Designtripper

This time last year, we were planning our big road trip to New Orleans, where we stayed in an incredible set of historic antebellum homes with beautiful antiques, a slate pool, sprawling outdoor courtyard and secret passageways. We were in the city for a mere week, which gave me the itch to come back, to stay longer, to linger. New Orleans is the kind of place you want to settle into and make friends and develop some kind of routine–preferably one that involves daily walks down streets so thick with majestic oaks they feel like tunnels and visits to Satsuma Cafe (one of the yummiest, most laid-back cafes I’ve ever been to in the United States).

A lovely homebase for all of that, 714 Nicholls is one of the more unsung spots of the Coppola collection, perhaps because it’s a standalone house, not a hotel, and you have to stay for at least 60 days. But to me, that’s its charm. This French Quarter creole cottage forces you to create a temporary residence. It gives you time to spend long hours with a book on the leafy veranda and three kitchens to make grand dinners, instead of ticking away at obligatory tourist hit lists.

Inside, the decor leans toward an eccentric French style with peeling plaster, velvet sofas and plenty of antiques, and the aesthetic spills outside onto the lush patio that  could easily pass for a hidden Parisian garden. Billed as a perfect spot for long-term creative retreats or film execs, the space can be split up, offering two distinct suites (with full kitchens), plus four additional bedrooms.

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Inspired by my good friend Lauren, who is bananas about Hawaii and always stays in some out-of-the way gem (last time it was a treehouse in the north shore of Oahu) instead of a resort,  and Designtripper’s latest sponsor, The Hawaiian Islands, I’m excited to feature what just might be the granddaddy of all Hawaiian vacation rentals. I usually think of quaint, white-washed cottages filled with tropical bamboo furniture, but that’s exactly why this modernist beauty blows my mind — it bucks every expectation. Designed by Craig Steely Architecture, The Robert Trickey house (named after the owner, an interior designer/upholsterer from San Francisco) sits high on a lava flow overlooking the ocean. It’s crazy, right? A lava flow! Look at those hearty, sculptural plantings! There’s also an open-air lanai, glass-enclosed living room, cantilevered stairs made of mango wood, and the most spectacular pool setting I have ever seen. And it gets even better–if you’re the sort who appreciates a  good backstory. But here in the land of molten lava, the landscape isn’t seen as a con; in fact, almost every aspect of the house was designed to appreciate it. Robert keeps his furniture spare and simple, so as not to compete with the otherwordly surroundings, and from the lanai at night, the red glow from the Kilauea crater is visible reflected on the clouds.

The Details
You can’t rent the entire main house, but you can rent a guest room or the full, self-contained guest house, which sleeps up to four. Prices start at $470 or $645, respectively. Says the owner, about the area/landscape: “You’ll be amazed to find such a truly heavenly and unspoiled part of Old Hawaii… lush and green, yet drier and better for outdoor activities than other parts of Puna.” Rent it at vrbo.com.

[Photos via Craig Steely Architecture; This post is sponsored by The Hawaiian Islands, where you could be Living in the Moment on Hawaii Island.]

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I have no plans to go to Andalusia anytime soon, but for the record, if I did, I’d like to stay here. Owner Alan Hazel and his partner Marc Wils bought this dreamy, rustic Andalucian farmhouse almost three years ago and spent about eight months renovating the property (George Michael was their first guest!). The same family owned and farmed these hillsides for many generations, and still maintain many of the surrounding vineyards. These days, Alan and Marc live in the Olive Grove when it isn’t rented. “It is very much our home and the renovations and upkeep a personal labor of love. We get regular visits from family and friends and we love to entertain… Christmas dinner is already planned for here with the family.”

Here, Alan gives a personal explanation about what makes the Olive Grove so special, beyond the obvious aesthetic beauty.

