4 Bali homes that are the most magical places on earth

A Stunning Retreat That Emerges from the Landscape of Bali, by Studio Jencquel

Umah Hati, a home in Bali by Studio Jencquel is constructed on a plot of land that slopes down towards a river bed. Jencquel, who worked closely with landscape designer Menno Landstra right from the beginning, chose to build closer to the river, so that one has to walk down to the house from the entrance gate: “You don’t see the house immediately,” he explains, “you discover the house as you come in.” A large part of the house is open to the outdoors, overlooking a private pool, fire pits, and finally, a platform on the river that can be used to park a rowboat or raft. The boundary between exterior and interior is fluid in Umah Hati, with even the interior design paying homage to its natural surroundings. Volcanic stone, native to the Indonesian archipelago, is a dominating presence, as is local teak wood. “Part of the vernacular approach is to do buildings that are energy-efficient,” Jencquel offers, “We try to use the site itself: shade from the trees, airflow, natural sunlight.” The living area is entirely open to the garden, overlooking the courtyard, the bathrooms are open to the sky with outdoor showers. “We don’t want to stand out,” Jencquel insists, “we want to blend into nature.”

A Holiday Villa Wrapped in Vintage Charm, by Kumar Moorthy & Associates

A stone’s throw away from the golden sands of the Pererenan Beach in Bali, a semi-walled villa stands sentinel to the surrounding landscape. “The clients, Amit and Raji Jain, long-time residents of Australia, had approached us twenty-five years ago to build what became their award-winning home in Noida. We have remained in touch ever since, so when they chose us to design and construct a holiday home on their newly acquired 235-square-metre (2,529-square-feet) plot in Bali, there was already a mutual comfort,” says Narayan Moorthy, co-founder and principal architect of Kumar Moorthy & Associates. The choice of location was fitting, with its semi-open spaces and luxuriant al fresco gardens, exactly what the Jains envisaged for their breezy home. “The blueprint was pointed at maximising prevailing breezes and hosting lush tropical verdure in narrow, relatively shaded areas. We employed the narrow setbacks on all the sides to provide viable views for almost all the bedrooms.” While Kumar Moorthy & Associates were the India based concept architects providing detailed initial design drawings and notes, Garis Harmoni Associates took over with the actual detailed realisation of the concept with impeccable design & with the team of Bali based professionals provided seamless professional services to enable the clients to complete the house in just a year, despite complex materiality and meticulous detailing. Millimatters was the interior design and landscape firm for the project. The home operates as an ensemble of open-plan space. Water bodies and pocket gardens serve as gentle partitions between zones, while sweeping fenestrations envelop the walls, admitting an abundance of breeze and sunlight. “The design elements are abstractly…