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If you have the sound chance to slip up upon an ancient island paradise — albeit a wildly overgrown , clumsily renovate , and functionally outdated heaven — often the challenge is how to speak the dimension ’s deficit without obliterate its appealingness .
Such was the case in 2004 when painter and interior room decorator Lucien Rees Roberts and his married person , architect Steven Harris , buy this chemical compound located on a small Croatian island about an 60 minutes ’s ferry ride from the port urban center of Dubrovnik . The property ’s four building clustered together at the top of a small mound and date stamp back to the fifteenth hundred , originally serve well as a merchandiser ’s rest home , nunnery , barn , and chapel . By twenty-four hours , the smirch extend wholesale views of the Adriatic Sea and cragged coastline ; by night , a belt of sparkling lights from nearby island and ship pierce the pitch-dark sky .
The outside dining area , where the couple spends much of their time , is surround by a similarly subdued palette made up of rosemary , lilac-colored , and santolina . picture by : Scott Frances . SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THIS GARDEN
Architecturally , the buildings were simple but upstanding . They had walls almost 2 feet heavyset , crafted from a dense local limestone , but in the master sign of the zodiac there was only one doorway and one window on the ground floor , return it a cavelike feel and obscuring the brilliant Mediterranean sparkle . Changes made by the previous owner included wood panelling and concrete interior stairs . Oh , and the plumbing had been ripped out . “ It needed body of work , ” Rees Roberts says .
The twosome gutted the inside , leaving only beam and joists . They plug into the outside kitchen to the remainder of the house and instal several window on the first story .
“ Whenever we created a new opening , we had lintels made to tally the old , ” Rees Roberts explicate . “ I copied the conception from other buildings on the island that were snug to the same flow . ” Where possible , he left inner limestone surface break , and for the roof , he opt Tuscan terra cotta tiles that had been sandblasted , give them the patina of age .
In deference to the original material ( and in religious service to the raw possessor ’ desire for a retreat from their busy Manhattan - based life ) , Rees Roberts keep the furnishings understated , from the Dorothy Thorpe 1970s - epoch Lucite candleholders to the refined midcentury armchairs designed by Jorge Zalszupin ( one of the founders of the L’Atelier design collective ) .
One of several terraces locate throughout the garden . Photo by : Scott Frances . SEE MORE exposure OF THIS GARDEN
The chapel remains a chapel service , but the nunnery was converted into a guesthouse and the barn into Rees Roberts ’ house painting studio , both refinish with the unobtrusive approach path employed in the master family . He supplant the barn ’s wooden door with sliding glass control board , which he bequeath open most of the time so he can stare across step terrace out to the sea . That connexion from inside to out marks one of the property ’s greatest assets , as it has not only panorama that link up its inhabitants to the outside human race but also a ample series of terraces , courtyard , and garden that leave for socializing , quiet interpretation , and outdoor dining . “ In summertime , ” he says , “ the exterior is really where one want to spend clock time . ”
First , though , Rees Roberts had to make sentiency of the slimly feral grounds that wove in and around the buildings , and for that , he enlisted the help of his business better half , landscape painting designer David Kelly .
The house has no front room access , so one first move into through the out-of-door aliveness spaces , granting an immediate sense of relaxation and enjoyment . The topography drops off quickly and steeply around the household , which David Kelly sound out lends a feeling of float over the water . Photo by : Scott Frances . SEE MORE photograph OF THIS GARDEN
“ We set about with spaces that already existed , ” Kelly explain , “ and those were the bones of the garden . But it was overgrown , and we had to do a fate of redaction . We also wanted to defer to the view rather than contend with it . ” They chose a plant pallette of silvers and pallid viridity to balance the crisp and crystalline reflections off the limestone and the water system . When the plant move in the aristocratic breeze and the sunshine , Kelly pronounce , the undulating sweep of lavender , rosemary , and santolina are hazy and dreamlike . A small , more formally laid out court of eight orange trees with a speculate pool at its center is the most ego - referential out-of-door infinite , the perfect spot for contemplation and also , given its central location , for people to match up before heading down to the sea for a swimming . Kelly install out-of-door animation and dining areas on top of a large cement terrace , covering it with break down local limestone . To enhance the relationship with the holding ’s surroundings , he brought a half - dozen pencil - tenuous cypresses into the landscape , a nod to the surrounding plantation of such tree far down the hill .
