i found inspiration in the work of Jacques Couëlle, whose sweeping and carved creations blend architecture with sculpture and nature
STORIES · 29.02.24
Craft | Mindful Living | Well-Being
I have collected shells and pebbles since I was a little girl. On holidays I would spend hours combing a beach to find the most interesting colours, textures and shapes – something I still find relaxing to this day. A lot of people tread on shells without even noticing them, but to me they’re special; they’ve travelled and tumbled across oceans and they’re a sign of nature’s resilience.
It has always been a dream of mine to create a house inspired by these natural treasures, so I am thrilled to share a glimpse inside Pebble, which sits on the East Coast of Barbados. My vision was to create something soft and organic; a home that blends with the earth itself and bears all the perfect imperfections of this rugged, windswept side of the island. I wanted to create a cocoon on the coastline; a place to feel safe and restored while also being connected to nature and immersed in the sound of the sea.
I designed the house with Sophie Domenge, an interior designer who lives in Barbados and I have known since she was a little girl. We have always shared a similar sense of style – influenced by Sophie’s father who was a great friend of mine and a brilliant architect. I also found inspiration in the work of Jacques Couëlle, whose sweeping and carved creations blend architecture with sculpture and nature. I have long admired his infamous houses in Sardinia and the French Riviera.
To achieve Pebble’s similarly natural, sloping shapes, we adapted the design of the house to the island’s landscape and terrain, rather than the other way around. The sun dictated the locations of the windows and rooms, the flow of which you can follow through the natural rhythm of the day – starting with yoga at daybreak in the spiritual room and ending with a nightcap on the rooftop terrace, watching the moon as it slowly rises.
I wanted to create a cocoon on the coastline; a place to feel safe and restored while also being connected to nature
The rendering was a particularly important – and challenging – part of the build. Our brilliant mason, Gus, spent four months using sticks and wood to achieve the irregular, rough white walls. I love that they look as though they were hewn from rock – a feeling that the curved ceilings and archways add to once you step inside. The absence of any clear joins or straight edges makes every part of the space feel incredibly soothing to the eye.
For the interiors, we used as many materials from the island as possible. Several years ago, a 300-year-old mahogany tree came down in a storm at Heron Bay on the West Coast, so we used this precious wood to craft Pebble’s beautiful, built-in furniture. I particularly love the rush-bottomed stools in the kitchen which were handcrafted by a local chairmaker called Rawle Francis. Rawle gathers bullrushes from the waterways of Barbados’s Scotland District, before drying them at his house, wrapping them into long coils, and weaving them tightly between a handmade pine frame. Not only is this an incredibly skilled craft to master, but it is also increasingly rare, with just a few such artisans still creating chairs in this way.
Julian (AKA Lionheart) is another talented local craftsman we worked with. He specialises in coral stone carving, using this native, naturally porous, silvery stone to create everything from large sculptural boulders to the sweet little coral hearts you can spot scattered across both the interior and exterior walls. As the house sits on the beach, it is very exposed to the salty air and sea spray, meaning we had to use as little metal and glass as possible. The windows are protected by shutters rather than traditional panes, so Gus crafted a ‘criss-cross’ coral design on top of the necessary burglar bars that blend perfectly with the setting. Some of the windows use stacks of coral stones in this way too, which were foraged from the beach just a few steps away.
My catholic faith is very important to me, so you may notice crucifixes dotted around the house. These were handcrafted by Sophie’s husband using more foraged materials from the beach including driftwood, shells and dried palm leaves. You might also recognise some of my favourite Daylesford homeware pieces in kitchen and every bed is topped with beautiful quilts and cushions that have been handcrafted by artisans at Nila House. Not only is their colour palette in-keeping with the white and blue of the crashing waves outside, but Pebble is a place so entwined with nature and craft that it feels like a natural home for unique and special pieces like these.
