A seaside Dominican retreat blends local craft and Spanish influences
The Caribbean is the effervescence of bougainvillea, palm trees and cool coconut water fresh from the fruit, ringing laughter, bare feet on cool tiled floors, sunrise that cuts through darkness in the blink of an eye. In short, a place that invites the visitor to let go and let flow. “I never feel like I have to entertain,” said Kathryn Herman, the owner of this waterfront villa in the Dominican Republic. “Just being here is the entertainment.”
Spanish ceramic plate wall honors this home’s European past
The sprawling villa in Punta Cana counts eight bedrooms and a spacious sitting area where European influences and local craft blend.
The Caribbean sunlight pours through every room, casting white walls in sharp contrast to the wooden, teak and bamboo furnishings. Red is certainly the accent color here as it appears in the coral reef print of the sofa cushions of the living room and in the Indian block-print linen used throughout the home.
A gallery wall above the couch features Spanish ceramic plates and French faiënce – a callback to the island’s Franco-Spanish heritage.
These decorative plates hang next to a number of antique maps that pay homage to the island’s history. “We wanted to honor where we are,” said Herman, a landscape architect who certainly knows something about the sense of place.
And this place, Hispaniola, the first Spanish outpost in the Americas, is a generous soil. Drawing on her landscaping expertise, Herman has created lush gardens on this property where fruit trees, jasmine, frangipane, and ylang-ylang thrive.
Lebrillo bowls decorate the sun-drenched dining area
In the Caribbean, “staying in” is a rarity as indoor-outdoor living spaces blend through verandas, pavilions and French doors that allow residents to enjoy the landscape from multiple vantage points.
Awesome views of the Atlantic surround the loggia where a Coralina stone table and rattan chairs sit.
Two Spanish lebrillos in green decorate the walls while a locally made Moorish lantern illuminates the space at night.
Featuring rows of vegetation and marks resembling those of plowshare, the Espigas lebrillo above recalls features of the natural landscapes. Below, a rare owl motif on a traditional lebrillo hangs on the opposite side of the loggia.
Traditionally used for laundry and cooking before the 20th century, these ceramic bowls hold great significance for families. Passed down from one generation to another, they’ve become precious heirlooms that hold the storied past of a lineage.
Elsewhere, Indonesian teak benches, Indian textiles, Moroccan candleholders and Portuguese pottery fill the home.
While its furnishings betray a globetrotting sensibility, some quirks like the ceiling fan in the loggia is characteristic of the tropics.
If you’ve ever been here, you know: the lethargic metronome of a ceiling fan is the perfect soundtrack for an afternoon siesta in this seaside paradise.
We have 30+ lebrillo designs available ranging in size from 35cm to 80cm. We also offer custom-made wall mounts.
