Calle Azahar, a renovated Andalusian villa with four bedrooms, a private spa, a heated pool and a lower-level apartment, in El Paraíso.

An Andalusian villa from 1989, fully renovated, on a 1,110 m² plot in El Paraíso: a terracotta-tiled roof, whitewashed walls and its signature arched porches, with 345 m² of living space over two floors in total: the main floor, with the living areas and bedrooms, and the lower level, where the self-contained apartment and the private spa sit.

The renovation has brought the interior fully up to date, with herringbone wood floors, high ceilings and light coming in from everywhere. The living and dining rooms share a single space beneath a vaulted, white-painted wood-beamed ceiling, the dining table set under a statement chandelier, and glass doors that fold back onto the pool terrace: in summer, inside and outside work as one room.

The living area has several corners to it. The main sitting area gathers around a stone wall that integrates the fireplace and the television, and an arched picture window frames the garden like a painting, with a pair of armchairs placed to look at it. A second, quieter sitting room has its own linear fireplace and works as a TV or reading room when a more intimate mood is wanted.

The kitchen is a room of its own, not a corner of the living room: floor-to-ceiling dark cabinetry, ovens and a coffee machine integrated at eye level, a marble-topped island with a fluted timber front and seating, and a bar with stools facing the garden window for everyday breakfasts.

The four bedrooms each have their own en-suite bathroom and their own look, from calm, neutral-toned suites to more playful guest rooms. The main bedroom is a generous suite with a freestanding bath in view and an upholstered headboard wall; there are floor-to-ceiling fitted wardrobes, another bedroom has a work corner by the window, and several open onto the garden through large sliding glass doors, with lawn and banana plants on the other side. In total, six bathrooms.

The lower level works almost as a second home: a self-contained apartment, connected to the main house, suited to guests, family or staff. On the same level sits the spa area: a light-timber sauna with a starlit ceiling, a mosaic-tiled Turkish bath with built-in benches, and a gym with a mirrored wall, a treadmill and a rowing machine, among others. A small private club beneath the house, without leaving it.

Outside, the mature garden, enclosed by tall hedges with palms, pines, cypresses and lawns, wraps around the house and gives the whole plot real seclusion. The pool is heated, with entry steps and underwater lighting, and the jacuzzi sits apart on the lawn, among banana plants with the lit facade behind.

The arched porch has room for outdoor dining and for a sofa area beside the pool loungers. A little further on, the thatched-roof pavilion, with its white timber structure and integrated lighting, holds a fully equipped outdoor kitchen, with a gas grill, fridges and a sink, and its own dining area: summer meals happen without going indoors. The car stays under cover, with two spaces.

El Paraíso is one of the most established residential areas on the Costa del Sol, between Marbella and Estepona. Built up mainly in the eighties and nineties around its golf course, it keeps leafy plots and quiet streets, with more privacy than the busier parts of the coast. The villa is close to the El Paraíso golf club, supermarkets and restaurants, and the beach clubs are on the coast road. By car, Puerto Banús is about twelve minutes away, Estepona, with its old town and marina, a quarter of an hour, and central Marbella under half an hour.

This is a house that is lived outdoors: once the garden lighting is on, the pool, the porch and the pavilion remain the centre of the home as the evening comes in.