La Braina Renovations and History
The exposed area of the floor in the living room is the original floor dating back to about 1680, the same as the street in front. The hand-made tile floor now there was installed later, in 1780.

The ceiling was raised to a higher level when The Spanish occupied Uruguay. This is obvious, when observing the change in the construction of the wall.


The exterior walls of the house are 80 cm deep. In the living room, there were concave places for the Virgin Mary, which were filled in. The wall shared with Posada Plaza Mayor had numerous holes drilled in the length of the wall, with a diamond bit.


In the small room the ceiling is new. The statues in the living room were bought in a Jesuit mission in Argentina, as were the other pieces of furniture in that room.


The only “original” ceiling in the house is in the office. The round palm trunks used for rafters were cut locally. The sheeting on top of these beams came from the deck of a ship which transported the first settlers.


The orange Spanish Tiles on the roof of the office are mostly original, and were molded on the thighs of the slaves brought from Africa by the Portuguese, for labor for the construction of the city.


The Living room and front bedroom furniture, as well as the wooden wall decorations are from the Jesuit missions in Argentina, and were made by Indians who worked for the church. This furniture dates to the 1870’s and was purchased, one piece at a time, by the previous owner. The owner was assisted by two archeologists and an architect.


The bed in the front bedroom is Portuguese. The wooden angels on the wall were bought in Argentina. The west wall in the front bedroom is new.


The wooden interior doors are new. The hinges and other hardware in the house was made by a famous French Argentine hardware store. The chandeliers in the living room and front bedroom also were crafted in this place.


Three different types of wood were used to build the staircase to the upper bedroom by Curupay, Lapacho, and quebracho’.


At the time of the restoration, the area of the stairway was all open, with only a ladder open to the upper level. The very weathered beams above the stairwell are railroad ties (not original). The woodwork in this area is mostly made from recycled old wood.


The kitchen was added in 1990. The tall china cabinet was brought from Austria. In the garden, the stairway outdoors leading to the upper terraces are made from a wood called Lapacho.


The fig tree in the garden is said to be 300 years old. It was quite deteriorated at the time of the restoration. A horticulturist friend of the owner came periodically and doctored the tree.
The garden shed was constructed in 1990.