Forbes magazine talks about Saint Barth Colony, celebrating the beautiful work of the design studio

A nice article recently appeared in Forbes magazine by Gary Walther in which he talks about the great work by the Saint Barth Colony design studio.

We talk to Emanuela Miani.

“A nice article recently appeared in Forbes magazine in which it talks about, among other things, a villa by St. Barth; redesigned, renovated and furnished. Can you tell us about it?

When I saw “Villa Rock House”, for the first time, now called “Villa Kiara” by the current owner, it was love at first sight. A small house of an old fisherman, an island which had endured Hurricane Luis in 1985. Nestling between the Island’s highest mountains and with a view of the Grand Fond that turns out to be the wildest part, was where Rudolf Nureyev had his romantic mansion, where foamy waves crashed into the windows of his house. The story is born, a dream comes true. Before the renovation I lived with my family in this house, to savor the spirit and personality of it and from here a design was created that was completed two years later, a typical colonial house but completely modern with respect to the environment.

“What were the major renovations?

I was able to expand the whole property structurally and great attention was paid to the study of the roofs in order to make the entire home harmonious.

“And what were the guidelines or influences used to redesign and decorate the villa?

The villa had to retain its distinctive features of the area, and for that reason, I deliberately redesigned all of the exterior facades with large windows for the living areas while maintaining an elegant style typical of the island with french doors that looked out directly onto the deck, even these designs were created at various levels since they rested directly on the rock of the mountain.

“How do you find the right point of contact with client’s tastes, especially in important jobs like this?

In this particular case, it was the client who found the property to their liking that totally reflected my personality and my taste. A beach house sober, elegant, where white is the predominant colour in order to accentuate and transfer the natural colours of the blue crystal clear sea, the sky and the green of the great mountains.

“Returning to the beautiful villa, is there a corner of the house that has remained in your heart?

Paradoxically, the place that I was particularly fond of was the exterior of the house. Up on the top of the stone stairs built into the rock of the mountain itself, there is a small deck with immense pillows where I used to go to relax and admire the sea.

Alessandra Conforti