August-September 2018

HOME & PROPERTY

head upstairs to the lounge, where the TV and the built-in office is. It was a good move not having a TV downstairs: it means you actually talk to people! Upstairs we opened up the entire third floor to make a luxurious master bedroom and bathroom suite, with a double walk-in shower. It’s completely open plan to maximise space, but we delineated spaces by using different floor coverings – the bedroom is European oak, for example, but the bathroom is teak, to echo the decking outside. I wanted texture and grip in the shower so we used a nubby black granite tile, but if I was doing it again I’d go for an even rougher texture, like an outdoor stone. We also created a separate room for the WC – I really dislike it when architects design beautiful bathrooms, and then stick a toilet in the middle – a toilet is not a feature! There was enough space to put

in a sizeable walk-in wardrobe too. (My wife has a full-time job and a wardrobe to match!) Otherwise it’s all about clever design details. When we put in the pool, we wanted a very uneven look to it, as if it were natural. The design was based on the pool at the Shangri-La in Boracay; I tried to source exactly the same stone, but couldn’t track it down in the end. But we found a very similar one in Indonesia; it’s called Bali Green Stone and when the light plays on it, it feels just like a tropical pool. There’s a mixture of palms, hibiscus flowers and bougainvillea surrounding it, and we built a shelf just beneath the water at the deep end. It’s my favourite place in the house. Having a cup of coffee in the morning and sitting on that bench is just about as good as it gets. There’s warmth from the sun, but you’re cool because you’re in the water.

21 AUG-SEP2018