Janet Butler
When you think of a “villa,” your first mental image might not look much like this compact-feeling modern house by the Dutch firm Eric Kant Design — but upon closer perusal, you just might change your mind. A delightful cobblestoned driveway leads to a demure stone-and-concrete exterior, unassumingly simple and fronted by colorful flower beds. Overlooking cultivated plants and flowering trees, a stone deck leads directly to an open-air living room/lounge space. Take a look off to one side and see that curtained nook beneath a long stone “bridge.” If it looks like separate quarters, in a way, it is — it’s a bedroom, clearly tucked away from the public spaces in the house. That being said, while even the public spaces are streamlined and uncluttered, they’re far from minimalist in terms of color and fun.
Red plays a key role here, in barbershop-style lounge chairs in the entertainment area and on alternate chairs surrounding a wood grain dining table. A peek into the bedroom shows a touch of red print on bedding, as well…not to mention red candlesticks on the alfresco table on the outside deck! You can easily imagine making quick meals in the handy kitchen, with its open galley style that allows the cook to be part of the socializing and conversation; and you can probably almost feel the warmth from that fabulous fireplace, surrounded by a clear glass “chimney” on all sides. The sum total? More than might meet your eye at first glance: a luxuriously serene space that brings minimalism a whole new shade of meaning, in this ingenious offering from Eric Kant.
