We decided to have the local village artists recreate the quintessential Balinese elements into our new house. Our Balinese partner calls these elements “Bali Style”, and since he is also our landlord for the land we leased (for 20 years). So for 8 weeks, we took photos of what we liked best.

The set of elements we come up with was:

• Vaulted ceilings that revealed the beautiful woods, gave a feeling of a large volume, and gave a place for the hot air to rise to.
• Carved wood beams around the veranda, supporting the tile roof.
• Carved stone motives surrounding the carved and painted Palace Doors, off of the veranda.
• Brick walls with carved limestone decorations.
• Carved Stone statuary in the garden.
• Large veranda for outdoor activities and sleeping.
• Carved stone around the base of the veranda.
• Ceiling fans to circulate the cold air from the floor.
• Large CANDI for cars to enter the driveway.
• Raised Bales with grass roofs for lounging.
• Lights pointed up inside the ceilings, and up to the canopy of the coconut trees.
• CANDI for people to enter the front of the property.

There is no way we could specify all the artistic detail, but I could commission the villagers to proudly execute their best interpretation. All the while, creating jobs in the village. When they complete the construction, and we move in, the staff will be hired from the village as well.

We did hire a separate electrical and plumbing contractor, who has experience with western style hotels and ‘foreigner houses’ to provide the creature comforts on the inside.

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