5 lessons I learned from converting houses into colivings

What really happens when you take traditional, canarian houses and try to turn them into colivings for digital nomads and remote workers from all over the world?

It’s one thing to design a beautiful space. It’s another to fill it with life, laughter, and a sense of belonging. After converting three houses into coliving spaces, these are the lessons that shaped absolutely, everything.

Where it all began

The first coliving started in the house where I grew up with my family.

When the world shut down during the pandemic, I flew back to Tenerife, still working remotely for Expedia and living alone in the house I grew up in. The island was quiet, and for the first time in years, so was I. Somewhere in that stillness, I realised I did not want to go back to corporate life. Anyways, I’ll leave it up to this blog to explain why I swapped Expedia for Cactus Coliving.

I took a risk instead. A few rooms, some paint, and an idea to share the house with people working remotely like me. And that is how Cactus Coliving, began. 

Each coliving space I’ve built since has taught me something new, about people, about community, and about what really makes a house feel like a ‘home away from home’. 

In this blog, I’ll walk you through the five lessons that guided Cactus to become what it is today.

Get yourself a coffee and enjoy <3

Lesson 1: The building decides the kind of community you’ll have

Back in 2021, I thought community came from family dinners, weekly activities, and the colivers who arrived. Fast forward to 2025, I learned something much simpler: the house itself shapes how people connect.

Valle San Lorenzo: Where people cross paths

When you open our green gate in Valle, the house already feels alive. Someone might be doing yoga in the garden, someone meditating, or a coliver coming back from a run to Roque de Jama with a cheerful ‘buenos días!’.

The first room is the kitchen, so it naturally became the centre of the house. A quick tea or a shared snack often turns into weekend plans.

From there, the layout guides you through the old wine cellar, the rooftop and the coworking that used to be a dance hall. You keep moving, and you keep meeting people. Connection happens without trying.

La Gomera: A slower kind of connection

When you walk in, you either go upstairs to the rooms or straight into the patio. Most people choose the patio. The light and the old mango trees make it feel like the heart of the house.

The kitchen and coworking open onto the garden, so mornings naturally bring people together. And since we are right in the centre of San Sebastián, colivers often meet outside too. A walk to the bakery. A quick coffee. Sunset by the port.

Adeje: Small, steady and close

Adeje has a completely different layout. 

It is smaller and quieter, designed for people who want to stay longer (that is why the minimum stay is two months). With 6 rooms, the atmosphere feels intimate and steady, ideal for those long-term digital nomads who want routine instead of constant moving.

The shared areas are cosy and bright, and the terrace is where people spend most of the day. Being in the centre of Adeje also makes it easy to enjoy coffee shops, the gym or nature walks together. More details about this house are in our blog ‘Our new coliving in Adeje, Tenerife South: Life, work and things to do’.

Light changes the mood of the whole house

It took me a while to realise how much light shapes the way people behave. 

A bright corner can become the favourite place in the whole house without anyone planning it. In Adeje, for example, the terrace gets warm sun all day. I never told anyone to work there, but everyone naturally ended up outside because it simply felt good. Same story when it comes to our colivers working from the garden in Valle, or La Gomera.

And it actually makes sense. Research shows that natural light can increase wellbeing and productivity, so of course, people choose the sunniest spots without even thinking about it.

Almost like cats… bueno, I’m joking, but it is a little true! 

Sound affects how people feel

Sound is invisible, but it drives everything. 

A quiet corner helps people focus. A lively living room helps people meet.

In La Gomera, most rooms are upstairs, so the patio downstairs naturally becomes the social area. You hear conversations, someone cooking or working, while the upstairs stays quiet for resting.

The building tells you what to do (only, if you listen)

Before any renovation, I walk through the house slowly. And I ask myself:

→ Where do people naturally pause?

→ Is there a place that already feels social?

→ Which room feels better as a quiet space?

If I had ignored these questions, the layout of the house would have never felt right.

I didn’t design these house profiles. The houses did. Or as my mum says: “Cada casa tiene su alma” (you can translate that - bonus points if you get it right :P)

Really and truly, when the space and the energy match, guests walk in and say the same thing every time: “This feels like home.” And honestly? For me, that is the sign that the house is doing its job.

Lesson 2: Renovation costs more energy than money

People think renovation is about budgets and choosing tiles. 

Sí, money matters. But the actual cost is your energy. Renovation is like travelling with three delayed flights and a backpack that keeps opening… you survive, but you feel it.

Planning looks easy

On paper everything looks cute. 