I fell in love with the location and the feeling of grandeur and majesty from the surrounding nature before I ever set foot in the house. I told my partner Marc that I wanted to live here when we made our first visit to see the property as soon as I stepped out of the car. The edge of the pool nearest the sea is one of my favorite places. You get a ‘top of the world’ feeling as the landscape drops away into the valley below and spreads out to the Mediterranean, while La Maroma, the imposing peak looming above and to the east at over 2000m, dominates the landscape and gives you a sense of permanence and power to balance the sea. With the enormous eucalyptus tree giving shade in the afternoon and a summer kitchen with barbecue giving shade at all times, there is always a comfortable place to take in the serenity. My favorite thing about the design of The Olive grove itself is all of the comfortable and serene indoor and outdoor spaces, each with a different feel, but all of them inviting; garden terraces surround the house (all on one level), while five reception rooms/lounges and two covered terraces ensure a luxuriously comfortable space at any time of day or night.

The courtyard is also very exciting for us. We added this ourselves and designed the planting scheme along with the pergola structures and hand selected, roughly cobblestoned flooring. Marc is the principal designer and he has carefully maintained the authentic Andalusian rustic nature of this old farmhouse, while updating and modernizing to add chic but simple luxury. I love the terra cotta floors, wood beam ceilings, the little ‘huecos’ (cubby holes built into the 20-inch-thick walls) and giant fireplaces, plus the wooden doors and windows with inside shutters. The hammam-style master bath is a standout design, also Marc’s idea, custom built and walled in with an archway to step through into the bath. The gallery walkway connecting one end of the house to the other through the courtyard is a clever design, and the indoor/outdoor combination of the drawing room and its covered terrace space makes for another of my favorite spaces. The outdoor space mirrors the indoor space and both have a fireplace, but with a plant bed growing colorful climbers up and over the natural cane roofing and many potted plants, the outdoor terrace blends beautifully from its connection with the house, to its connection with the wild landscape beyond. We have also added notable landscaping on the approach to the property so that the entrance and first impressions are a fitting welcome and inspire the importance of the place along with cohesion of design. In the same way, we have created grassy spaces near the pool and extended the gardens to complete the well-maintained, though natural feel that ties the property to the stunning surroundings and maximizes the views. All in all, what is most impressive about the design to me is this feeling of balance and cohesion that allows it to feel like a traditional and historical farm house, but at the same time a luxurious home with all modern comforts–all the while tying into the magical, imposing beauty of the surrounding landscape.

La Maroma is the name for the tallest peak in the wide region at over 2000m and looms above The Olive Grove, dominating the landscape to the east. The peak is snowy every winter while views of the African mountains across the Mediterranean are visible from the property more often. The nature reserve that contains this peak begins about 1km from the property with its pine forests and imposing rocky faces rising up majestically. The park is home to native eagles, falcons and other rare birds, mountain goats and Iberian lynx.

The Details
Sleeps eight, with possibility of two extra. Four bedrooms. Rent it at uniquehomestays.com.

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Last winter, we traveled to Sayulita to stay in designer Patrizio Fradiani’s latest vacation home stunner–a run-down house and garage he and his partner bought on a vacation-high whim and spent eight months rehabbing (he spent a week every month there, working around the clock). I couldn’t post extensively about it here, because I was on assignment, writing about it for CS Interiors. By the time it came out in print, the weather was spring-like, so I decided to wait until a Mexican getaway felt more relevant. I recently spoke with Patrizio, who said reservations are filling up quickly for the winter months, so if you’re at all interested–it’s perfect; do you hear me, perfect?–I highly recommend making some early travel arrangements. You do not want to miss this.

High in the outdoor living room of the bright orange villa–three floors above ground and 100 above sea level–there’s a soaring view of the Pacific Ocean and verdant mountainous skyline. The tops of houses, palm trees and climbing fuchsia bougainvillea give the distinct feeling of sitting in some sort of luxe tree house. Inside the two structures–which Fradiani connected with a walking bridge–four simple, luminous-white bedrooms are decorated with furniture and textiles from local markets. They are the only rooms with real walls. The rest of the 2,700-square-foot spread is dedicated to the fresh, open air. The kitchen, dining room and living room all sit on the third floor, under a thatched roof, and there’s a small soaking tub up there and a set of hammocks with pinch-yourself vistas of jungle, garden, rooftops, ocean.

