Isla Architects transforms a bare frame into a charming Mallorcan hideaway. A home that blends into the natural landscape, entirely designed to fully experience and enjoy the island and its climate.
Renovate a house that doesn’t yet exist? Although it may seem strange, this is exactly what Isla Architects did with Lover’s House. They were commissioned for a total renovation of a house that had yet to be built, with only the bare frame. The owners wanted to transform it into a home with a striking design and conceived to fully enjoy the island and its climate.
Isla Architects substantially changed the layout of the structure, making the outdoor area the heart of the home: a pool with panoramic views of the Tramuntana and a rustic environment surrounded by grapevines and shielded by a pine forest.
The architecture studio decided the colour of the façade would set the tone. They chose a warm reddish colour that blends into the natural landscape, simulating the reddish soil of the area.
In the interior, the colour palette is limited to concrete tinted in the same colour, with white, copper and natural wood features to give the home a warm and natural feel. This limited palette of colours and materials, all Made in Spain, reveals the simple geometry of the building and creates a visual and tactile continuity between the architecture and the surroundings. Both monochrome and vibrant, the house changes throughout the day according to the sun and the landscape, with moving patterns of shade and subtle changes to the surfaces.
The interior of Lovers’s House has a striking entrance extending towards both sides of the patio and giving access to the rooms. The guest bedroom is the initial volume of the home and its own independent patio. The rest of the rooms are in the south wing: two twin bedrooms open to the garden and with a shared bathroom and the main bedroom, with a large patio finished in colour-tinted concrete.
The kitchen is on the north side with its own patio opening onto the mountains of Alaró. The kitchen is independent but also connected to the living room set in the largest crux of the home opening onto panoramic views of the mountains and garden. The asymmetrical line of the roof opens the structure more to the South than the North, shielding the large windows from the sun while also allowing a cooling cross breeze.
Visual continuity
The pool is separated from the house to give the pool its own space, creating an additional volume to the home emerging from the landscape. Perfect for swimming lengths between the Tramuntana and Puig de Ses.
Quality was the basis in the choice of materials. The designers chose Hisbalit eco-friendly mosaic tiles in white, specifically the Pas reference from the Unicolor Pools collection. Smooth tesserae that produce a sky blue look to the pool. Taking a swim in the pool of the Lover’s House is like immersing yourself in an authentic oasis, where one can disconnect from daily cares and reconnect with nature.
Designers: Isla Architects / Juan Palencia, Marta Colón de Carvajal
Team: Nelson Fidalgo Magro, Katerina Kulanova
Builder: Obrema 2000
Surveyor: Jordi Homar
Photography: Luis Díaz Díaz / Matías Alexandro | Fantastic Frank Inmobiliaria | Stylist: Oma Project