Close-to-nature dream house on a hill<\/p>\n
Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The dream was to build a house that was close to nature with
\nethnic nuances to enable the owners to feel the fresh air and the
\nsound of wind blowing through the trees. Even the soothing sound
\nof rippling water can be heard inside from every room.<\/p>\n
That dream encouraged Wisnu Tjandra and wife Valentine
\nNalandau to renovate their house in Sentul, Bogor, into a house
\nwith delicate Balinese nuances, radiating from the interior and
\nits tropical garden.<\/p>\n
The renovated house now has two bedrooms (down from three), a
\nfamily room, living room, dining room, TV room, a pantry and
\nthree bathrooms.<\/p>\n
Though the house has an ethnic feel to it, it also has a wall
\nconsisting of vertical posts at the front which also gives the
\nhouse a modern touch. This wall adds a strong rhythmic effect
\nwhile at the same time also acts as a unique screen from the
\nstreet.<\/p>\n
The house's vertical motif is also repeated in the windows,
\ncolumns, railings and light casings, the latter were specially
\ndesigned to ensure the light would emanate in vertical lines.<\/p>\n
\"We designed the vertical light casing ourselves and
\ninstructed our workers to make enough of them for the house's
\noutdoor lighting,\" said Valentine.<\/p>\n
From the front yard, it looks like a one-story house but the
\nland slopes downwards enabling the owner to build a lower story
\nat the rear part. \"It is a perfect setting, downward slopping
\nland and beautiful natural scenery at the back terrace,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Elements of nature, the wind and the water, were nicely
\nintegrated into the house design.<\/p>\n
The large windows enable people inside the house to enjoy the
\nwind blowing while in the front yard a small pond with a
\nstructure resembling a water curtain is set up. Valentine said
\nthe couple were inspired by such a structure in Singapore.<\/p>\n
\"The water in the pond is pumped up to the upper part of the
\nrectangular structure and it falls as a water curtain,\" said the
\narchitect, Gregorius Supie Yolodi.<\/p>\n
What is unique is that the main entrance is at the side of the
\nhouse. From the front yard, guests follow a pathway that passes
\nbehind the water curtain and to the stairway on the left side of
\nthe house that leads to the main entrance.<\/p>\n
Guests can also enjoy the soothing sound of water running down
\nthe sides of the stairs, while heading to the living room.<\/p>\n
To support the house's vertical theme, another wall consisting
\nof vertical posts was also built at the rear part of the house,
\nshielding the entrance pathway from the back garden. \"The wall is
\na repetition but also serves as a divider so guests can take a
\nglimpse of the rear garden before they enter the house,\"
\nGregorius said.<\/p>\n
From the outside, the high windows at the back of the house
\ngive a welcoming effect and from the inside, the windows give a
\nspacious effect to the room and give an open view of the garden.<\/p>\n
\"Sunshine can penetrate the dining room optimally from these
\nwindows,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Earthy colors and different kinds of natural stones were used
\nto enhance the natural and ethnic atmosphere.<\/p>\n
For the entrance pathway, Gregorius said palimanan stones were
\narranged in crazy pattern while dark gray candi (temple) stones
\nwere used for the water canals. The terrace was paved with white
\npalimanan. The front part of the house was lined with sala gedang
\nstones brought from West Java and bordered with koral sikat
\nstones.<\/p>\n
For the interior, off-white ceramic tiles with damar laut wood
\nfor borders were used to give it a clean modern touch yet
\nmaintain the ethnic nuance. The railing and the steps of the
\ninterior staircase were made of damar laut wood.<\/p>\n
\"We used different floor tiles for each room to match its
\nfunction but also to enhance the atmosphere,\" Valentine said.<\/p>\n
For the wall, a brownish-colored paint was brought from Bali
\nthat has a grainy-textured finish. One of the walls in the family
\nroom was decorated with small panels containing silhouettes of
\nBalinese dancers.<\/p>\n
The rear terrace is bordered with coral stones so that rain
\nwater will not wet the terrace and to soften the transition from
\nthe terrace to the garden.<\/p>\n
The house's tropical landscaped garden, designed by a family
\nrelative, is planted with cyperus papyrus, heliconia and
\npachystachys lutea. Valentine, who also loves gardening, planted
\ngreen spathiphyllum in a pot and white roses in front of the
\nentrance and medicinal plant temulawak or curcuma xanthorrhiza in
\nthe rear garden.<\/p>\n
As for the lighting, Gregorius said, the arrangement includes
\ntrack lighting, halogen and indirect lighting that was arranged
\nin a way to highlight certain focuses, like ornamental panels,
\npaintings or credenzas.<\/p>\n
\"There are about 100 lighting spots. Designing lighting plans
\nis one of my husband's hobbies,\" Valentine explained.<\/p>\n
For the outdoor lighting, the house is illuminated with the
\nlights in the vertical wooden casings. Both the casings and the
\nlight that they emanate match the house's vertical concept.<\/p>\n
Each of the openings in the wall with vertical posts is also
\nilluminated with lights. \"The lighting arrangement gives an
\ninverse effect to the wall during the evening,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The backyard was embellished with traditional Balinese garden
\nlamps, clay pots from Yogyakarta and a small pool decorated with
\nsmall frogs statues around it.<\/p>\n
And to best enjoy the beautiful natural view from the back
\nterrace, the couple set up a bale bengong (traditional gazebo)
\nequipped with bamboo wind chimes and traditional bamboo musical
\ninstruments.<\/p>\n
\"The sound of the bamboo musical instruments blends
\nbeautifully with the sound of the wind and water,\" Valentine
\nsaid.<\/p>",
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