KEEPING THE FAMILY SECRET

摘要

A LEAFY COUNTRYSIDE RETREAT in Jarinu, an hour outside Sao Paulo, had long provided solace and stimulation for Viveka Kaitila. As one of two residences on a property that's been in her family for 40-odd years, it's the site of countless happy memories-climbing trees, visiting the neighbors-from her childhood. But since her parents returned to their native Finland, the homes had sat neglected for decades. Still, it only took them mentioning selling to make Kaitila hit the brakes. In 2018, her parents transferred the deed to Kaitila's name, and she hired designer Maria Augusta "Guta" Louro to oversee the restoration. "I didn't want it to change so much that I wouldn't recognize it as a space where I spent my childhood," Kaitila says, "and this is what [Louro] managed to capture: the history and the energy of what the house used to be." Without changing the structure or footprint, a conservation-minded build-out saw the 861-square-foot main residence modernized with new roofing, updated electrical, a modified layout that created two extra bathrooms (one en suite), and a dedicated laundry area.