A mountainside hideaway in Mallorca has been refreshed via a renovation that reconnected it to the majestic landscape in which it is set
EXTERIOR
The pool was the last part of the renovation and was placed some distance from the house, which ensures more of the property moves into the field of everyday use. Pool designed by Moredesign; lined in tiles from Rosa Gres. Planting by Jardins de Tramuntana
SITTING ROOM
Throughout this modern home, reclaimed pieces were introduced, like the ceiling beams and fireplace here, to introduce a patina of age. The Kaylor Essentials linen sofa from Sklum is similar. Artwork above fireplace by Guillem Nadal
Who doesn’t dream of finding a hidden gem – aneglected property that turns out to have a storied history – and turning it into a glorious sanctuary? The owners of this Mallorquin holiday home, situated on the coast of the Tramuntana Mountains, have done exactly this – with the assistance of architecture firm Moredesign. The house is located on land adjacent to Son Rullan, a 14th-century monastery just outside the village of Deià. The building, says Moredesign co-founder Manuel Villanueva, had been constructed in the 1990s and was ‘small and dull, surrounded by concrete terraces. The land was also neglected – an ancient olive grove abandoned and invaded by pine trees.’ Unfortunately, while the existing house was the very opposite of charming, Mallorca’s strict building regulations meant that it not only had to remain where it was, it could also not simply be demolished and a new structure built in its place. Instead, a smart and sensitive reworking was on the cards. ‘We did not want to excavate the mountain any further,’ explains Manuel. The extension thus consists of what he describes as ‘a series of apparently independent volumes’, which nevertheless are clearly interlinked to one another. And as he suggests, this approach is very similar to the way buildings used to be enlarged in the past – ‘by adding volumes to the initial structure’. The design team’s suggested strategy certainly convinced the heritage council, and has very much worked from an aesthetic point of view, too. The home is now linear and fairly narrow in volume, and is also edged on both sides by a series of patios. At the rear, between the mountain and the house, a garden has been created that makes best use of the morning sun, while on the other side, an expansive terrace provides panoramic views of the Mediterranean. As per the owners’ brief, the key spaces in terms of size are the common areas of the house, rather than the bedrooms. Combined with the linear plan, the result is that from one end of the main living spaces to the other, a series of arches and small passages creates a powerful sense of interconnectedness. There is an organic continuity; ‘a f