At almost any time, day or night, the sounds of the surroundings drift through with the breeze–a drum band, a cacophony of roosters, a truck peddling gas with music and loud-speaker announcements, kids playing soccer nearby. The pool on the ground level, surrounded by one of the most vibrant gardens I’ve ever seen, feels intimate and private, and if you get bored with the endless pleasure cycle of lazing about–nap, pool, eat, hammock, repeat–the town, which is a short walk down the hill, has a laid-back surf vibe and authentic culture that sets this fishing village apart from busier, tonier resort towns. Take a hike through the jungle to reach one of several off-the-beaten-path beaches (the main public beach is pretty busy); the payoff is remote, sprawling and unfathomably gorgeous.

The Details
Four bedrooms with queen beds and in-suite bathrooms. Prices range from $1,850 to $2,950 a week, depending on season. Rent it at casadoschicos.com.

[Photos: All photographs by Bob Coscarelli]

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In high school, I traveled to France with the sole purpose of visiting the Henri Matisse museum in Nice (his hometown!). As my mom and I approached the red museum doors, we we were devastated to find it closed for renovation–and we still talk about it to this day. Imagine my surprise when the farmer hosting us in the foothills of the western North Carolina mountains told me that the artist Alex Matisse, the great grandson of Henri, lives down the road, where he makes beautiful, functional pots in a wood-burning kiln. We took a self-guided tour of Alex’s outdoor studio, nestled in a clearing, surrounded by trees and wildflowers. He left some pots on his front porch for us to view and maybe buy. Walking in the huge kiln, smelling the wood ready to fire up pots not yet molded, seeing the cream hues of clay pots waiting to be glazed, and knowing that all the materials, tradition and craft in his art were rooted in North Carolina brought me so much joy. It was so inspiring to witness the preservation and exploration of traditional American craft.

Before traveling to the East Fork Farm, we stayed in a sweet, light-filled studio in downtown Asheville with 15-foot tin ceilings, a grand piano, a wall of mirrors, dozens of beautiful green plants and the best sunlight. The studio is one of many on an old market alley that used to be full of merchants, farmers, butchers, crafters and wholesalers. Today, the street is occupied by artists, dance studios and galleries. We ate several meals at the Early Girl Eatery, a from-scratch restaurant that gives children a bucket of toys upon arrival (genius!). Around the corner from our studio, a mural depicts a family of honeybee and poultry farmers, and a Parsons-dropout opened a cool shop called Royal Peasantry, which sells handmade clothing, jewelry and accessories made from feathers, leather and beads.

On the way home, we drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway and stopped in Virginia to admire the New River and eat at the Palisade Restaurant, a local food eatery housed in a former general store with all the dark wood shelving, tin ceiling and exposed brick intact.

The Details
East Fork Farm is located 25 miles northwest of Asheville. Two cottages (sleeping 2-4, $125/nt or 2-6, $150/nt). Cottages feature handmade stoneware, outdoor cedar soaking tubs, views of sheep grazing on rolling hills, a dozen farm fresh eggs, and a taste of mountain farm life.

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I’m going to be in Paris over the weekend and I’ve yet to find a place I’d rather stay. Sure, this historic apartment that looks like it was decorated by some fanciful eccentric with a magic paintbrush isn’t exactly a vacation rental, but it wouldn’t take much–a mattress on the floor? Right under the ceiling with painted rays streaming from the intricate cross-shaped medallion. Situated between Place Vendome and Place du Marché Saint-Honoré (and dangerously close to Colette), it’s one of the most unconventionally inspiring spaces I’ve ever seen. And even if you can’t sleep there, you can rent it for parties, photo shoots and other creative endeavors at Loft Connexion. I’ll be back next week!

