THE VILLA

Located in the picturesque area known as Umalas, the three ensuite bedroom villa, Umah Duri, is a short ten minute drive by car to the upscale areas of Seminyak and Legian, which boast some of the finest shopping, dining, and nightlife on the island, along with several fine beaches ideal for swimming and surfing. This contemporary three-bedroom Asian-influenced villa provides a cosy yet open-air lodging from which to escape the bustle of downtown and retire into ones own private world.

Guests approach the villa by passing by the security post at the entrance, and then through a stone yin-yang mosaic entrance. A long walled walkway flanked on both sides by blooming tropical bamboo native to Bali adds another level of privacy.

Two separate buildings constitute the main living areas of the villa, separated by an open lawn and swimming pool, and natural tiled walkways lined in decorative smooth stones. The slightly elevated main building consists of a living area and kitchen flanked on both sides by wrap-around veranda and two bedrooms with private ensuite bathrooms. A formal dining terrace is located to the far right of the structure. The master bedroom and its ensuite bathroom are situated in the second building. All the bedrooms are air-conditioned and come with security safety boxes.

Dividing the shaded wrap-around porch of the main building into two distinct areas is the main living room, which can be opened up for natural ventilation or closed off by full-length sliding glass doors. All the walls are covered with natural colour paliman stones which give a wonderful outdoor feeling to this room. The furniture is a mix of sculpted modern and antique styles. Two long blissfully relaxing Indonesian sofas offer lounging space atop ivory mattresses and a backing of plush pillows. A solid coffee table in antique teak wood rests in the middle, and along one wall is a solid teak wooden shelving for the flat screen TV (with Satellite TV), DVD player and iPod speaker system. A wide selection of DVD’s is available accommodating children and adults alike. A paliman tiled wall conceals part of the fully equipped, very bright, enlarged brand new modern kitchen equipped with a water purifier, drinks fridge and separate fridge/freezer. The contours of the solid teak bar top accentuate the natural patterns of the wood, and create a comfortable bar area in front of the kitchen from which one can overlook the expanse of the property. The kitchen is complemented with an adjacent fully equipped laundry room. The exposed timber cathedral ceiling arches to a point incorporating ceiling fans and heat extractors to create a comfortable airflow environment.

Two contemporary bedrooms are set off to either side of the main living room. The floors and ceilings of both rooms are paneled with dark teak-wood, offering a subtle contrast to the prominent lime green and turquoise toned decoration features, accented by recessed lighting fixtures.

The bedroom to the left of the main living area, known as the Turquoise Room, is dominated by a king sized four poster bed around which hangs a delicate cream mosquito net, a comfortable day bed opposite the main bed and a built-in terrazzo wardrobe takes up the entire back wall. The partially open-air ensuite bathroom is done in grey terrazzo, with a modern wrap-around shower, a large vanity and mirror, and an exceptional vase filled with fragrant flowers. The veranda decking around this room has a bistro corner and very comfortable large colonial style rattan chairs with foot rests to enjoy the views of the garden and pool under the cool ventilation of 3 ceiling fans.

The spacious second bedroom, known as the Green Room, is furnished with a king sized four poster bed, topped off with a cream mosquito netting, and an other four poster single size day bed, which can sleep a third person or child. A large terrazzo walk in wardrobe tastefully conceals guest clothing and belongings, offering everything a guest could desire in terms of a private living space. The ensuite bathroom is finished in crème terrazzo, with a matching wrap around shower and large vanity mirror. The wooden veranda deck in front if this room offers a two meter long and wide teak day bed backed with pillows to enjoy the fresh breeze of the 2 ceiling fans.

The completely open-air paliman dining terrace is set to the far right side of the main structure of the villa. A slatted wooden overhang covered with glass creates a giant sun-roof over the entire area, which is perpendicularly oriented to the rest of the villa so as to be set in an open yet separate enclave of the house. The dining table comfortably seats ten persons. A smooth natural colour paliman stone wall gives a relaxing feel to this area, co-ordinating wonderfully with the remaining colour scheme of the villa. A desire to close off the dining room terrace can be fulfilled by drawing down the natural bamboo blinds that surround the three open sides. This allows cool breezes to enter and bring with them wafts of frangipani given off by the garden lining the surrounding wall of the villa grounds. The villa temple is situated behind the rear of the dining terrace.

A tiled pathway slices through the meticulous lawn and leads from the dining terrace to the second structure, housing the air-conditioned master bedroom. The organic materials used in the construction of this traditional structure emanate a natural ambience as does the warm golden beige toned decoration features. The high alang-alang (thatched) roof provides an arched ceiling with a ceiling fan, complimenting the rich teak-wood floors. The two prominent walls are composed of huge sliding glass doors allowing the room to be completely opened up to the property or closed off and concealed by either light voilage or heavier golden beige black out curtains for absolute serenity and privacy. Draped with delicate cream mosquito netting, the king sized four poster bed dominates the room, and is complimented on either side by matching wooden beside tables topped off with modern dimming lamps. A standing wardrobe is concealed behind the bed. The enormous ensuite bathroom is separated from the room by sliding glass doors. It is done completely in crème marbled terrazzo for a contemporary minimalist feel. The large bathtub is set atop a Japanese-style slatted wood platform, with a tropical rain-head showerhead arching above. A magnificent mirror sits above the massive elegant double vanity, and all the amenities are tastefully done in dark wood and bamboo.

The tranquil sounds of fountains spouting three streams of cool water into the ten meter swimming pool compliment the sun dappled property, embracing the tropical easy-living climate produced by the villa layout. On both sides of the pool are sets of sun-deck lounges and elegant white umbrellas casting desirable shade when needed.

From any position on the villa grounds, one is able to absorb the fine feel of open space and comfort that Villa Umah Duri embraces so well, while watching the maturing palm fronds play in the breeze. The villa offers a stimulating, fully relaxing and serene retreat.