Houzz Tours
My Polynesian Houzz: A Revamped Villa on a Blue Lagoon
In a secluded spot right on the water, this holiday house provides everything its owners need for regular escapes
Having travelled extensively around the world, Pierre Crot was looking to invest in a holiday home in an idyllic locale far from his native Switzerland. “My ex-wife and I visited many places we liked, such as Thailand and Indonesia, but we couldn’t buy there,” he says.
It was during a stay in Tahiti that the couple found themselves thinking they had discovered their paradise. “We fell in love with Moorea right away and focused our efforts on buying a house there.” The couple ended up finding this rare gem on the edge of a lagoon tucked away from tourists.
It was during a stay in Tahiti that the couple found themselves thinking they had discovered their paradise. “We fell in love with Moorea right away and focused our efforts on buying a house there.” The couple ended up finding this rare gem on the edge of a lagoon tucked away from tourists.
The home looks as if it were built directly on top of the lagoon. “The house was not in good condition and needed some serious work, but we immediately saw its potential.” The building had a large metal-framed glass wall, outside of which was a wooden deck that extended right onto the ocean.
“The place was not well maintained and the interior needed to be redesigned,” says Crot. He works in architecture and had been designing 3D models of projects for several years, so he put his professional knowledge to good use in designing the new interior himself.
Once the plans were finalised, Crot returned to the site several times to get his hands dirty. In particular, he took part in dismantling the damaged parts of the old house and in bringing all the electricity up to standard.
“The hardest part was mainly to find reliable craftsmen while living 16,000 kilometres away,” says Crot. “Luckily, my best friend stayed there to direct the work, and we were able to find trusted professionals in the end.”
“The place was not well maintained and the interior needed to be redesigned,” says Crot. He works in architecture and had been designing 3D models of projects for several years, so he put his professional knowledge to good use in designing the new interior himself.
Once the plans were finalised, Crot returned to the site several times to get his hands dirty. In particular, he took part in dismantling the damaged parts of the old house and in bringing all the electricity up to standard.
“The hardest part was mainly to find reliable craftsmen while living 16,000 kilometres away,” says Crot. “Luckily, my best friend stayed there to direct the work, and we were able to find trusted professionals in the end.”
The new owners chose to keep the original turquoise colour of the home’s wooden cladding. It recalls the bluish shades of the lagoon and is in keeping with the building’s surroundings.
Inside the house, a large living room covers an area of about 80 square metres and includes two lounge areas, a dining area and a kitchen. The owners chose to keep the stunning glass wall with its wrought-iron frame, which opens the space up on the lagoon side. Facing south, it brings in the maximum amount of light and offers a breathtaking view of the sunset.
The walls and ceiling got a new coat of white paint to restore the colour. The two carved tiki pillars, which feature traditional Polynesian motifs, have been restored and the floor has simply been refurbished. “It’s the same [wood] as the deck outside but treated with a different varnish and laid down with different spacing,” says Crot.
The walls and ceiling got a new coat of white paint to restore the colour. The two carved tiki pillars, which feature traditional Polynesian motifs, have been restored and the floor has simply been refurbished. “It’s the same [wood] as the deck outside but treated with a different varnish and laid down with different spacing,” says Crot.
The view of the ocean is at the core of every space. “With a deck like this, we had no choice but to orient the layout in this direction,” says Crot. All of the spaces in the home are turned towards the lagoon, even if indirectly.
The furniture has also been chosen to echo the ocean. For example, the shape of the chairs in the dining room recalls seashells. Raw materials and wood in all its forms star throughout the space. The dining table has been modernised with the addition of a glass plate, making it easier to maintain, and the pendant light matches the glass wall’s framework perfectly.
“It is not easy to find furniture in Polynesia, but I discovered a very good shop in Tahiti from which we furnished almost the entire house,” says Crot.
“It is not easy to find furniture in Polynesia, but I discovered a very good shop in Tahiti from which we furnished almost the entire house,” says Crot.
Already open to the rest of the room, the original kitchen was in a space just big enough to hold a sink, an oven and a stove. It has been completely redesigned and reoriented towards the outside view: “We dismantled the old furniture and replaced it with this large granite bench facing the sea. It was custom-made and echoes Tahiti’s volcanic stone,” says Crot.
The floor of the kitchen area is slightly raised. “The back of the room is on a concrete slab that was poured for the house, while the front lies on the structure on stilts that supports the terrace,” he says.
The floor of the kitchen area is slightly raised. “The back of the room is on a concrete slab that was poured for the house, while the front lies on the structure on stilts that supports the terrace,” he says.
The owners did not really need a television, and they had enough space behind the kitchen for a second living area. “We took advantage of this space to place an extra bed, which doubles as a sofa,” says Crot. It is made of recovered industrial pallets painted white.