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When I spent a week at Podere Palazzo almost four years ago with my family, all the fresh plantings on the grounds were teeny-tiny nubs, and a few of the spindly cypress trees had wooden tree crutches to help hold them up. We didn’t mind; the surrounding views are breathtakingly beautiful in every direction. But the owner (and my dear friend) Patrizio, who is relentlessly passionate about his native landscape, had always dreamed of having a formal Italian garden like the historical villas of Italy. “At some pont I started fantasizing of a hybrid garden that was at once formal yet more rustic than most formal gardens,” says Patrizio. “I wanted to create a viewing axis from the south side of the house towards the valley that would become an experience of its own. Most successful Italian formal gardens create not just a special oasis, curated to the max, but also an amazing dialogue with the landscape around. And that became my main goal: getting the beauty of the landscape around the house to ‘speak’ to the home with an intermediate element that was both architectural and natural.”

The formal garden project started hand-in-hand with a more naturalistic garden project for the remaining four acres. “Despite my enthusiasm and desire to get it all done fast, it has become the most fun work-in-progress of my life. Gardening requires a lot of patience and the game is in the waiting. Every year I say, ‘The garden this year looks great, but next year will be better.’ And that’s because you learn how to trim a rose bush better, learn which plants do better with the dry summers and wet winters, which are more subject to pests…” He also wanted to create a modern farm, where the grounds are not just beautiful but also edible. In the more naturalistic part of the land, where there were already Oak trees, Elm trees, and wild pear and plum bushes,  he planted 106 olive trees on one side of a hill and 50 fruit trees on the side, plus every herb you can think of.

“The formal garden is more extravagant in the plantings and aside from classic staples like Lavenders, Santolina, Viburnums, Cotoneaster, Artichoke plants, we infused it with edible herbs, hundreds of flowering bushes and roses and an organic vegetable garden that in each season grows and produces a bounty of goodies,” says Patrizio, who has grown into a self-professed countryside and garden addict. The knowledge and skill he’s garnered is so inspiring. But most of all, I love how he rhapsodizes about every single individual plant (way too many to include here). “The creeping Rosemary is a beautiful plant that requires lots of patience but is extremely rewarding (that is the creeper you see falling down on the pool rock wall). It is so elegant and slow in the way it grows down on a wall, and it blooms all year round. It also provides the only flowers in the months of January and February–how precious is that? And we use it to cook and roast in the fireplace.”

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The Marais House is as quintessentially Parisian and eclectic as they get. Situated on one of the oldest street in the Marais, the 16th-century, five-story b&b also doubles as a highly coveted location for film productions and photo shoots (including a glamorous spread with Laura Dern in W magazine a few years ago). The owner completely transformed the upscale city chateau, formerly a gold-leaf workshop where artisans crafted traditional lettered facades for storefronts, bringing in the requisite elements–a wrought-iron staircase, Venetian painted doors, and count them, eight 17th century stone fireplaces–to make it feel like it’s been like this forever. If you’re so inclined, you can even rent the whole rambling place–cellars, drawing room, planted terrace with a view of the rooftops and all.

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We finally decided on Paris. We’re leaving next week, and we just booked our tickets–which means that finding a place to stay hasn’t been exactly easy with less than two weeks notice. But can I say this here? It doesn’t really matter where you stay in Paris. In other cities, I love having an apartment so I can cook my own food and spread out a bit, but here, I’d rather take my baguette and cheese to a park for a picnic, or my book to the corner cafe and half-watch people all day long over the pages.

Nonetheless, I did find a few super charming, already booked Parisian flats for rent, including Appartement Blanc (which I spotted on Prêt à Voyager’s Where to Sleep in Paris post). Situated between Oberkampf and Marais quarters, the space was decorated with works by French designers Créations Herbes Rouges, Tsé-Tsé Associés, Serge Barbier et Design du lieu by Juliette Barbier. I love that there’s great effort in providing linens and cutlery, so you can “set a beautiful table,” and two favorite details–worn parquet floors and a small terrace over the courtyard–make it feel quintessentially Parisian.

