Interiors inspiration: Voon Wong on designing an Andalusian villa with an Asian twist

Interior designer Voon Wong, of Viewport Studios, tells Zoe Dickens about the inspiration behind this East-meets-West villa in Marbella...

The view

The house is arranged as a series of terraced volumes, perched on a steep incline on a hill overlooking the Costa del Sol. The street façade is low, discreet and largely blank. Once inside the entrance hallway, and after you walk past the black bamboo poles screening the stairwell, you get the first glimpse of the panoramic view that this house enjoys. You can choose to stop and enjoy the view from the balcony where we sourced a generous teak day bed that was imported from Bali.

Behind the bamboo screen is the master suite as well as two children’s bedrooms. All rooms feature a pyramidal ceiling which follows the slant of the pitched roof at this level.

The master bedroom is simply furnished, with vintage African sculptures, Tunisian table lamps and a Beni Ourain rug providing textural interest.

In the master ensuite, handmade Spanish hydraulic floor tiles are set off by plain white wall tiles and bathroom fittings from Ex.t and Flaminia.

The other bedrooms are variations on the same theme, with an eclectic mix of furnishings from Syria, Scandinavia and Africa.

The living, dining and kitchen areas are arranged in a linear fashion along the facade of the house, all with direct access to a decked area beyond. The furnishings throughout the house adopt a monochrome colour scheme, and are an eclectic mix of pieces from Europe, Asia and South America.

In the living room there are vintage armchairs and accessories sourced from South East Asia and Africa. The green living wall that is part of an internal courtyard provides an alternative focal point for this area.

The kitchen units are from Spanish kitchen company Doca and appliances from Miele and Gaggenau. The focal point of the linear space at the kitchen end is a vintage cabinet that displays ceramics and tableware from Thailand, Japan and Spain.

Below the living room is the family area with additional guest bedrooms. The family room is bookended by the staircase and concealed by the continuation of the bamboo poles above with a semi-outdoor area that leads onto the pool. A large comfortable sofa from Living Divani anchors the seating group in this area.

The infinity-edged pool beyond is tiled in black. At certain times of the day when the light is at a low angle, the pool appears as a completely black mirror. The prism like qualities are also in contrast to the rough textured walls which form the lower two levels of the house.

From the poolside, the full extent of the house is evident. The top floor is a white delicate pavilion topped with a pitched roof covered in artisanal white glazed tiles, a contemporary take on the traditional Spanish tejas tiles. Below, the rough textured concrete walls that enclose the living spaces read as retaining walls that are part of the landscape.