How You Can Feel One with Nature in Our Costa Rica Vacation Homes

How do you want to feel in your vacation home? Truly good design not only looks wonderful but also creates renewing experiences and a deep connection with nature. There is no single feature in our high-end vacation home designs that create this magic. Instead, the way many elements come together results in this desirable outcome. Today, we are going to reveal a number of our strategies and look inside actual spaces that we’ve designed so that you can glimpse what is possible with our Costa Rica vacation homes design.

When we design high-end luxury vacation home for our clients, there is no recipe or formula.  Each home is a custom design and with careful consideration and attention to detail to the many variables of the site, the topography, the clients’ personality, and the vision of how the home should make them feel.  To achieve this, we analyze many different elements and conditions, and together they produce the outcome that our clients are so grateful for.

Though these terms may sound technical, our Casa Magayon brings them down to earth, specifically to the dramatic hillside that follows the ocean shore and against which the house nestles. We not only chose to adapt the home design to the terrain (rather than the other way around), but also, though the completed form appears simple and playful, we put a lot of thought into the way we laid out its several structures.

For example, with the main living area, kitchen, and terrace we decided on a two-story, long mass design. On the lower level, we all agreed would be the master bedroom suite. Yet this part of the site faces west. How would we ensure comfortable living? So we designed this long and narrow proportion –– with the narrow side facing west.

We further protect against the sun with a porch and wide overhang. What’s more, in the hottest parts of the year, the entire mass of this main living area creates natural shading onto the outdoor level, swimming pool, and terrace. It can be 37 degrees Celsius, blazing hot. Yet you can be outside without needing to hide in a corner or cover yourself with an umbrella.

We love to bring the outdoors in, as well as blur the distinction between the inside and the outside. As a result, you feel a constant connection to nature from wherever you are. We created a focus on specific points on the site or within the view of Casa Magayon’s windows. Imagine –– the master bathroom has two very large windows; one is right at the shower and allows the outdoor shower experience through floor-to-ceiling glass, and this can be opened to create even more connection to the ocean, which is part of the view. On the other side of the same bathroom, a picture window centered over the bathtub looks out upon a tree, perfectly centered.

In some of our designs, we feature a suspended bridge as part of the outdoor space. Such bridges create a mystique. You walk out onto the bridge and feel suspended in air over the treetops, or hover above breaking waves just 30 feet below. Feelings are triggered by the use of these bridges. We create a connection to nature in a way unlike any you’ve experienced –– monkeys pass by in the treetops! Guests and family members tend to gravitate to the bridges at the end of the afternoon … cocktail hour on the bridge looking at the sunset.

A current client, who was also the first renter of Casa Magayon, tells of being in the home with 14 people for 10 days, yet they never felt crowded.

We create a multitude of spaces, even when this doesn’t at first appear feasible. You can come together sometimes; other times, you find your own nook to read, lounge, or look at your iPad.

The client I mentioned is now the owner of Villa Tres Mares, which shows that a well-designed space does not need to be overbearing or have a bunch of “stuff.” Simple but tasteful design goes a long way. By using distinctive materials to define the space, you also have great versatility without restrictive walls that would sub-divide it or interrupt air flow or views.

This project expresses everything I’ve already mentioned: We blur the inside and outside by using decking material that runs into the front of the house, through the main living area, and outside to the beach in an uninterrupted flow. We selected a beautiful accent wall of white quartz stone and used architectural lighting so that, when you are ready to be indoors, the living room and dining room, which lie side by side in great harmony, are very attracting. The dining table in one or a TV cabinet we designed in the other can be a focal point.

During the day, however, with the glass doors to the ocean wide open, this space is a bridge through which you transition to a relaxed and enjoyable way of life. The outside and the inside are integrated. Yet when you want to, you close the doors, turn on the A/C and get comfortable, with greater privacy.

This house has a pool on the roof with a full outdoor kitchen up there. You can go up to see the sunset and end up spending the whole evening there, or in the garden, or on the beach. Whatever you choose, you can be sure there is no inclination to be drawn away, even in your thoughts.

Our design philosophy brings everyone together in spaces and experiences that you can truly enjoy for years to come. In doing so, we maximize the value of the home. The feelings and experiences here energize you, not only while you are here, but always. Our luxury Costa Rica vacation homes design changes the way you see the world because you feel at one with nature and that feeling can become intrinsic.

The post How You Can Feel One with Nature in Our Costa Rica Vacation Homes appeared first on SARCO Architects Costa Rica - Luxury Design for International Clients.