Sitting as a place of calm composure under the blaze of the Mallorcan sun, Son Serra offers a quiet reprieve from the elements, where contemporary refinement meets rural imperfectability.A home that fuses the old and the new together with people and place, is a reflection of both its surroundings in an idyllic and removed destination in the Balearic Islands and its Belgium-based owners.

Devised by multi-disciplinary design studio BonVivant Concept, co-founding director Victoria Vidal explains the main responsibility in their approach to the project was to respect the traditional architecture of the area and the home’s original features.“We wanted to reflect tradition from a contemporary approach –mixing the rustic with Art Nouveau touches from a minimalist vision,” she says.

Dating back to 1773,the original Son Serra country estate stands as a testament to its history, with remnant details steadfastly in place, while being reinterpreted through the new reshaping of the home. In tying in the old and new, Feliu adds,“we opted for natural materials that are characteristic of typical Mallorcan constructions, such as solid wood and stone from the nearby town of Binissalem.We wanted to utilise a typical technique called‘trispols’,where continuous flooring runs throughout the property.”

Although the ease of flow between inside and out originally allowed animals and stock to traverse the property between feeding zones, its modern interpretation allows an outdoor lived life to be a key part of the experience of the home and absorption within Spanish culture.The estate is broken up into multiple buildings. The more recent addition circa early 1900s sits less open, yet remains connected through a shared warmth. 

As a continuation of that binding of elements across the site,“The colours chosen for this project are as natural as possible,”Victoria says,“We have used sand and earth colours throughout that have been desaturated together with other deliberately sober tones to give the design a sense of temporality.”

As an outward and expressed love of Mallorca, Son Serra beautifully captures a spirit of openness, while being steeped in a Belgian simplicity. Completed at a steadied pace, over two years, BonVivant Concept transform this nod to history into a refined new residence, while carefully retaining a rustic nostalgia.