Umah Jempiring in Denpasar, Bali, integrates the balance of living space and an art gallery where the owners can live comfortably and enjoy their art collections daily. As an Art Director and Landscape Architect, Xavier Loup has successfully turned the house into a genuine life place.
Could you explain your role in the Umah Jempiring renovation project?
Art Director, landscape, and furniture creator. This project is a renovation, a refurbishment. The reception room, dining room, kitchen, storage, bedrooms, and living room were already allocated. However, they were undersized because of an overabundance of walls and partitions. The main objective was to open the spaces—great perspective to always have views on some green or patio garden.
What was your concept in renovating Umah Jempiring?
Create an Art Gallery as a living space. We worked with a structural engineer to remove many walls and partitions, even bearing walls, and replace them with steel beams to simplify and fluidify the space. There are now only four spaces, each with a simple function: Entrance, Dining, Living (with a kitchen space), and Master Suite (bedroom, dressing, study, bathroom), with the right balance where Art Gallery and home blend and complete each other.
What challenge did you face in designing the house as an art gallery, residence, and landscape together? To bring new volume and new function. The project was extensive, as we had to rework it. It takes more time to renovate than to build a new one!
As an art director of this home renovation project, how did you create a seamless connection between the interior design of the house and the landscape outside the house?
All the elements are a fusion of natural materials designed to blend with the outdoors and artworks. It had to be very subtle and minimalist.
Where or what is the focal point of the house?
Perspective transversal with a focal point on the garden. The lighting was a big challenge here. It needed to be versatile and fit for art viewing.
As a landscape designer, what combination of plants did you use to create a fresh ambiance outdoors? We played on different spaces by linking the interior and the exterior spaces with large pots of gigantic Monstera. My rules in creation are to work with five repeated elements, a mass planting of Gardenia, and prune in waves. The graphic side is given by the repetition of the straight trunk of the ferns from Brazil: Gardenia, Brazilian Fern Tree, Giant Swamp Taro, Dwarf Lilyturf, Spider Lily.
What has given you any feeling of accomplishment finishing this Umah Jempiring project?
The different volumes and new functions we did create, the strong perspective, and the opening of the garden portion brought the outdoors inside. To be able to enjoy an art collection and, at the same time, be able to enjoy the house with the function.