Marble details offset the traditional features of this 19th-century house near Paris, which has been renovated by Spanish studio 05 AM Arquitectura.

The Girona-based architects were asked to refurbish Maison à Colombages for a couple and their two young children.

The aim was to add a contemporary aesthetic to the traditional layout and original features of the house located in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés.

All of the ornate ceiling and wall mouldings, as well as timber beams, were restored and painted off-white, and a series of monochrome marble accents added.

These include a white table with a wooden understand that stretches the full length of the dining room, a grey volume housing the bath and shower, and a black hearth for the fireplace.

To improve natural lighting, the architects also removed a section of wall separating the kitchen from the rest of the living spaces.

"We selected the remarkable elements of the house so that the intervention can be adapted to them following the unity of the whole house to improve its functionality," said 05AM Arquitectura.

"On the ground floor we removed part of the existing partition so we could connect the main living areas such as the living room, the dining room and the kitchen, achieving a concatenation of spaces until the garden," they continued.

The kitchen is fitted with simple white cabinets and dark wooden counters, and has a large window that offers plenty of light and views to the garden.

A second dining space has a rustic wooden table at its centre. A wooden staircase in a similar style, leads to the first floor, where the master bedroom is located.

A dressing room set to its rear features walls floors, doors and mouldings painted in a mottled grey that is intended to highlight the streaks in the marble bathtub and shower.

Children's bedrooms occupy the other side of this floor, with beds set into small alcoves in the brightly coloured walls.

The rest of the interiors spaces features light-painted walls and pale wooden flooring, which create a pared-back aesthetic.

Other recently updated buildings from this era include a flat with a multifaceted wooden volume housing two shower rooms and an apartment with multicoloured flooring and space-saving stairs.

Photography is by Adrià Goula Sardà.

Project credits:

Architects: Joan Arnau Farràs and Carme Muñoz Ramírez
Project team: Júlia Esteve Serra, Laura Rodrigo Olivé and Nicolas Bouche