![Casa Santa Teresa by Amelia Tavella](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/casa-santa-teresa-corsica-holiday-home-interiors-amelia-tavella_dezeen_hero-3-852x479.jpg)
Casa Santa Teresa is a Corsican holiday home with unspoilt ocean views
Amelia Tavella Architects has transformed a ruined 1950s residence on Corsica's coastline into a light-filled holiday home with simply furnished interiors.
Casa Santa Teresa is located near Corsica's capital, Ajaccio, and is nestled along the Route des Sanguinaires – a rugged strip of coastline dotted with villas and upscale hotels.
The 400-square-metre house was originally built in the 1950s but had been abandoned for several years, becoming overgrown with wild vegetation.
![Casa Santa Teresa by Amelia Tavella](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/casa-santa-teresa-corsica-holiday-home-interiors-amelia-tavella_dezeen_2364_col_8-852x568.jpg)
To transform it into a comfortable home for holiday-goers, architect Amelia Tavella had to completely gut the structure and demolish a majority of the partition walls.
"It had to be rebuilt without leaving behind vestiges of the past: its soul, its spirit," said Tavella, who hails from Corsica and leads her own self-titled practice.
![Casa Santa Teresa by Amelia Tavella](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/casa-santa-teresa-corsica-holiday-home-interiors-amelia-tavella_dezeen_2364_col_14-852x1278.jpg)
Inside, there is now an open-plan living area. At its centre is a tan-brown chesterfield sofa, along with a couple of cane-back armchairs.
"I've chosen to honour the illustrious holiday Mediterranean resorts, by reinterpreting its codes using noble and natural materials," Tavella told Dezeen.
![Casa Santa Teresa by Amelia Tavella](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/casa-santa-teresa-corsica-holiday-home-interiors-amelia-tavella_dezeen_2364_col_16-852x1278.jpg)
A chunky white plinth runs around one side of the room, forming an L-shaped bench seat for the dining area.
It's topped by an array of striped, turquoise and burnt-orange cushions, which boldly contrast against the otherwise white-painted surfaces.
![Casa Santa Teresa by Amelia Tavella](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/casa-santa-teresa-corsica-holiday-home-interiors-amelia-tavella_dezeen_2364_col_2-852x1278.jpg)
String pendant lamps that boast peach and red bands of colour have also been suspended from the ceiling.
A vaulted doorway then leads through to a study, where a desk has been built into an arched niche in the wall.
![Casa Santa Teresa by Amelia Tavella](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/casa-santa-teresa-corsica-holiday-home-interiors-amelia-tavella_dezeen_2364_col_30-852x1278.jpg)
Keen to ensure that "interior and exterior are never untied", Tavella has fronted this level of the home with a trio of timber-framed glass doors.
These can be pivoted to access to an outdoor terrace that has unspoilt vistas of the Gulf of Ajaccio.
![Casa Santa Teresa by Amelia Tavella](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/casa-santa-teresa-corsica-holiday-home-interiors-amelia-tavella_dezeen_2364_col_13-852x568.jpg)
The same style of door features in the master bedroom – there are another four on-site – where the bed frame is surrounded by gauzy white curtains.
The adjacent bathroom has been finished with pearl-coloured tiles and arched mirrors, echoing the form of the doorway in the downstairs study.
An alfresco dining area and heated plunge pool can also be found at ground level.
![Casa Santa Teresa by Amelia Tavella](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2020/03/casa-santa-teresa-corsica-holiday-home-interiors-amelia-tavella_dezeen_2364_col_12-852x1278.jpg)
This isn't the only project that Amelia Tavella Architects has completed in Corsica – back in 2018, it completed a school in the island's Corse-du-Sud region.
Slotted between two century-old trees, the building is crafted from stones and battens of pinewood.
Photography is by Thibaut Dini.