The Bali House

[ariscott]

I tried to goggle Indonesian ironwood for you so I can see what the 'actual' Indonesian names are, but I got nowhere. It all depends on where the woods come from. But from what I can gather, usually the timber is very hard and dark in colour - tough!! Apparently it is even too heavy to build boat from.

In the old days, they would make the whole house out of Teak (tectona grandis), as it is semi hardwood, easy to work with and VERY termite resistant - due to its oil content. But, I guess with the rarity of it - it gets too hard to find bigger piece and expensive as well. A friend is building an extension on his house here with combination of steel (for all the structural column) and teak. I think he is bringing a container of teak decking and other teak material from Bali/Java. Apparently he even get spiral staircase made over there and ship it in.. it is cheaper than getting them build locally.. go figure!!

My dad's house in Indonesia only has a/c in the bedrooms too. He has high ceiling and A LOT of ventilation, so it is nowhere as hot as our house, even in their dry season. The Indonesian really knows how to build their house for their climate.... unlike Darwinians, which still think they live down south with their southern style homes.

Regards, Ari

[amazondk]

Ari,

The wood could possibly be balau, Shorea spp.  From what I can see it is a pretty good match.  But, this is only a guess.

dk

[palmislandRandy]

Jeff,Thanks for taking the time to post all the pics! I've been to Quepos & Manuel Antonio 3 times & recognize your beach shots. Hope to return in October!

[Charles Wychgel]

Simply marvelous Jeff thanks for showing!

@ Ari & Don

Indonesian ironwood would be called "merbau" in the trade, kayu besi in the Moluccas or "mirabow" generally in Indonesia.

A beautiful wood in which iron nails do not rust thanks to the high oil content.

[ariscott]

Charles,

I don't think it is merbau - since it is supposed to be dark timber. I have merbau decking and it is not dark - it is more red than anything. But then, I can't see the timber that closely, so anything is possible.

Regards, Ari

[amazondk]

Thanks Charles,

While looking up the wood I came up with this link Triopical Building Systems . They have a part of the site that has projects they have built.  Several of them are in Hawaii.  I did not see Costa Rica so this more than likely was not done by them.  They use bankirai for the structure and merbau for flooring and other uses.  The bankirai does look a lot like the timbers in the Costa Rica structure.

dk

[ariscott]

Kalimantan timber... that makes sense. I wonder what will happen when they run out of Kalimantan timber like they run out of teak...  ???

Regards, Ari

[Jeff in St Pete]

Ari, thanks for the information and for googling the wood.  You're right, Indonesians do know how to build a house for their climate!  I wish I had more information on the wood, but I wasn't here when the house was being built.  Here is some additional information I copied and pasted from the Akira website:

"Villa Akira was designed by Balinese architect Ketut Arthana. Arthana is internationally recognized for his insightful work in designing luxury residences, tropical resorts, and spas throughout Asia, Hawaii, North America, and Europe, including the elegant Puri Woolandari hotel in Bali, one of the Small Leading Hotels of the World. His characteristic dramatic use of space and sense of location and purpose, as seen in Villa Akira, evoke the unmistakable feeling of being a part of nature, inside and outside the villa"

Randy, please contact me before you visit next time.  It would be nice to meet you and show you around the property if you are interested.  

Charles, thanks!  I'm glad you enjoyed the pics.

Don, as always, thanks for all your great information on wood!

[amazondk]

(ariscott @ Mar. 23 2008,07:01)

QUOTE

Kalimantan timber... that makes sense. I wonder what will happen when they run out of Kalimantan timber like they run out of teak...  ???

Regards, Ari

Ari,

Hopefully they can buy timber in Brazil.  

dk

[estan]

Hi Jeff,

Great to see the rest of the house.  I love the openess.  Just what I would like around my little dream home, if I ever find it.  I'm sorry it was occupied when I was there.  

I understand what you said about not sending anything without the permit.  the three joey seeds that still had roots have come up so I can see if it's possible to grow them in Ohio.  

I've been dismantling the 1841 house the past month.  Had 9 volunteers working yesterday.  Starting to take up the floor boards tomorrow.  The frame movers come the end of the month and I have to raise $7,900 yet to pay them!  The first $4,100 was easy.  

Stan

[Jeff in St Pete]

Hi Stan, yeah it's too bad the house was occupied, but you were here during a busy time.  

Actually I found out this week that seeds are easy to send or receive, it's live plants that are a problem.  I found this out after ordering a very expensive shipment from Agristarts.  My plants are now in quarantine and will most likely be destroyed, I will find out on Monday.  The postmaster at the customs center told me "stick to seeds, they never stop seeds, only plants".  There is a way to get some kind of certification first which the customs guy was nice enough to provide to me.  So who knows, maybe someday I will be able to ship plants in and out of Costa Rica.

[SubTropicRay]

I'd love a house like that with the sloth included.  An amazing place Jeff, thanks for posting the photos.

[Jeff in St Pete]

I would love a house in this style some day too Ray.  

Sloths are always included!  

[Borgy230]

Truly amazing place! I have been visiting Costa Rica since I was 8, even lived there on a farm in the jungle when I was 15 for a month! I will never stop going there and definitely hope to live there some day soon!

[Jeff in St Pete]

Thanks Borgy. What area of Costa Rica are you planning to move to? Please look me up when you get here. We even have a palm society now!