A carpenter custom-made the stairs, which lead to a bedroom mezzanine with a panoramic window overlooking the lagoon. “We did not want a banister or [second] railing because we wanted a more contemporary look.”
A carpenter custom-made the stairs, which lead to a bedroom mezzanine with a panoramic window overlooking the lagoon. “We did not want a banister or [second] railing because we wanted a more contemporary look.”
The waterfront terrace on stilts benefits from its exceptional location. It faces the entrance to the lagoon, and it is not unusual to spot dolphins and even whales swimming by. In front of the terrace, a flat shoreline offers a shallow entrance and access to deeper water for snorkelling among the marine life.
The exterior deck was very damaged when Crot bought the home. It has been refurbished and sand was brought in to create decorative corners, as between the sunbathing and the shady areas.
The exterior deck was very damaged when Crot bought the home. It has been refurbished and sand was brought in to create decorative corners, as between the sunbathing and the shady areas.
Crot added an outdoor shower for rinsing off after swimming in the ocean. It is surrounded by palm trees, some of which were pruned to keep them from being too imposing. The tiki stone statue of a Polynesian god was present on the property when Crot bought the house and found its new place here.
Besides serving as a shelter in case of rain, the pergola on the terrace protects one of the bedrooms from the sun and heat.
The custom-made bedhead is a blend of driftwood and aged wood. It creates an entryway at the bedroom door and incorporates bedside tables and the lamps’ electrical wiring.
The custom-made bedhead is a blend of driftwood and aged wood. It creates an entryway at the bedroom door and incorporates bedside tables and the lamps’ electrical wiring.
The owners thought the original bathroom was too small, so the old shower was removed to leave space for a larger open-plan layout. The tiles on the walls are from Spain. The wooden vanity unit was custom-made by a carpenter.
This bedroom faces the pool and was originally an independent studio. “It originally had a small bathroom, a kitchenette and a private entrance,” says Crot. It has been completely reworked into a master suite with a bathroom and dressing room. A huge glassed wall and an additional clerestory window have been installed to pull natural light into the once-dark room. The bleached look of the flooring makes the room even brighter.
The large bedhead, made from a variety of woods, is certainly the central feature of the space. Besides hiding the electrical wires and making space for bedside tables, it separates the shower from the rest of the room. The vanity unit nearby was made with wood from the former bar-kitchen bench, to which custom-made cupboard doors were added.
The large bedhead, made from a variety of woods, is certainly the central feature of the space. Besides hiding the electrical wires and making space for bedside tables, it separates the shower from the rest of the room. The vanity unit nearby was made with wood from the former bar-kitchen bench, to which custom-made cupboard doors were added.
The shower extends the whole length of the bedhead and its walls are made of different materials: “I wanted to capture the light with imitation wood tiles in a lighter shade on one side and create a contrast with thin strips of slate on the other,” says Crot.
The French door in the bedroom looks out onto a covered terrace with a lounge area. More pallet furniture sits alongside a regulation pool table to create a recreational area. They sit directly on the raw concrete slab.
Right next to the terrace is a swimming pool. Completed only recently, it takes the place of what was once the boat garage. “The lagoon is stunning, but you have to go far out to have a proper swim, so a swimming pool was more practical and less dangerous for children,” says Crot.
The pool deck and covering are made of the same wood as the terrace deck, and local stones complete the arrangement.
The pool deck and covering are made of the same wood as the terrace deck, and local stones complete the arrangement.
“There were some difficulties in realising this project … but we also made some incredible finds,” says Crot. The bulk of the work has been completed, but Crot always finds some finishing touches to attend to.
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Tell us
What do you love about this holiday home? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, like the story, and join in the conversation.
More
Love coastal style? Check out this Stickybeak of the Week: An Edgy and Elegant Sea-Change Home
Who holidays here: Pierre Crot
Location: Moorea, French Polynesia
Size: A 250-square-metre house on a 1,100-square-metre plot
Rooms: 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms
Duration of work: 4 years
Year bought: 2012
Budget: About AU$947,000 (600,000 euros), including the purchase of the house
That’s interesting: Crot stays here an average of twice a year, while the rest of the year he rents it out for short periods through an agency.
The research really began during Crot’s fourth visit to French Polynesia: “My ex-wife and I spent an entire week looking at a huge number of properties without finding anything we liked. It was only three days before our departure that we came across a classified ad in La Dépêche de Tahiti [a local newspaper] about the sale of a house in Moorea.” As soon as they set foot on the property, the couple fell in love with the place and knew they wanted to buy it.
A huge draw was that the villa is in a great location away from tourist hotspots. “It is located on a bay where only Polynesian families live, many of whom are fishermen.”