Lalaland | Valentina Audrito

“Lalaland” is the affectionately named home of Architect Valentina Audrito and her family, located in Canggu, Bali. Sitting on 1800sqm of land and surrounded by rice paddies, the 560sqm home is a constant work in progress for Audrito and her design practice “Word of Mouth.” The villa is a refurbishment of an existing residence, originally an amalgamation of three old ‘joglo’ houses hailing from the neighbouring island of Java. The house has been adapted to suit the needs of its new inhabitants, with the introduction of mezzanine spaces to enhance comfort and introduce a sense of privacy, whilst retaining the old teak structures and timber flooring. The villa is first accessed via a garden courtyard, featuring a large circular pond and strikingly angular deck which work to feed visitors from the parking area into the main living space. On their way through the courtyard guests are also introduced to the massive egg structure that calls the garden home – this functions as the guest bathroom and is just one example of Audrito’s ongoing experimentation with eggs in her designs. The layout of the residence is composed of two main pavilions organized in an L-shaped arrangement. One pavilion accommodates a kitchen that opens onto both the living room and the alfresco-type dining area, orientated to the west to overlook the garden and pool. The second pavilion holds the master bedroom, a second bedroom and guest bedroom on the ground floor and features a library space on the mezzanine level. The master bathroom and dressing room are interconnected and feature a lounge area in the middle of the space. The ceiling is playfully covered with a vast array of capiz shells and offset with a collection of vintage floor tiles. In the outdoor bathroom area is yet another example of an egg inspired creation, in the form of a custom designed bathtub. The interior furnishings are best described as eclectic – a combination of furniture pieces and products designed by Word of Mouth, collected artworks and fun “bits + pieces” from all over the world – all of which sit in comfortable contrast to the traditional joglo structure and materiality. The space and its furnishing refuse to be restricted to any particular style, and is more so a constantly evolving expression of its inhabitants and the way that they live.