Swivel & Stone

On a small island near the city of Dubrovnik on Croatia's Dalmatian Coast, an overgrown compound contains four structures from a different time. One of them, a five-story tower that juts above the foliage and overlooks the Adriatic Sea, has a particularly magnetic quality—what New York-based architect Steven Harris described as an alluring "dialectic between the sense of refuge and prospect."

Along with his partner, the British interior designer Lucien Rees Roberts, Harris commenced the renovation of their vacation home and its majestic—albeit delapidated—components, transforming it into a space that bears clear evidence of contemporary habitation while remaining rooted in a medieval past.

One of four structures in Harris' and Rees Roberts' compound on the Croatian island, the medieval tower has a stately presence amidst the natural landscape. Photograph © Scott Frances/OTTO.

"When we bought the tower, the kitchen was almost there," explained Rees Roberts. "It was an old cistern, but it had a rock floor and this vault had crumbled on one part. The rest of the building was just four walls and the other floors had disappeared—they were wood floors."

While it originally served as a fortress to protect against unwanted visitors to the island, the tower is now the main living space within the compound, which includes on its grounds a vegetable garden, olive grove, and chicken coop. And when it came to the decoration of the interiors, the architect and designer opted for a method of contrast, celebrating their current inhabitation of a space that has had its own textured life.

“The idea was to restore the character of the original building and keep as much of the original surfaces as possible, to keep the sense of age, and then to juxtapose the modern furniture against that.”

—Lucien Rees Roberts

Saarinen Tulip Chairs were selected for their ability to swivel and facilitate conversation. Photograph © Scott Frances/OTTO.

"The idea was to restore the character of the original building and keep as much of the original surfaces as possible, to keep the sense of age," explained the designer, "and then to juxtapose the modern furniture against that."

"In the kitchen, I wanted to have some chairs that would be really comfortable, modern and simple and would work in that space," Rees Roberts said of the Saarinen Tulip Chairs that surround the dining table in the old cistern. "I always like chairs that swivel a little so people can chat easily. So that was really the most 'designed' element in that space, apart from the chandelier that is a Murano fixture from the 1960s."

The smooth, curved forms of mid-century modern designs like the Tulip Chairs and D'Urso Swivel Chairs balance out the rough surfaces of the stone walls and floors that remain of the old structures. But the furniture upholstery is muted, and the few swathes of color in the space come from the paintings of Rees Roberts' parents, which adorn the walls of the abode.

A D'Urso Swivel Chair in the living room, its smooth surfaces and curved form juxtaposed against the original stone walls of the structure. Photograph © Scott Frances/OTTO.

In its careful balance of texture, material and time, the Croatia Tower and its environs provide a comfortable place of respite, despite being far removed from the owners' Manhattan-based practices. The secluded charm of their second home makes its contents, which had to be brought by boat from the mainland and carried up to the compound by hand, more meaningful, more deliberate, and more adored.

Photography: Scott Frances/OTTO.