[Jeff in St Pete]

I thought I would post some updated photos of the house and of the addition that was completed last Spring. I was looking back at this old post and realized I had replied to a question about our rates and those prices are incorrect now. I talked the owners into lowering the rates to be more competative with other homes in the area. Prices are now $7,000 per week during "season" and $5,000 per week off-season. Of course IPS members would always recieve a 20% discount!

Photos are in no particular order

Bedroom #2

Master bedroom

Master bedroom - dressing room

Notice I replaced the cheap plastic pots Not exactly what I wanted, but they will do for now.

[Jeff in St Pete]

Bridge between main living pavilion and the master suite.

Another shot of the master bedroom

Copper soaking tub in master bathroom.

Deck

[Jeff in St Pete]

Close-up of dining table.

Bathroom - bedroom #2

New addition - bedroom #4 is upstairs and bedroom #5 is downstairs

Another shot of the new addition

[Jeff in St Pete]

Bedroom #4

Bedroom #4 bathroom

[Jeff in St Pete]

Bedroom #5 bathroom

Bali House

[Jeff in St Pete]

View from deck of bedroom #4 looking over towards the pool

New addition

[Jeff in St Pete]

Bedroom #2

Another shot of the house, well part of it

Infinity pool at sunset

[amazondk]

Thanks for the picture up date Jeff. It is a beautiful place and I am glad we got to visit.

dk

[Jeff in St Pete]

Don, I'm glad you and your family had a chance to visit me. It's hard to believe that it's already been three months since you were here.

BTW, the palms you brought me are growing like crazy!

[palmislandRandy]

Talked the wife into another trip to Costa Rica, although we are probably headed to the Arenal/Montverde area in April! I could use an Imperial.

[Jeff in St Pete]

Randy,

Experiencing Monteverde and the cloudforest reserve is one of the best things I have done since I moved to Costa Rica. I was disappointed that it was not included as part of the Biennial, but I guess there is only so much time available and there were too many other places to see that week.

Have a great time! And try the new Imperial Silver.

[Really full garden]

Jeff, the new pots look great! The house seems to me to evoke more a feeling of the tropics than just specifically Bali.

It would fit in any tropical area of Africa,Brasil etc.I am working on designs for my house at the new farm and I always go back to a Balinese inspired design.They seem to blend in with nature as opposed to Spanish Colonial that seems to dominate a natural setting.

What is the roofing material? Are your windows and sliding doors made locally?

[Jeff in St Pete]

Thanks Scott. There's still a few more plastic pots that need to be replaced, I keep looking for alternative pots that would work.

The original house (3 bedrooms/5 bathrooms) was container shipped here from Bali so all the matierials were brought over. They sent a crew of Balinese craftsmen who spent 8 months or so rebuilding the house here in Manuel Antonio. I've been told that all the wood used for the house, the decking and the roof shingles are all made of Indonesian ironwood. The windows and sliding doors (they are actually sliding glass walls) were all made in Bali and then reconstructed here.

As you can see in the photos, we built an addition to the house with two more bedrooms and 2 more bathrooms. This is a separate building that is connected via decking. The materials used for the addition came from Costa Rica and the entire structure was built by a Tico construction company out of San Jose. They couldn't replicate the exact design of the original buildings, but I think they came pretty close by building something that blends with the rest of the house. They did replicate the sliding doors and windows like in the original, but the builder has been back a few times fine tuning the sliding doors as they do not work as well as the ones built by the balinese guys.

[Al in Kona]

Jeff, I had to look thru this thread again and it was almost like we were back there again enjoying the serenity of the Bali House with its open tropical Balinese feel in a beautiful tropical Costa Rican setting. Mentally, I was there for a moment and making me wish to return. Yes it was that enjoyable. If it wasn't that I was already living in beautiful tropical Hawaii, I think I'd be planning my next trip there very soon! While we have incorporated quite an open indoor/outdoor feel in our own home here it is not the same as that all-wood beautiful Balinese architecture. Enjoy that 'Pura Vida' life in Costa Rica!

[Jeff in St Pete]

Thanks Al. Even though you are already living in a tropical paradise, I think your heart is in Central America.

[amazondk]

Jeff,

I still get nervous when I think about falling off the swimming pool. I came back with some great ideas from the Bali House, but I will stay away from the pool design. Even though it is beautiful. BTW the palms you gave me are doing fine here as well.

dk

[Jeff in St Pete]

Don, I know what you mean. My fear is that an earthquake will hit someday when I am in the pool. I imagine the walls crumbling and me swept out and over the edge with the water!

Here is a photo of me in the pool. That would be a long drop!

[amazondk]

Jeff,

That is a scary thought.

dk

[Jeff in St Pete]

I recently found some old photos of the Bali House. These were taken shortly after the home was completed.

Aerial photo

Pool and Main Living Pavilion. That Mango tree is loaded with green fruit right now.

Gazebo

Another gazebo shot from below

[Jeff in St Pete]

Front entry bridge

Copper washbasins in the bathrooms

Daybed in the main living pavilion

Bathroom

[Jeff in St Pete]

[Jeff in St Pete]

Master bathroom

[Jeff in St Pete]

[sur4z]

Jeff- Great pictures...the place looks very inviting...how did you pull off the shot of the master bedroom in post #57...you should post the sunset shot in post #62 in the sunset thread.

[Jeff in St Pete]

The master bedroom photo in post #57 was taken by a friend of mine. He has a small tripod that he put on the floor for that shot. It didn't turn out that well because we had late afternoon sun coming in and it was reflecting off the white duvet cover. He said he wants to re-take the photo sometime when the lighting is better.

I have plenty more sunset photos, but I figured I already posted enough of them in that thread.