In the United States, it is rare to find a building over a hundred years old in many places … in some places, though, a 15th-Century structure is simply an everyday thing left over from times past.


The real beauty in such a richly-aged property, at least to those of us living in ‘newer’ countries, is already built into the weathered stacked-stone walls and rough-hewn timber supports. So what is an architect or interior designer to do?

Keep it simple, like FormZone did in this remodel – do anything but too much. The outer walls were left relatively untouched, and inner additions made plain (bleached wood and white paint), letting the building speak for itself.


A sublime array of visual rhythms are set up by layered pieces of physical history set alongside otherwise-boring white walls and ceilings. Castle-like staircases carve space between floors, rocky walls sit across from flat drywall, and out every squared-off kitchen, living room or bedroom window (and reflected in any bathroom mirror) is a framed piece of natural mountain scenery or pretty, rustic, small-town architecture.