While Kelly and Rees Roberts often work with clients outside of the United States , they found that go in such a remote , unspoiled locus had its share of unexpected obstacles . There are no car on the island that is menage to only 140 people at the bill of the summertime season . Most of the materials came by the thrice - daily ferry from Dubrovnik , and they were drop on the wharfage and then hand - carried 156 whole step up to the house . At one point , a domestic ass was pirate to do some of the heavy lifting , but after drag up one old bag of cementum , it ran off and repurposed itself as the island mascot .
The day the industrial plant arrived turned out to be during Ramadan . All the worker Kelly had number on were move for the vacation , so Kelly and Rees Roberts scrambled to incur other helpers from the local village and end up doing a lot of the schlepping themselves .
“ We also planted it ourselves , ” Kelly enunciate , “ which I do n’t typically do , and we really instruct about the condition . ” The biggest takeaway ? “ It ’s really rocky , ” he tell .
The planting took place in October , and when Rees Roberts , Kelly , and Harris came back early the next spring , they were surprised by a sea of red , perfectly diffuse throughout the grounds . It seems the previous owner had a affectionateness for amaryllis .
“ I thought this was supposed to be a silver garden , ” Harris said . Kelly was undaunted .
“ We cut off them all and had the most beautiful prime arrangements , ” he says . “ And then all the bulbs were hit . But it was secure to see them because it affirm our instinct that strong gloss would only vie with the views from the house . ”
Growing ConditionsTHE mood : leaven you ca n’t keep a upright climate down , scantily a decade after the state of war end in Croatia ( in 1995 ) , theNew York Timesdubbed the coastline - fat country the “ New Riviera . ” With its glistening cheerfulness , mild temperatures , and dramatic backcloth of intensely blue sea and steep mountains , travel - knowing publication such asNational Geographichailed it as the place to visit . But if you choose to put down solution , literally , as Lucien Rees Roberts and Steven Harris have , you ’ll need to plan around the dry heat of coastal Croatia ’s hardiness zone 9 summertime . This think of being water system - wise with works survival and hire solitaire : Gardens are typically dull to establish in Mediterranean climate .
THE plant life : drouth and wind tolerance were the conduct characteristics for selecting a industrial plant palette in the Croatian garden of Steven Harris and Lucien Rees Roberts .
exposure by : Monrovia
The problematical evergreen plant bush , Cistus x purpureus(orchid rockrose ) can handle flaxen and rocky soils , solid breaking wind , and salt spray .
Various species of gamboge , lime , and orange trees grow in the more protected areas of the property .
Photo by : Proven Winners .
Rosemary fills the atmosphere with a rich herbal fragrance andCeanothus arboreus(feltleaf ceanothus or tree lilac ) [ left ] is a bush with wonderful blue blooms and sorry light-green leave-taking .
The garden is also filled with aromatic mounds ofSantolina chamaecyparissus , with its argent - gray leaf and yellow clitoris flowers . Many varieties of lavender add to the fragrance and low - get mound charm of the garden .
Lise Funderberg is an editor - at - large for GARDEN DESIGN .
Sourcebook : Rees Roberts + Partners , the design studio of Lucien Rees Roberts and David Kelly , creates magnificent interiors and landscape for guest across the ball ( 212/587 - 3371;reesroberts.com ) ; Rees Roberts and Kelly regularly collaborate with Steve Harris ’s computer architecture firm . Steven Harris Architects(212/587 - 1108;stevenharrisarchitects.com ) .
