Victoria Allan hit the ground running once she found her dream home in Ibiza. “When La Joya came up I bid on it immediately without even seeing it”, she confessed. Meaning ‘the jewel’ in Spanish, this gem of a property turned out to be just the spot that Victoria was looking for, with ample space in a prime location overlooking the beach. While the layout was somewhat atypical for Ibiza, the large square footage gave Victoria the flexibility to reconfigure the space to suit her every whim and fancy. “I was looking for a new project and was up for the challenge!”, she laughs. And so the refurbishment process began.
As the founder of Hong Kong’s Habitat Property and with over 18 years of experience in real estate, fixing up a place from the ground up wasn’t quite as daunting to Victoria as you might think. Beyond connecting clients to their dream homes, Victoria frequently provides design and interior direction to both landlords and design agencies, jazzing up some properties while paring back others in Hong Kong’s frenetic real estate market. Designing her Ibiza home was, in contrast, a breeze.
Working with Dutch architects Ibiza Interiors, Victoria quickly began transforming the space. “I was very involved in the design and knew exactly how I wanted the house to look”, she shares. Because of the pandemic, Victoria resorted to Facetime and Zoom check-ins to work as closely as possible with the team. “It ended up working super well and there’s nothing I would change.”
Natural rustic fabrics like rattan, wood and stone suffuse the space. “I had a very distinct aesthetic in mind and I wanted to incorporate local material wherever I could”, Victoria explains. “I found these dramatic rattan light fixtures from Atelier Vime – they do the most gorgeous custom rattan light fittings and furniture, as well as vintage pieces too.” The floors are made from natural stone sourced locally – the very same stone as used in the Old town ‘Dalt Villa’ hundreds of years ago. Finishes were kept to the bare minimum both indoors and outdoors, with swirling greens and brick-red terracotta shades breathing life into the home while nodding to the lush pine hills and cliffs that the residence is nestled between.
“The green is based on a custom painting I have by the artist Tanya Ling”, shares Victoria. A focal piece in the living area, the striking work of art’s emerald hue sets the tone for all the interior. Victoria also managed to locate shamrock green Italian dining chairs, a phenomenal find from the 1930’s that she chanced upon at Dimore Gallery in Milan. A lover of all things vintage, Victoria worked with another interior designer to source more unique finds, including vintage rattan pieces from France and Italy via Maison Juane Studio and a beautiful vintage mirror and chair by Bonacina 1889 situated in Victoria’s favourite room of the house – her bedroom.
“It looks out over the garden and towards the water – it’s very relaxing and I always sleep so well here”, she says. Originally, the room was a part of the kitchen with a tiny window. Victoria opened up the space and added large windows, filling the room with natural light and tranquil sea views. The plush custom rug by Beni Rugs matches the brilliant green of the living room painting, while a custom rust terracotta chair and a soft, glowing ceramic pine cone lamp add to the room’s soft, inviting aura. “Colour is so important as it adds some depth and personality to the house”, Victoria muses. “I like to think the colour I’ve added in the house strongly reflects my personality and style as well as retaining the Ibizan ‘spirit’”.
To account for Ibiza’s sun-drenched lifestyle, Victoria created various outdoor dining and entertaining spaces. “I also spent a lot of time and thought of re-doing the garden to make it more of a feature of the house and connect the outside in and vice-versa”. Given the sizeable plot of land she was working with, Victoria was able to create two different dining areas, an outdoor kitchen complete with a wood-fired pizza oven and barbecue area, and a spacious terrace by the pool. Arnaud Casaus, a landscape designer from Paris, worked with Victoria to keep as many native plants as possible to further blend the property into its natural surroundings.
“I absolutely love Ibiza and its unique vibe”, Victoria declares. Island inhabitants can have the best of both worlds, choosing to tap into Ibiza’s relaxed beachy resorts or thrilling nightlife. “The water here is that vivid turquoise blue and crystal clear – the restaurants, bars and beach clubs are incredible, there’s always a great energy. You can be super laid back here. people always think ibiza is a non-stop party but it’s the opposite. It’s very relaxing and chilled.”
Editor
Carina FischerCredit
Photography by Ariadna Puigdomenech
