Home by the Water

Escaping the concrete jungle that Macau is fast becoming, one family have opted for the country life and made a very special home in the process.

When it came to looking for a new home, Sofia Bobone and her husband Rodrigo Media de Castro had several key requirements in mind.  It had to be in Coloane, it had to have plenty of space for a growing family and ideally it had to have a garden.

“We’ve always loved living in Coloane” explains Sofia, “we appreciate the fresh air, the village life-style, open spaces for the children to ride their bikes, lots of mountain trails for us to take the dogs for a run”.

After searching for several months they eventually discovered a large semi-detached 3-storey house on the water’s edge overlooking Cheoc Van bay.  The fact that it was totally derelict and the garden was an overgrown jungle didn’t put this intrepid couple off at all.  They quickly set about lovingly and skilfully transforming over 3000 square feet into the sensational family home that it is today.

The main entrance of the house is on the middle of the three levels.  Straight ahead is the home office, which from a huge window commands an impressive view of the property, down to the garden path to the beach and the sea. Next door is the master bedroom with ensuite bathroom, and the ‘secret shower room’ – an large open air rain-shower area with a touch of Bali – tropical plants, concrete floor and walls, all designed for total privacy but with peep-holes through the wall for a sea view whilst showering.

Up a flight of stairs to the top floor of the house, and this is where the childrens’ rooms are: 11-year old daughter Lua’s room in vibrant colours of oranges and reds, and the blue boys’ room for Santiago, 10 and Gui, 8, with bunk beds.  Also on this level, a striking black and white-themed guest room, and two more bathrooms.

The greatest visual treats of all await as we walk back downstairs to the lower ground floor.   One is met with an immediate sense of lightness – a huge open space, with white-washed walls, high ceilings, massive windows and floor to ceiling folding doors to a terrace that seems to be suspended in air and float above the garden.

With four young children, 2-year old toddler Pax being the youngest, and 3 large dogs, Sofia and Rodrigo wanted to optimize space in the rooms where t hey would spend most of their time together as a family.  Hence this open plan conversion of four rooms into one, incorporating a cosy inner TV living room and a long outer space with two oversized white sofas and a dining area.

“When planning the renovations” Sofia explains, “our theme was that of simplicity and functionality.  We designed the layout to encourage as much natural light as possible”.

As the light bounces off a predominantly white palate, the room is splashed with colours from several carefully selected furniture treasures from their travels – a Sri Lankan cabinet, a Nepalese chest, and an antique Chinese day bed.

The adjacent dining room adds to the floating feeling: a large glass table and transparent Ghost dining chairs from Italian designer brand Kartell.  On either side of the entrance to the dining space loom two floor to ceiling Sri Lankan temple pillars cleverly designating the area for dining while still keeping it very much part of the whole room.

Many designer-furnished homes can tend to be cold and museum-like, but that is certainly not the case in this house.  The living rooms have a cosy, homely feel enhanced by the impressive array of beautiful carpets collected on holiday trips to Uzbekistan, Beijing and even a monastery in Tibet.

A much prized possession that holds court next to the TV is a barber’s chair.  This handsome old piece came from the Shanghai Barber shop in Leal Senado when after over 50 years it was closed and the eight chairs were looking for a new home.  Rodrigo jumped at the chance to buy one.

Artwork throughout the house is an eclectic mix of contemporary and old, all with immense personal value.  Most striking are a large colourful painting from Mozambique by Sofia’s sister, an abstract by local Norwegian artist Catherine Heredia and a Nuno Barreto piece.  Barreto, who lived in Macau for 20 years, was the Founder and Director of the School of Arts at the Polytechnic University and produced a lot of paintings of Macau scenes.

So where does all this fearless enthusiasm come from in order to consider such a major renovation project as this house?  Its clear that both Sofia and Rodrigo have an innate sense of style but it is Sofia’s training in graphics, interior design, and a post graduate degree in the management of arts that perhaps gave her the courage to tackle this labour of love.

And now content with her home, she continues to follow her love of all things artistic by designing jewellery – stainless steel with semi precious stones – for the brand ANOUK.

Rodrigo has a thriving legal practice in Macau which keeps him busy during the week, and at weekends he often flies to Bangkok to pursue his passion, polo.  His deep-rooted connections with Asia stem back to his family where for 300 years his ancestors lived in Goa, India.  Like many Portuguese they came to Macau in the 18^th century.   At various times, no less than three of his ancestors were appointed Captain General (today’s position of Chief Executive).

Before leaving, a stroll through the garden is a must when visiting Sofia and Rodrigo.  They proudly point to an organic herb garden, carefully tended orchids from Burma and Thailand, a lovely lawn, BBQ area and covered games area for the children.  A hammock gently sways in one of the trees promising lazy summer afternoons in the shade with a good book.  With the beach at the end of the garden path the three dogs go down each morning to take a constitutional swim.  A favourite family pastime is regularly combing the beach to clear it from all the rubbish that sweeps in on the waves.  After all, it is their backyard!

Photographs by Carmo Coreira