The Details
Two bedrooms, open living room and kitchen. $220 a night with discounts for longer stays. Rent it at appartement-blanc.fr.

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A few years ago, the owners of the Marston House, which I visited this summer on our annual summer trip to Maine, bought part of a grand, old house–in complete disrepair–in the historic center of Apt, France. After a year of “dreaming and designing,” they began slowly renovating as three separate holiday rentals. So far, there’s a one and two-bedroom apartment, with a third apartment on the way. Below, a Q&A with Sharon Mrozinski about the process.

When did you buy your first place in France?
We bought our home in Bonnieux in 1999. We had discovered this area, the Luberon, in the early ’80s and had felt an awakening in these sleeping ancient ruins. We felt as though they were all yawning waking from a deep sleep.

Paul was fascinated by the structure and materials used,  all earth-born and local ( right under your feet). He had never seen anything like these. There seemed to be no beginning or end,  somehow continuous and completely organic and unlike any structures he had studied while getting a degree in Architecture at Arizona State University. We dreamed of returning one day.

What attracted you to the apartments in Apt?
We fell in love with this rawness and lack of modernization and the grandness of it. The entry and staircase are huge showing obvious great wealth at one time, and we bought what we thought we could afford. In 2007, we began some serious remodeling after a year of dreaming and designing. We knew we could stretch it into three lovely apartments. We have one apartment left to finish on the ground floor, and it is the most amazing space. The stable will become the bedroom.

Where do you find all the beautiful furnishings?
We source the furnishings locally from dealers in Apt and Isle sur la Sorgue. We spend most of our time and buying in a 30-mile radius of our apartments in The Luberon. The entire region about 20 miles long is surrounded and covered in agriculture: farms, fields, orchards, vineyards as far as the eye can see. In fact, Apt has been the marketplace for the region for centuries. The Saturday market is the biggest and oldest to be found. It stretches from one end of town to the other and weaves through all the old cobbled streets and ancient alleys.

We don’t think we have a particular style. Utility is our goal. Everything must work in our spaces. The pieces need to “earn their keep.” Nothing sits on a shelf because it is pretty.  We have a strong American eye for simplicity and always buy only what we love and want to live with forever. We do not have an easy time buying French furnishings generally–too many curves, too elaborate, too French is our biggest challenge. With the exception of their ancient homespun peasant cloth; We can never get enough of this.

What are your favorite design elements about the home?
We can only afford small spaces that are a real challenge to make livable.  This is where Paul thrives..  He loves making the impossible into a cozy nest.. With these spaces he counts on extending the natural light.  fooling the eye to feel bigger..  The ceilings are 12″ high, so the volume is amazing. They are hard to photograph well but to live in them is remarkable. Fireplaces are an absolute in our design demands.  They are the center or the soul of a home to us. We could not build or live in a space without a fireplace… or seven.

Tell us about Apt. What do you love about the town?
Apt is famous for production and supplies of candied fruits for the world as well as the pottery that has been produced from the earth here for centuries. Apt doesn’t have “curb appeal,” but it’s at the beginning (or end) of the Luberon and still affordable so lots of young families and business booms. It is a place you need to dig deeply and discover. Not everyone likes this. We love the challenge of finding beauty in  a town that hides its history, culture and beauty. It is all there. One must look harder, dig deeper and look upward–the steeples abound.

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So where does the man behind Tablet Hotels stay when he’s not at one of the hundreds of beautiful boutique hotels he represents around the world? CEO, founder and ultimate travel savant Laurent Vernhes and his family just returned from Sri Lanka, where they stayed at this indoor-outdoor beach house designed by Goeffrey Bawa along the Indian Ocean. His wife Catherine gives designtripper a special report about second-guessing his pick, watching lizards and getting her four-year-old to eat shark.

