In the past eight months I moved three times. You probably know how it is, boxes in, boxes out, unpacking, arranging, and so on. The most attractive, exciting and challenging for me though is the decorating part.
When I first came to Mexico, there were not so many places where you could buy nice (and affordable) furniture, but things are changing for the better. There are more and more attractive furniture stores opening in Baja, and I was lucky enough to meet Maria Luisa Reynoso, a wonderful person, interior designer and owner of Simmetria, furniture and decoration store in La Paz, which offers a wide selection of Mexican furniture combining colorful tradition and contemporary style, and individual personalized consulting. Malis, as her friends call her, is also an excellent interior designer and decoration consultant, and if you need a tip for what to do to give your home, an office, a store or a hotel, a special touch of your personality, she’s the one to help you with that and beyond. I had an interview with Malis for a Baja California Sur magazine Home, and here is an excerpt from the article.
Living in Baja is like a dream come true. Sunny weather, amazing contrasting nature, oceans, pristine beaches, friendly people and so much more. There is this Mexican flair in the air, which you can bring also to your home with lovely strong colors, exotic details, and a touch of passion and emotions. At my visit to La Paz, Malis took me to see one of her recent projects, a case study and example how a Mexican home can be elegant, classy and comfortable to welcome the family home. We visited a model home of Villas Aguamarina, a development of 28 beautifully crafted Mexican villas in Pedregal de La Paz, a home to which she gave that style and that special Mexican personality.
Malis explains her work: “When thinking about a decoration for this project, I wanted to give the house a touch of elegance, style, quality and simplicity, yet in a Mexican way. It is really important, that the quality of the construction goes hand in hand with the furniture that you pick. And in Pedregal de La Paz, where influence of nature is essential, I was able to focus on natural material and fabrics, which are also my favorite: wood, wool, cotton and leather among others.” She continues: “I was looking and thinking about each space individually, I wanted to create an ambient which is cozy, not too crowded, with the right amount of furniture and accessories, so people would enjoy living here.”
A model home of Villas Aguamarina feels very cozy indeed, in fact, it feels like a home. It makes you want to pack all your belongings and just move in. The play of colors, materials and details is what you will find fascinating in this home. Colors are very important, says Malis. They give the house a touch of personality, and make the space warm and appealing. “When searching for colors to match the house with the ambiance and environment, I walked the neighborhood around the house, I took a piece of dirt, desert, sand and stone and created my ideas and colors based on them,” Malis explains. The composition of the ground in Pedregal de La Paz for example is completely different from the one in Pedregal de Cabo San Lucas, in Cabo it is brown, and in La Paz it is pink, an amazing work of the nature.
Playing with materials and matching them with colors creates a unique combination and connects the space together. And details, which you might not even notice, but would miss them if they were not there, they add the flare to the house, that special something that catches your sight everywhere you turn and bring out the beauty of the house; even if it is for a simple thing like placing a candle in a special place.
Interior of the house has some special features, like a beautiful tall, thin and elegant palm tree in the centre of the house, smart and functional arrangement of rooms (I would say it is family-friendly) and terraces from every bedroom with their own personality, but also matching the adjacent room. Every terrace and outside space has a special ambiance. It is connected with the inside of the house, but different. The concept for the outside spaces has aroused from the imagination what would people like to do outside their rooms. Have a breakfast at the terrace perhaps, or a dinner at the sunset; maybe relax or read a book, or entertain with family and friends at the patio with community pool and palapa, overlooking the aguamarine waters of the Sea of Cortes.
It is true what they say, the home is where the heart is. And by adding to your home your favorite color or some special detail it will make it more personal, more ‘you’. Visit Malis at Simmetria, she will welcome you friendly, show you around her beautiful store stocked with plenty of ideas and many of details you’d love to ta
ke home with you immediately. She will share with you stories about her decoration projects, give some valuable and useful advice, and if you want, she can help you transform your house to your special home, too.
I’ve been in the house you comment and I must admit, that even I’m not a big fan of small houses, I loved this one because of how well the space was distributed throughout all the living areas. Plus, decoration is really neat and the combination of different colors in the walls made me like the house even more.
hi romana what a cool house.its true that nature is the best inspiration for design and your friends design philosophy and shop sound wonderful! when i think of mexico i think of sun, water, bright splashy colors and earthy ambiance. reading your stories always make me want to move there.
thank you all. it is nice to live here indeed, and wendy if you are planning some vacations to this part of the world, you are warmly invited! we’ll show you around 🙂 regarding the house – my friend Sandra invited me to write an article about this house and decorating with mexican style, and the article just came out in Serbian newspaper Novosti Nekretnine; this is the link to the cover page (and on the cover page the terrace of Villa Aguamarina model home): http://www.novostinekretnine.rs/index.php
pripremi tekst o ovoj temu na srpskom i posalji mi da objavimo koliko ove-sledece nedelje u Novinama. mnogo je lepa prica…
I’ve been in the house you comment and I must admit, that even I’m not a big fan of small houses, I loved this one because of how well the space was distributed throughout all the living areas. Plus, decoration is really neat and the combination of different colors in the walls made me like the house even more.
It is such a great personal post. In deed the colors and the space are a perfect blend in the Aguamarina house, that´s why everybody loved it!
hi romana what a cool house.its true that nature is the best inspiration for design and your friends design philosophy and shop sound wonderful! when i think of mexico i think of sun, water, bright splashy colors and earthy ambiance. reading your stories always make me want to move there.
thank you all.
it is nice to live here indeed, and wendy if you are planning some vacations to this part of the world, you are warmly invited! we’ll show you around 🙂
regarding the house – my friend Sandra invited me to write an article about this house and decorating with mexican style, and the article just came out in Serbian newspaper Novosti Nekretnine; this is the link to the cover page (and on the cover page the terrace of Villa Aguamarina model home):
http://www.novostinekretnine.rs/index.php