Colours, timelines, “We will open in August”. Then reality hits. A pipe breaks. The wrong material arrives. A wall decides to surprise you. And hey, these things drain you more than the actual invoicing work :p 

Execution tests your patience

Renovation teaches you to breathe, count to ten and breathe. Workers wait for answers. You repeat the same instructions ten times. 

Some days you feel like a boss. Other days… like you should just move to Bali.

People are the real challenge

You do not only manage construction. You manage humans. Some workers are fast. Some disappear. Some bring great ideas. Others bring headaches.

It definitely teaches you to set limits and stay firm. Good training for hosting later, trust me.

Surprises never stop

Every house had at least one “ay dios mío” moment (or a couple, lol).

Valle. La Gomera. Adeje. Different places, same lesson. Something will always pop up. Now I see it as part of the job, not the end of the world.

People only see the final result. Cosy lights. Clean rooms. Happy family dinners. They do not see the mess, the stress, or the days when I wanted to hide under our avocado tree in Valle, or under our mango tree in la Gomera.

Renovation teaches you resilience (especially during our last renovation of the kitchen in Valle!) You keep showing up even when everything looks like chaos. And in the end, you’re the only person who knows the house better than anyone. Right?

Lesson 3: The first guests shape everything

Your first guests teach you what no plan ever can. 

They show you how people actually live and work inside the house, and those early moments shape the whole culture.

Very quickly I realised that remote workers need different types of workspaces. This is why in Valle we created an informal coworking space for chats and calls, a formal coworking for silent focus, and dedicated meeting rooms for private calls. None of this came from planning. It came from watching how people used the space and listening to what helped them feel comfortable (and of course, from the colivers’ feedback).

They also taught me the importance of having clear organisation in shared areas. Simple things like giving each room its own cupboard shelf or fridge section made daily life smoother for everyone.

And community works best when you ask, not assume. During our family dinner nights, our colivers share the activities they actually wanted. Some preferred hikes, others small workshops, others relaxed evenings in the garden. 

Those first guests set the tone. If they feel respected, safe and heard, that energy stays in the house and becomes the foundation for everyone who arrives after.

And even today, years later, I still learn from every new coliver who walks through the door. 

Lesson 4: Living with guests means learning boundaries

Living with guests in the same house has been one of the most beautiful parts of Cactus, but it also taught me how easily the line between personal and professional can disappear. In the beginning I tried to be available for everyone, all the time, and very quickly I realised that hosting this way is not healthy for me or for the community.

I learned that I need boundaries to protect my own energy. Things like having a few hours just for myself, keeping some spaces private, or saying “I will answer this later” instead of rushing into every request. These small habits keep me grounded, and they allow me to show up with more presence and kindness when I am truly available.

Boundaries make the experience better for the team, myself and the people living in the coliving.

Lesson 5: Growth only works when you stop doing everything yourself

When I started Cactus, I did absolutely everything. 

Cleaning rooms, organising activities, answering messages, fixing small problems, managing renovations… todo. At some point I realised that if I kept going like this, there was no space for Cactus to grow and no space for me to breathe.

Scaling from one coliving to three only works when you trust other people. According to Forbes, effective delegation is about building systems and giving your team the right structure so you can scale without burning out.

Letting your team take responsibility does not reduce quality. It actually protects it. When I tried to be involved in every detail, I was tired, stressed and not the version of myself I wanted the colivers to meet.

Letting go was not easy, but it allowed the houses, the brand and the community to grow in a natural way. Cactus became stronger when more hearts and more hands were involved. And I feel like I became a better founder when I stopped trying to do it all alone, a big thanks to my team of course!

Wrapping it all together

If you are thinking about starting a coliving, or you already have one and want to grow, I hope these lessons help you the way they helped me. Having a coliving is beautiful work, but it is definitely not easy work. It teaches you about people, about yourself and about all the small details that make a house feel alive.

One thing I always tell future founders is this: a coliving cannot run on autopilot. 

If you want something that runs itself, you might be more interested in opening a hostel. A real coliving needs presence, care, listening and a lot of human energy. And that is what makes it special.

Listen to your guests. Listen to your building. Protect your energy. And do not be afraid to ask for help when it is time to grow. A coliving becomes stronger when more people are part of the journey, not when you try to do everything alone.

If you feel called to create a coliving where people can live, work and connect in a meaningful way, trust that feeling. The work is absolutely worth it.

And who knows… maybe one day we will welcome you to Cactus too <3

Saludos,

Maria 🌵