Casa Velasco: choosing to buy and renovate a house in Colombia

Casa Velasco: how I bought, designed and remodeled a 162 m² house, from kitchen sketches to the finished work.

If you plan to buy and renovate a house in Colombia, Casa Velasco offers a look at the process. It is a two-story, 162 m² house that I bought, designed, remodeled, and managed through construction. The work was completed in 2025. As both owner and architect, I could follow the renovation from start to finish. The kitchen shows that process most clearly: it went from a pencil sketch to a finished kitchen in wood and stone that looks almost exactly like the drawing.

The first kitchen sketch

The first decision was to open up the kitchen and organize it around two features. On one side was a column that would remain visible. In front, a slat frame would extend up the wall and turn across the ceiling, framing the kitchen, with an island in the center. At that stage, no materials had been chosen. The sketch was simply about how the space would look from the dining room.

Developing the sketch

The next sketch introduced the materials: stone on the column, wood for the slat frame and cabinetry, a white island, and the large window at the back. This is the drawing that guides construction decisions, and it should be ready before demolition begins. With the sketch on the table, there is time to discuss where the island goes or how far the wood frame extends. Those discussions do not cost materials or days on site.

The finished kitchen in wood and stone

Put the sketch beside the photo, and the kitchen looks almost the same. The column is clad in stacked stone, the slat frame sits where it was drawn, and the island has its white countertop. The LED strips inside the wood frame were not in the sketch.

For anyone looking for a before-and-after comparison, the “before” in this article is the design process, rather than the old house. The images show how the kitchen was planned and how it was built.

Living room, terrace, and staircase

The renovation continued through the rest of the house. In the living room, a green wall is the main feature.

The terrace has a pergola with metal slats, wood-look flooring, a vertical garden, an outdoor dining area, and a grill. It became another dining space for the house, outdoors.

A pendant light hangs over the staircase.

Should you buy and renovate a house in Colombia?

It depends on what you find in the structure and the plumbing and wiring, and on how much you want to change. A house with a sound structure and systems that can be repaired leaves more of the budget for visible improvements, such as the kitchen, bathrooms, or terrace. A house that needs structural reinforcement or entirely new plumbing and wiring can cost almost as much as building new.

At Casa Velasco, the total cost, including the purchase, came to around COP 570 million. That figure combines the price of the house with the construction work, so it cannot serve as a renovation budget for another home. I was also both owner and architect, a different position from someone who buys a house and hires a professional.

The useful lesson from this case is the sequence: buy with a clear idea of what you want to change, draw it before touching a wall, and have one person responsible for both design and construction. If you are considering a house to buy and renovate, first read the guide to renovating a house in Colombia, where I explain permits, historic centers, and the order of work.

You can find more photos on the Casa Velasco project page. If you have a house in mind or have already bought one, tell me what you want to change or request a quote.