Page 71 - homes & gardens

ictor Henriks’ St Tropez villa sits serenely in the
Provençal countryside. “My work in the music
and flm industry takes me all over the world, so
I wanted to create a haven, a natural paradise,
V here,” he says. As well as having a restful pres-
ence, Victor’s home, which he shares with his wife, Sabine, and
children Zoe, Marie and Louis, is also rather splendid. Flecks
of Italian marble incorporated into the stucco-style façade
cause the house to glisten in the afternoon sunshine. “It’s a
charming feature that subtly changes depending on the nuance
of the light,” he explains. “Applying the various layers to create
this effect was a six-month process, but we took our time. We
wanted to make something very special.”
Creating a beautiful family house with timeless appeal
would take the couple, who split their time between St Tropez
and Zurich, almost fve years in total. The typical Provençal
property that occupied the land when they bought it in
2009 was not ft for purpose, presenting the family with a
dilemma. “The question was, did we build a new neo-Provençal
villa, or did we take a more challenging approach, and
build something more original?” recalls Victor. “As a family,
we felt a responsibility to do something different, but we
didn’t want a contemporary structure that looked like a
soulless white box; it had to have a heart.”
Victor admits the family has a penchant for architecture and
design (“we’ve already built a number of houses”), and he
and Sabine spent months sketching out ideas before fnally
settling on a cube-inspired confguration. The completed villa
comprises several square structures that fow seamlessly into
one another, its simplicity providing a pleasing symmetry in
harmony with the undulating landscape.
When it came to the interior, they collaborated with designer
Claudia Silberschmidt, from Atelier Zurich, to balance the The completed villa comprises
building’s modernity with an enduring style that is easy to live several square structures that fow
with. “We could have done it ourselves, but we enjoy working
with highly talented, professional people,” explains Victor. seamlessly into one another; its simplicity
“There were some wonderful discussions, and having extra has a pleasing symmetry in harmony
input led to greater creativity.” with the undulating landscape.
The restful scheme was pieced together over the course of
a year and incorporates American, retro and minimalist ele-
ments, which are comfortable and stylish in equal measure. “If
you look closely, there are even some Moroccan pieces that we
brought back from holiday, but everything co-exists very well,” the family’s treasured collection of photographs. “It’s a great
says Victor. “Bringing furniture together is like creating a passion of ours, we’re huge fans of Slim Aarons, but the
musical arrangement; even when you have all the components, black-and-white photograph of Brigitte Bardot by Willy Rizzo
there’s always some fne tuning to be done.” is a particular favourite,” reveals Victor. “Even before we knew
In the sitting room, the integrated state-of-the-art freplace what the interior would look like, we knew we wanted Bardot
is a necessity in winter, while the neutral palette draws atten- in the house.”
tion to the incredible landscape beyond. “With nature on our By early evening, the terrace on the west side of the villa
doorstep, creating an inside/outside space was a priority, which glows red with the last of the evening sun. In an hour or two,
is why we have all these large windows,” Victor explains, “but it will set on one of the family’s frequent summer soirées,
there is still a balance. There are these lovely openings to the although guests invariably spill out into the garden, the work
outside, but we still feel protected when we’re inside. We never of celebrated Swiss landscaper Enzo Enea. “At night, the
intended to build a glass monument.” grounds are illuminated by more than 120 hand-crafted lamps,
Throughout the house, the calm colour scheme emphasises each one adjusted to have a different intensity – the effect is
key pieces of furniture, such as the sculptural Serge Mouille stunning,” says Victor. It is this attention to detail, outside and
foor lamp and Marset’s Discoco pendant lights, as well as in, that makes this such a wonderfully unique home.

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