The Sanctuary….a home tour.

 

….Smile, breathe and go slowly

                                        ~Thich Nhat Hanh

 

There is a home in this beautiful small town of ours

down a winding sandy road… heading towards the blue green ocean

That truly is a sanctuary for the soul.

{say hi to Daisy…the little scrapper that will show us around}

It is a peaceful retreat built to work with nature…not against.

Built as their family home… Husband and wife architect team Mary Juckiewicz and Peter Moor

created a homestead befitting of the tropics…and a barefoot lifestyle

Collecting easterly breezes which waft through open doors and windows…keeping them cool.

Enchanting collected gifts from the sea adorn every corner

 

{here a pair of shells found outside their door….act as a doorstop}

Coconuts….scattered and found…happily growing everywhere…In and out.

It isn’t so much decorated…

But embellished with finds from nature….good books….collected stories. Music and art are made here.

Kick off your shoes….let the sand warm your toes….and come visit… image from here 

We enter the house through a beautiful large ‘keep the evil spirits away’ blue louvered door…actually the same color as the blue blue sky above.

the peaked roof to the left is the garage and breezeway…

Which opens onto a loggia courtyard and stairs going up to the main part of the home

{ Living, kitchen, master bedroom and a sitting/meditation room }

The courtyard…to the left is simply filled with sandy pea gravel

Six new green buttonwood trees are taking hold in their new home…Soon, when stronger, will be strung with lights across the outdoor teak table and chairs

 

Mary actually found a zen rake…that they can use to rake meditation circles in the gravel

I tried it.  Calming….

 

Taking the stairs up, we find more sea finds…walking us up the steps

We walk through tall french doors into a large breezy large room…where everything happens

No unneeded walls. Just living space….Breathing space.

 

 

Art…many from local artists…adorn the pale cool walls

{these above from local artist Renee Guerin}

Books are everywhere….the words almost fall off of their pages onto the bamboo floors…tickling your senses…begging you to pick one up…find a cozy spot and read. 

To the south is the kitchen space…Tall ceilings….windows overlooking coconut trees…shelves to the ceilings

Soapstone counters….a large butcher block island,

filled to the brim with tablecloths and serving trays a woman after my own heart

Off of the kitchen is a small bright eastern facing room…Mary calls it her meditation spot

Morning sun washes through the windows….birds call from the trees below…

The floors throughout the top area of the home are bamboo…

Heading down the stairs to the bedrooms and sitting/tv room…your hand brushes along a natural bamboo handrail

 

 

And you reach a cool Saltillo tile lower entry…and hallway to the bedrooms and sitting room…

…and more salted collections from the sea…

The tranquil and light filled sitting room has art created by Peter…and maps and photos of other corners of the world where this family has lived…and loved.

This lovely tranquil collected sanctum of a family home…

 

is a mere 100 steps to the salt and  sea of the Atlantic.

 

{ Thanks for the tour….Darling Daisy.}