Kind Koko

I said hi to our neighbor. First neighbor I said hi to. Nothing special... We are too busy settling in... so we do not socialize much. She is from USA, married to Indonesian, lives here seven years and has three kids, and when I tell her I am an architect. She says: ah! I need an architect, had no idea where to start looking for one, so I prayed: and here you are! 

Well here I am. She has a tiny vegan coconut ice cream shop and needs a design. I made a quick free sketch, that she liked enough to proceed.

Richard Feynman had a lucky horse shoe over his door, and they asked him: aren't you a physicist, you do not believe in this stuff do you? And he said: well of course not! but I heard it works even if you do not believe in it.

The design for a shop in Ubud is almost finished.

The first idea I got is to put wood outside. But then I started thinking: exposed wood in a tropical climate? in an extra humid Ubud?! Here the walls turn all green because there is so much water. No exposed wood could last more than a few months.

The solution is: simply use metal and hide it with flower pots. Metal is used here all over the place. It does not look good, but it does its job. The curse of north is cold, the curse of tropics is mold and insects. Nature eats everything exposed to elements here.

We used coconut fibers to communicate message it is hand made coconut ice cream. And some color to communicate that flavors are used.

We almost decided this one to be the final one. But then we realized it may be a bit too girly. We should go with more tropical vibe. It has been a while since I was doing interior design. I like it. It is less about geometry and more about feeling.

Making the "non even, cloudy, patchy" look.

Tiles are already bought.

I noticed that a column right across the street is in same colors as we choose.

*

The house we bought is taking shape.

Big window to the forest.

Soon they will add a roof.

You can still see the sky.

3d model of our interior

Flower pattern tiles

Monstera plant around our window

*

We found a woodworking shop near the street. Prices here are half as much as in town. The reason why we can find places like this is, because we are driving randomly around up and down the island. These places do not have internet site and you can not find them on google map. They do not speak English either. And here comes the trick: Anggi speaks Indonesian with them.

A closet like this costs 250 euros. And here some of you might say: I can get it even cheaper in Europe. Isn't Bali supposed to be cheaper? Well... This is Jatti (Teak) wood. A closet like this would probably cost 1000 euros in Europe. We asked if we can use cheaper wood? And they said: No. No way. If we use a lesser wood the termites eat the furniture and then clients complain. It is Jatti or nothing. Furniture in Indonesia is a generational purchase. You buy a closet and it lasts you a lifetime.

Negotiating the price Maybe he got a bit scared with extras wishes (like ratan mesh on the doors or different color finish) or he simply saw a "rich" bule. The price went up. Well, once my plans for furniture are finished we will negotiate. 

I think we will get away with 800 euros for 3 closets and a bed.

*

A plan of how we could green our courtyard.

Just a few minutes away from our house we found a whole village selling decorative greenery. The prices here are also half if not even less than in town. Some go for as little as 1 euro. Maybe 5 euro for a fancy one and 20 for a super fancy and big one... We will green our place for less than 100 euros for sure.

Greenery near walls to hide them. Monstera plant around the window. Famous Bali Kamboja tree to have flowers on our garden.

Many plants are same as we are used to in Europe. Only here they grow outside not inside and they often get much bigger.

*

The design is typical symmetrical pattern. The trick is to use one tile and rotate it around. They sell all kind of designs, many are great. But all those patterns have European motive. So I decided I will draw my own: with Bali pattern: The patterns are a copy of flowers I saw on streets of Ubud. 

Two are needed, since there are two different flowers.

and for the kitchen: Hexagon tile gives you 3 flower patterns. Though much smaller

*

Color scheme for living room (brown, black and white) and kitchen (green and yellow).

Final selection of colors for our tiles of our house. Checking in proper daylight.

Random selection of left over tiles for bathroom. They will clean and polish them for us.

3 m2, because: why not. The more the better.

yes yes, they will be aligned, it is a photoshop, what can you do?

1 euro = 15.000 rupiah - it will cost us about 900 euros. Yes, we are putting 900 euro tiles in 20.000 euro house. 

Making a purchase.