“When my husband showed me photographs of the Last House as he was making the reservation, I was underwhelmed. I thought ‘That looks nice… the kids will love the pool.’ Laurent has been gushing for years about Geoffrey Bawa and how much he admires Bawa’s architecture, so perhaps I was expecting something more grandiose or startling. When we were in Tangalle trying to find the road that leads to the Last House, our driver stopped a number of people to ask where it was. No one seemed to have a clue, but they all knew where the Aman resort was,” says Catherine. But by the time they arrived, Catherine was on-the-spot smitten with the horseshoe-shaped beach house, especially how Bawa’s design pulled them into their surroundings. “I have never stayed in a place where the indoors flows into the outdoors so naturally,” she says. “You can see the sea, you feel the sea breeze all through the house, you hear the waves constantly, and yet, you also feel protected and pampered inside the beautifully designed interiors.” White walls and polished concrete floors are accented with pops of hyper-saturated beach colors that reflect the view of the Indian Ocean and the colors of the local culture. “We watched the resident lizard wind his way across the garden and the crows eying our breakfast through the postcard frame of a window without glass or through the many open doorways with no doors. Each morning, Ananda, would come to discuss the menu with us, and was always able to accommodate the tastes of our young children and yet still inspire us with local cuisine. By the end of the stay, he had our picky 4-year-old eating calamari and shark. And after a few hours of boogie boarding each day, the afternoon tea with cake became our favorite ritual. We felt so utterly spoiled.”

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I’m inspired by the story of this beautiful property for so many reasons. First of all, the couple who owns it fell in love with the town (for its slower way of life) while on holiday and decided to change their own lives. Marco Giunta and Viviana Haddad bought one of these cave-like rooms built into the landscape of Modica, a Sicilian town that’s part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Every time they visited, they’d buy another, and within eight months, they owned 12 of them. Both with architecture backgrounds, they started stringing them together through the interiors. “Every single room used to be a family home. We renovated them to be one single property, with all of them connected through the garden.” Most of the furniture in each room was either built or restored by them, and now that they live there full-time, Marco has left architecture for furniture design and running the beautiful property.

And here’s the kicker: The emphasis of the place is on taking it easy. I mean, really taking it easy. I like to call it slow travel–and it’s my favorite way to spend a vacation. “We want people to come here and take their time to enjoy the view, the air, and relax,” says Marco. Each room is inspired by a different country on the Mediterranean Sea… the walls are made of stone, caves or locally made tiles. And they just want to make sure everyone is enjoying the air. Perfect.

The Details
Each little room-house has an entrance from the garden (at different natural levels) and a private terrace that overviews the historical center of Modica. Prices start at $180 a night. Rent it at welcomebeyond.com.

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Surrounded by rice paddies and an umbrella pine forest, these four perfectly designed thatched-roof beach huts sit on a coastal sanctuary in a small fishing hamlet called Carrasqueira, an hour south of Lisbon. The floors are sand, even in the living room (bedrooms have concrete floors), walls are made from wattle and bullrush, and the furniture inside is pretty minimal–tables by e15, wood stumps and linen-covered sofas. And if all the sprawling natural beauty in every direction (estuary, salt pans, pristine beach, wildlife/nature sanctuary) isn’t quite compelling enough, there are bicycles and a pool to keep you active/lounging outdoors.

The Details
Guests rent the whole lot of them–and it’s $700 a day for all four. The beach hut compound sleeps eight adults. In high season (June through August), there’s a seven-night minimum. Rent it.

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Another goodie from my article in T+L about the world’s coolest vacation homes, the Didmarton House is a grand, modernized farmhouse in the Cotswolds filled with flea-market finds, family photos, pops of bright color, pieces by Philippe Starck, and statement-making art. And… it’s owned and decorated by designer Joanna Berryman, who runs the London shop Matrushka (and was married to Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman–a tidbit that helps explain the chic, rock-and-roll design aesthetic she’s known for).

The Details
There are four super well-appointed bedrooms, all with cushy beds, rich drapery and great art. The nearly two-acre grounds feature landscaped gardens, tennis courts, and a small studio that sleeps an additional two people. Price starts around $2,140 for a week. Rent it at mrandmrssmith.com.

[Photos via mrandmrssmith.com.]

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