This is until Nonwarp, architects from Puebla, got down to work. 

After: Style and glamour

Thanks to the intervention of the architects, the house was renovated not only in its façade, but also in its spaces, making it an expanded loft – very cosy, bright and functional. The second level rooms have view to the outside thanks to a number of modern and gleaming windows. The top volume is a large, bright space now, and the front yard is gradually restored, to adapt to the new style on the second floor. The addition of light and colour has brought new life to the place, the materials have been renovated and the house reborn!

5. Before: A house without personality

This before picture is of the façade of a subdivided house: much like the others, with an opaque colour, without life, where the gates, tiles and half-timbered pedestrian access are all nice touches, but which had failed to inspire in this specific combination. This house urges you to inject your own personality, and for that Cenit, architects in Mazatlan, got down to work. 

After: Colourful and radiant

Now we find a house that looks different from its neighbours, which reflects the tastes and personality of its inhabitants, shown here clear and bright, inviting all to touch the textures of stone and the pedestrian access on the wall of the second floor. The horizontal and geometric design of the doors fit perfectly into the geometric shapes of the wall of the pedestrian access and the garage. The lights by the door and next to the window on the second level reflect on the pink stone, creating subtle highlights and shadow play on the surface. Surely this is a spectacular change full of personality!

What do you like about these changes? No doubt the ingenuity of designers combined with the needs and tastes of the owners produced incredible works of art, magnificent pieces of functional architecture and, of course, aesthetic and beautiful homes!

If you're in the mood for beautiful homes, you'll definitely enjoy: A Glowing Villa Full of Charm.

Need help with your home project?
Get in touch!

Highlights from our magazine