These are pictures of the old carpentry workshop in the main street – Calle Ronda. La Antigua Carpintería was converted for residential living after it had been a workhouse for many centuries.
Before work began it had been abandoned for five years and was in a very poor and dangerous condition. One floor was close to collapse, the roof had dropped in the centre and was precariously shored up by timber props.
Even in this forlorn state it contained beautiful features such as old ceramic flooring, Arabic plasterwork and archways leading into the various rooms, a very old and wonderful balcony of intricate ironwork and four floors of liveable space with views from the front and back.
Such old houses in Spain contain Moorish influences and often the houses are inter-connected, what is called ‘casadas’ – married. For instance, the basement level extends outwards to under the neighbour’s bedroom and the bedroom in the basement goes underneath another neighbour’s living room. The walls are solid stone and roughly 1 metre wide.
I designed and led the restoration on this property as well as made all the woodwork. The house took two years to restore and is very colourful. Entrance is gained from the main street via a grand double-Spanish doorway, or a smaller oak side door. There are three bedrooms with double beds, a spacious kitchen with marble worktops, gas cooker, a huge bathroom with a bath, two showers and a ladies corner.
The basement area is also very spacious and has a library, front room with fireplace, table, chairs, day bed and a bedroom to the side with a vaulted ceiling – bovedad. The French doors at the far end, on the precipice of the rock ledge, open out onto a terrace that faces an uninterrupted view of the mountains and the setting sun. The terrace is in full sunlight from midday.
In the attic room there is also a doorway onto a roof terrace that enjoys full sunlight and a view of the overhanging castle – particularly beautiful at night under spotlight.
The wooden beams in the house floor construction are the rare Pinsapo trees with intriguing grains, felled at a time when the local environment provided for everything and wasn’t protected by conservation laws. Across the beams are laid Spanish cane – caña – that grows profusely along riverbanks, up to 3 – 4 metres high and rustles in the wind like a tambourine. A wonderful plant.