Hooked On Art

I created a new blog with news, developments and ideas surrounding my studio, various topics of interest, and with occasional offerings of paintings, prints and collectors' items. Check it out at http://chrisdedier.blogspot.com

Designers' Block

On Monday May 14 2007, Di Overton, the owner of Designers' Block kindly posted pictures and links to my websites on her inspirational blog. I encourage everyone who is interested in style and design to check out this valuable source of information regularly.

A Work In Progress

Sometimes it looked as if there would never come an end to the chaos.
I took tons of pictures during each visit while the house was being renovated. Here are only a handful.

More From Before

Some pictures of the house before the renovations started.

A Hole In The Ground

During the cleanup of the property, one of the workers lifted a big rusty plate of sheetmetal that lay half burried under rocks and rubble, mostly hidden by weeds. The ground felt softer under there, not as stable as elsewhere. His helper stepped forward to push some old steel pipes away. Pebbles underfoot shifted, revealing a hole in the ground.

Caves - cenotes - are abundant in the Yucatan peninsula. Could this be the entrance to a cave on my property? Curious, I encouraged the workers to hurry put everything aside and start digging. Loose rocks were being carted away, until someone could crawl in to check it out. A light was mounted on a PVC pipe and we were able to see inside.

The cave is not very big. It consists of 2 chambers, forming an L. They are fairly shallow, bit I decided to preserve the cave as a landscaping feature. The contractor decided to build a concrete stair into it to stabilize the entrance and prevent erosion.

During heavy rains, it fills up with water and ferns begin to grow on the sides.

The Before, The Between And The After

I saw this property for the first time in April 2004. It didn't look very attractive. There was a lot of junk spread everywhere. The previous owners raised goats, turkeys and chickens on the property. They even kept a horse! It took a year before deciding to buy it and transform it into a vacation rental villa.

A local contractor was hired, someone who spoke a little English, learned during a couple of years of working for a fish farmer near Seattle. He could read the plan and understood my instructions.

The facade needed the least amount of work.

The front living room did not alter much. The original part of the house is constructed of rocks, than plastered and painted.

What is now the atrium used to be a dining room. The ceiling was raised, with a big skylight for aditional air circulation and the arches were opened.

The former kitchen was demolished and in its place came a large family room with high ceiling and wide, tall screened doors that open to the backyard.

The backyard was cleaned up and an above ground lap pool with sun deck was built just outside the master bedroom.

Vacation Rental in Merida.

Villa La Esmeralda

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My house in Merida,YUC is now ready for vacation rental.

The renovations took almost a year to complete. First order was raising the height of the walls around the property, for added security and privacy. The facade was cleaned up and given a fresh look.

The interior space of the house was expanded by one third, with substantial reorganization of the room functions. The original rooms in the front of this Colonial style house only needed electrical wiring, here and there a new coat of plaster and fresh paint. The front doors are new, but otherwise care has been taken to preserve as much as possible of what was there. The encaustic floors have been restored where necessary and polished to bring back the rich colors.

The added rooms at the back of the house have polished concrete floors, whitewashed walls, rustic contemporary furniture in a minimalist decor. High ceilings everywhere and plenty of tall double doors and windows provide a bright airy feeling - ideal to fully enjoy the tropical climate. Ceiling fans aid in the cross ventilation, making air-conditioning unnecessary.

Outside, a lap pool was added and, while cleaning up the backyard, we discovered a cavern that was opened up to become part of the landscaping.




For more information, visit Vacation Rental at www.arrisstudio.com. Now check your dates and give me a call to book your next vacation!