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A Cool and Practical Resort in the Dutch Caribbean

Behind a high white stucco wall is the exotic tropical Garden Villa Iguana on the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire.

I love its perfect framed pavilion at the end of a languorous pool.

The simple structure is simply a four poster daybed raised a little off the ground, offering shade in the hottest part of the day.

Tropical cool marks the scrupulously eco-minimalist resort, contrasting the zing of white stucco, the warm embrace of tropical hardwood with the sheen of a soft grey patina of its flooring.

The furniture is constructed in a similarly straightforward no-nonsense style.

The presence of the nearby Caribbean Sea provides both a brisk trade wind and a tropical shelter.

In the sultry heat, the chill of a polished concrete floor can be very inviting.

The same material is used to sculpt a kitchen island table that works very well – the sink is out of the way at the narrow head of the table, rather than across from diners.

Similarly, the same concrete material creates the resort’s eco-minimal bathroom sinks.

Carving also this most elegant and simple of bathroom cabinets – with Dutch practicality.

The very exotic and tropical holiday retreat can be found in the town of Kralendijk, in the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire

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A Contemporary Stone House with a Green Lawn Roof

What a wonderful crisp contrast. The white framing and the green roof; spliced by a white-framed peephole, spying a pool on the deck below.

The house, set in in Jarabacoa in the Dominican Republic, was designed by VASHO architects to house 18 people comfortably.

The jiggered green roof allows for a clerestory, bringing the cool forest light in from all around.

The roof evolves very softly and naturally out of the hillside slope.

The eco-chic deck offers real immersion in the rainforest setting.

The house is built into the hillside – which cools it to the temperature of the bedrock.

Stones collected from the site itself make a sturdy and low impact building structure.

This stone is not a mere facade, but actually forms both the finished interior and the exterior structural wall.

Each bedroom has its own bathroom and study, while the living room-dining room-kitchen is a generous shared space.

A modest pool at the end of the deck invites one or two guests to lazily idle away the summer afternoons.

The house is designed as a second home for use intermittently through the summer.

For the architects, the greatest challenge was to create a space that comfortably houses 18 people on such a steep section.

The architects’ solution was burrowing the length of the two floors into the hillside – not only creating the maximum of horizontal space, but an ecological retreat that partakes sensibly of its rainforest environment.

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A Pleasant Family Home on the Mediterranean Coast of Croatia

Set in the familiar confines of a traditional Croatian village on the northern Mediterranean coast is this modern home for a small family by Zagreb-based 3LHD.

In direct contrast to the surrounding village, the home is unabashedly modern in its lines.

Lozice, Dubrovnik is an old Croatian settlement with a star-struck view straight across the Mediterranean Sea towards Italy.

The house takes advantage of this with glazing on several levels bringing the ancient fabled sea right into the space, to seem almost like part of the house.

An astonishing closeup from the parents’ bed makes it seem almost like floating directly above the sea.

A charming stairway is broader than normal for an interior, adding a relaxing horizontal line to a gracious space.

The interiors are simple and modernist, tough enough for kids, but no frills.

A spacious shower area is reflected in a full length mirror that seems to double the bathroom.

Glass is employed on the balustrading inside and out, creating an easy flow from outside to inside.

The living spaces directly connect to the outdoor decks in terraces that are connected by stairs and go down to the sea.

The architects have created an easy and pleasant home that takes full advantage of its stunning setting.