Interior Designer Juan Poggi, who jets from his offices in South Florida to Japan to Paris and yes, to Ibiza, knows all about luxurious design and exactly how to get to the pine-clad, beach-bejeweled island, where he has created a wide-open 5,000-square-foot vacation retreat for his Barcelona clients. “Ibiza is part of the Balearic Islands,” Poggi says. “Just imagine that fragments of Spain fell south from Barcelona into the Mediterranean Sea … four large islands, including Ibiza and many smaller islands, sit there only 45 minutes from Spain’s largest cities.”
When his clients purchased the apartment on a peninsular arm jutting into an Ibizian bay, Poggi flew in to work with the architect, opening some walls and creating a new lighting system. “It is only a three floor building, with each owner occupying one level. Each has his own swimming pool and views of the breathtaking Bay of Talamanca.”
Knowing that his clients would use the residence as a holiday retreat to entertain friends and spend time on their boat, he kept with minimalist furnishings, yet filled the space with intriguing textures, structure, and with art that is both comfortable to live with and cutting-edge.
“The pool is completely private,” says Poggi, of the second-level piscina. “I used Paola Lenti furnishings here because it simply sustains its color forever.” The last thing the eye picks up before the sparkling hues of the bay, are the cement-colored outdoor sofas and the stunning blues of the accent pillows.
Inside, a social grouping opens onto one of the vast terraces. With entertainment always in play, the expanded area provides ample space for lounging, contemplation and perhaps watching world-class soccer on the cached television, which is hidden behind a sliding mirror in the Poggi-designed wall unit — all from Cubiña in Barcelona.
Rose albizia wood makes for a paradox in the soft strength of the rounded chairs by Mario Mori, while more of the outdoors is welcome in the form of white oak cocktail tables. Though they too are white, Edra’s rope chairs do anything but pale.
Proving that art is anywhere, Poggi positioned a weathered vine from Mercader de Venezia as sculpture in the dining area and dramatically clothed a rack with hats and cloaks nearby. The designer is especially proud of the wall installation above the sofa in the main living space. “I commissioned artist Patricia Villalobos to create something that would truly wow.” With a carefully specified matrix of dots projected onto the wall, Villalobos attached small hand-carved, resin-coated forms to create a kind of constellation that casts shadows and wonderment with each hour of the day.
“I wanted most everything white so that the bay would be the star,” Poggi says. “I wanted the lighting in the room to change as the sun moved and as the clouds shifted … and again the colors of nature are transferred onto the very walls.”
Story Credits:
Interior Design by Juan Poggi, Poggi Design, Coral Gables, FL
Photography by Carlos Domenech, Coral Gables, FL
Architecture by Praedium, Barcelona, Spain
Text by Marina Brown
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