Villa Tusk Bali, Renovation 0ctober 2020
Georgie and I are renovating a villa in the beautiful village of Penestanan just outside Ubud. There is something about this location that has pulled on my heart strings since I first visited Hotel Tjampuan in 1983. Our villa is a hop, skip and jump away from the old bridge that crosses the Wos River.
I took the picture above in late August 2019. We had just tracked down an old friend from the 1970’s named Liz Chandler who had leased a villa called Villa Putih 10 years earlier. The second picture shows the main joglo space as it is now in October 2020.
I must say that I am so damn excited about this project and that it has been a joy to work with Georgie on the ideas that are going into making it a space for ourselves to call our own in Bali.
What is so amazing working with Georgie is that it’s like having your own personal genie. I say this with the utmost respect and amazement. Any idea I have had has been attainable because of Georgie’s immense skills as an architect. This is not my normal window dressing fantasy it’s a real, genuine renovation.
The picture to the left is how the side of the joglo looks a year ago sans pool and the pic above shows what it’s like 50% into the renovation.
After discussions with Liz back in August 2019 we decided to buy the lease off her and renovate the villa to our own specifications. Thank God that Georgie understands buildings and what can be done when you know what you are doing because I certainly don’t.
We found a builder we were happy with through an Australian acquittance after having meetings with several other builders and the renovation work started just before Christmas in 2019.
We had planned to visit Bali every two months during the reno but the Covid 19 lockdowns brought that to a decisive end. The solution was to stay in touch with our builder over WhatsApp and daily photographs taken by our wonderful staff member, Purnami.
We are at the stage in the renovation where it’s time to start choosing paint colours and finishes, furniture and generally styling the place so that it feels like home. Unfortunately we won’t be able to actually go there until Australia and Bali open up their borders. Who knows how long that might be.
First photo above is last August. Second photo is now (Oct 2020)
When we were in Bali in January we got lucky and found a business ess called Sadus Tiles who hand make beautiful cement tiles in the tradition of some of the unique buildings in Jogjakarta. Georgie and I designed spaces that feature the tiles in just about every room. We also found a family from Java who have a very special antique business not too far from Ubud. The pictures below show some of the doors we have incorporated into the villa.
So there you have it. There is still a long way to go before the renovation is complete and our villa is looking just like we want it to. We are currently working out how we can send a container load of our furniture from Australia that will include some really special pieces including artworks, mirrors, outdoor furniture, couches. chairs, beds. We’ve got so many bits and pieces that will instantly put our stamp even more on the villa.
If all goes as planned we will put this Shiva statue in the little alcove on the staircase up to the bedrooms. We both fell in love with it when we found it in January. Next step is to work out colours for the walls and what artworks we will send across to put on them.
This picture shows one of the superb hand carved ceilings of our Joglo, this one is in the main living space. There is another one a bit smaller in the bale outside the third freestanding bedroom and ensuite.
Comments
An absolute haven.
Beautiful.
It will be an amazing home for you all Gary !