They Lived Their Best Life in Bali. So They Built a Forever Home in the Jungle and Never Looked Back

Anna Dorothea Ker
·2 min read

After visiting the island for years, Rod and Carolyn built a modernist-inspired dream home that blends local stone with yakisugi cladding, breeze-block walls, and teak wood.

Dreams of relocating to Bali dance through the minds of many who land on its shores. When Australian couple Rod Williams and Carolyn Markland made the move to officialize their long love affair with the island, they enlisted local architectural design studio Caceres + Tous to realize their forever home on a private, jungle-fringed section in a traditional banjar (neighborhood) of Canggu on Bali’s southern coast. Slung low in a muted palette of local materials, Junipero House appears to emerge from the wilderness, both contrasting and harmonizing with its natural surrounds.

Junipero House enjoys a privileged position combining the best of two worlds: proximity to the buzzy dining and nightlife of Canggu, and pure peace afforded by its wilderness-padded section.
Junipero House enjoys a privileged position combining the best of two worlds: proximity to the buzzy dining and nightlife of Canggu, and pure peace afforded by its wilderness-padded section.

Recalling their first joint visit to the island of the gods in 1995, Rod notes, "Something happened when we stepped off the plane. It still does, nearly 30 years later. The warmth, the aroma of the tuberose flower and the smiles of the Balinese people just envelop you. We were enchanted by the constant ceremonies and celebrations, which are clearly part of local life."

The imposing entrance of the house combines elements of traditional Balinese materials like local Kerobokan stone with international influences such as Shou Sugi Ban Bankiari cladding.
The imposing entrance of the house combines elements of traditional Balinese materials like local Kerobokan stone with international influences such as Shou Sugi Ban Bankiari cladding.

Enraptured, the couple followed their hearts back to Bali on a yearly basis, and eventually upped the ante by undertaking a luxury boutique development in the resort area of Seminyak. Rod supervised the project from Australia, flying over from Melbourne every month with materials and interior pieces in tow: "Twelve ceiling fans in one trip comes to mind," he recalls.

The architects optimised the steep slope at the eastern end of the section by adding a subterranean level that accommodates a guest bedroom, storage and a yoga space.
The architects optimised the steep slope at the eastern end of the section by adding a subterranean level that accommodates a guest bedroom, storage and a yoga space.

See the full story on Dwell.com: They Lived Their Best Life in Bali. So They Built a Forever Home in the Jungle and Never Looked Back
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