Imagine relaxed yet elegant Caribbean living. Blur the line between indoors and out with storybook views of the beach via large glass windows and ample terraces. Unwind in luxurious yet low-maintenance interiors ideal for all family members.
This footprints-in-the-sand vibe was the thinking behind the interior design of the villas in Beach Enclave on Providenciales, an idyllic island in the Turks & Caicos. Available for purchase or vacation rental, the development offers custom-designed luxury villas of varying size, from four to seven bedrooms, plus guest cottages. The oceanfront residences were built with sustainability in mind because low-density projects respect the local landscape.
With three phases of private residences located on North Shore (nine villas), Long Bay (five villas) and Grace Bay (10 villas scheduled to open in 2020), Beach Enclave exudes barefoot elegance and sophistication with the privacy and luxury services of a five-star hotel. Built for secluded tranquility, the villas were designed to take full advantage of the romantic island’s gentle trade winds.
Nestled in the northern Caribbean Sea, Turks & Caicos comprises an archipelago of eight principal islands and more than 40 smaller cays. With 1,000 acres of sugar white beaches, turquoise waters, and the world’s third-largest coral reef system, the islands are about 575 miles southeast of Miami, or a 70-minute flight.
Beach Enclave, and the total Turk & Caicos experience, is about Caribbean living with sandy feet, a wet sofa and outdoor fabrics. Owners and guests don’t have to be careful because the interiors are designed for indoor-outdoor living. The interior design by Taylor Drotman’s Domino Creative agency (with offices in New York and Providenciales) took about six years to complete. Team members were excited to create a development with a modern Caribbean design that had not existed before. “We designed the interiors using colors and textures from the environment exclusively for people coming to the beach,” says Drotman.
For this casual yet elegant vibe, the design team used blues from the ocean, grays from the stone which contains iron, and white and beige from the unblemished sand on the beach. “In North Shore, the first Beach Enclave development, we were beachy, using refinished barefoot elegance—which set the tone,” says Drotman. “In Long Bay, the second phase, the villas are closer to the ocean, windy and sporty. It’s a wild and active beach so we have created nature inside, and the indoor and outdoor become a blur. You could say Long Bay is a reaction to nature.”
When Drotman was hired, the developers knew her firm was expert in high-end Caribbean design and felt confident that the outcome would attract savvy travelers and Caribbean denizens who prefer to own a villa. “We don’t cut corners,” she says. “We treated this project as a special space.” Their expertise is revealed the moment one enters a villa.
The villas are natural, organic and expansive, some measuring 7,500-8,100 square feet with outdoor kitchens, infinity pools, fire pits and beach deck with outdoor showers. The lots delight with lush tropical gardens of indigenous silver palm, sea grape and legume vitae trees. One of the villa exterior spaces features a custom-designed hanging bed under the swaying palms, a metaphor of the land and a tangible expression of how the designer imagines the spot: breezy and enchanting. “A swing, with its nice, rocking motion that lulls you to sleep, is the perfect furnishing to guide people into the villa,” says Drotman.
Interiors are flexible, allowing for both privacy and parties. The walls and hand-carved marble floors are done in pale tones; the lighting is architectural. All villas have decorative pieces, fully equipped kitchens that face the ocean (with a personal chef and butler upon request), and many custom furnishings amid the offerings of 80 vendors. In one of the villa’s open great room (living, dining and kitchen with drop dead beautiful views of the sea), there is indoor-outdoor dining, various seating vignettes of durable couches and chairs, and entertainment areas all flowing together.
When Drotman designed these spaces, she commissioned custom oak dining tables with slipcovered chairs on casters. “I used a perennial indoor-outdoor fabric for chairs that move around for a fun element,” says Drotman. “Woven baskets hanging from the ceiling provide even more playful detail.” Most sofas are covered in perennial solution dyed acrylic, all down wrapped snuggly. Accessories that Drotman has purchased on her trips to India, Sri Lanka, Japan, Brazil, Croatia, Bosnia and Portugal, to name a few, can be found within every villa’s design. One style of seating vignette is highlighted by a large custom walnut coffee table with a design inspired by one of Drotman’s trips. “Wherever I travel, I look for beauty and a global aesthetic that is elegant yet relaxed,” says Drotman.
The open kitchen repeats the theme of a soothing light color palette. It offers a stunning white custom designed bar with matching high top stools. The designers added Phillip Jeffries woven grasscloth and other assorted beach-themed accessories to the space for contrast. “We integrated white and wood into the kitchens,” says Drotman. “The tableau is bright, clean and spare so all eyes can be on the ocean.” In the private areas, there is a pair of master bedrooms in all villas, so two families who come together with their children will not have to fight over the size of the sleeping quarters. Wood and light-toned walls intertwine, comparing and contrasting throughout the room and adding texture and movement to an otherwise serene sleeping space made more magnificent by the floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing the blue of the sea. King-size beds have detailed headboards with wood insets, panel and rope custom created via a collaboration between the designers and an architect. Most of the bedding was custom by Drotman and her team who added the best of the best when seeking manufacturers to complement their vision. “The linens are gorgeous Egyptian cotton from Peacock Alley,” she says. “The drapery is Kravet fabric made for us on double tracks with blackout options.” Private decks are extensions of some of the king-size bedrooms with sitting vignettes encircling Roman stone tables, ideal for reading, relaxing and taking in the views.
Guest/children’s rooms are as well appointed as the master, keeping the white and tan beach theme with minimal design. Some rooms feature art like a feather headdress behind the bed to provide a youthful touch. Other rooms are convertible twins or garden suites with integrated tongue-and-groove bed walls and custom bedding. Bathrooms, some en suite, are stunning and spa-inspired, and take advantage of the bright, outdoorsy vibe, including the abundance of natural light. They continue the theme of white, sand, gray and other soft colors.
Outdoor chaise lounges are double-wide, for comfort and romance. Stylish white Tucci umbrellas survive winds, storms and other weather events because they are on wheels and can be relocated easily. Decks, located on the far side of the swimming pools, are so sturdily constructed that they, too, age beautifully. Some of the outdoor dining tables have durable ceramic tiles that look like slate and sleek chairs made of boat rope with teak frames that resist the sea. Nothing was left to chance. “My team members are incredibly proud of our collaboration with the developer and architect,” says Drotman. “For us, the final answer is the homeowner response to each villa. When we see how thrilled they are, we feel great, and we know that is what it’s all about.”
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