I had to share one more spectacular retreat designed by CO-LAB. This one is a touch less modern and a tad more bohemian and earthy. Tucked into a lush landscape of Areca Palms, Casa Areca was carefully positioned on a narrow lot to preserve existing trees and palms. Designed as a vacation home, Casa Areca, features 4 en-suite bedrooms on the 1st floor – allowing for an open ground floor plan. The kitchen, dining and living room are spatially integrated and open to the exterior through retractable and or pivoting floor to ceiling glass doors. A wrap-around deck frames the pool and private gardens. Built from CMU blocks and reinforced concrete the walls of the house are finished with white polished cement techniques. Light grey polished cement floors complement the walls to create a soft color pallet to better contrast the bespoke furnishings designed by CO-LAB and built with Yucatan artisans. An abundance of windows carefully oriented to capture prevailing breezes, keep the house cool and fresh throughout the year, creating a peaceful atmosphere optimal for unwinding after a beach day. Architecture + Construction + Interiors + Landscaping: CO-LAB (Photos: Cesar Bejar)

I have been dreaming of moving to Mexico for years, and this home is now going to be what I will be dreaming of living in once I’m there. Architecture + Construction + Interiors + Landscaping: CO-LAB. Located a short distance from Tulum beach and the crystalline cenotes, Casa Aviv sits discretely in the jungle, merging indoor and outdoor into one generous, peaceful space. Composed of two parallel volumes that were shifted from each other to better protect several existing trees on site, the house accommodates 4 en-suite bedrooms, high ceilings, open kitchen dining and living areas, a private pool, and a 360º roof terrace. On the ground floor, the living-dining room, kitchen, and two of the bedrooms open to the garden. The master bedroom features a private patio with direct access to the pool. The double-height living space extends out into the pool and garden through floor to ceiling pivoting glass doors, blending interior and exterior in one integrated space filled with natural light and garden views. On the first floor, two bedrooms frame the lush jungle, connected by a bridge under a skylight. Designed and built by CO-LAB, the house is surfaced with handmade finishes. The warm grey polished cement walls contrast with black terrazzo floors. Charred cedar wood carpentry complements the neutral palette. The furnishings and light features were custom designed to fit the house and were fabricated by local artisans and in CO-LAB’s workshop. (Photos: Cesar Bejar)

Elegant, refined, thoughtful. Home as art. This stunning residence in the San Francisco neighbourhood of Presidio Heights was designed by Amy Meier. (Photos: Shade Degges)

This first book is frankly the BEST book for summer you will get your hands on. I adore both of these books Vendome Press sent over but The Maine House is about cottage, summer living in all its casual splendour and that really speaks to me right now. Photographer Maura McEvoy and art director Basha Burwell traveled the length and breadth of Maine in search of houses that capture the state’s singular character. These are not designer houses; they are homes created by the people who live in them, from artists to writers to fishermen, distinctive for their ingenuity, originality, and fierce individuality. Many are unchanged, inhabited by generations of the same family; some are ingenious conversions. I read it last weekend and its so good I’m exciting to go through it again this weekend, while lounging in my greenhouse, with a drink in hand and a cat in my lap.

Next up is Provence Style: Decorating with French Country Flair by Shauna Varvel. This book is about living the dream – in a 200 year old chateau/farmhouse (among others). Sign me up! I’m so incredibly intrigued by homes in Europe from this era so this book is eye candy that immediately reeled me in.
The era of colorful rusticity and shabby chic has since been replaced by a far more nuanced approach in line with contemporary tastes and needs. Provence Style showcases this new direction, featuring Shauna Varvel’s eighteenth-century Rhône valley farmhouse—Le Mas des Poiriers—as an exemplar. Named for the working pear orchard on the grounds, the property was reimagined by Varvel and noted local architect Alexandre Lafourcade, who transformed an outdated structure into a luxurious and contemporary expression of Provençal style. Alexandre’s mother, renowned landscaper Dominique Lafourcade, designed the extensive gardens. With her exquisite home serving as an archetypal starting point, Varvel goes on to explore the architectural and interior elements that are part of the reinvented Provençal aesthetic. Featuring a selection of homes created by noted interior designers, Provence Style beautifully illustrates the textures, furnishings, fabrics, color pairings, motifs, and accents that define each area, from kitchens, living spaces, bedrooms, and bathrooms to garden terraces and courtyards.

I am smitten with this glorious home – inside and out. Designed as a flexible compound, a new home in the Montecito foothills honors the creative lifestyle of a couple moving full time to the country. A self-contained main house overlooks the rolling property from the top of the site. Adjoining guest space, a pool cottage, an art studio, and working gardens form a set of outbuildings and areas that seem to emerge naturally from the landscape. A palette of local stone and plaster creates a rustic and modern translation of rural houses in Provençe, recalling in particular the vernacular of old world stone barns. High-ceilinged, single-floor wings connect the main living spaces with whitewashed crispness, letting the house feel light and uncrowded.  A long, elegant pool anchors the lower section of the lawn in its own sequestered grove of trees, establishing the feeling of being in open countryside. A massive, very old California oak tree that couldn’t be moved sits at the heart of the property on a slight hill, welcoming views from every vantage point and providing a favorite place to dine outside. Designed by William Hefner. (More of his work was recently featured here)