There is an instinctive temptation, in St. Barths, to design towards the view. Villa Alisea does something more interesting. Conceived through a close dialogue between interior architect Olivier Lempereur, ensemblière Hélène Guillon and owner Lisa Domenico Brooke, founder of HestiaLiving, the house turns its attention inward, towards texture, proportion and the quiet pleasure of objects selected with intent.
“This project was conceived and designed in constant dialogue with the architectural setting, the surrounding environment, and at every stage with the owner herself,” says Lempereur. Guillon describes the process more intimately. “Everything begins with listening. I sought to understand who Lisa was, what she already owned, what she was attached to, and what she was open to discovering.”
That sensitivity explains why Villa Alisea avoids the shorthand of Caribbean glamour. “I deliberately stepped away from the sometimes expected codes of tropical luxury,” Guillon says. “I wanted to create a home that converses with its environment rather than caricatures it.” Materials establish the rhythm. White oak, limestone, travertine and marble recur throughout the house, but Guillon resists identifying any one of them as its defining element. “The oak, the travertine, the marble and the handcrafted ceramics together form a subtle composition in which each material finds its rightful place and allows the next to shine.”
The material restraint of the architecture gives the furnishings room to become more expressive. In the living area, an FBC London sofa upholstered in Dedar and MariaFlora is joined by a Philippe Hurel coffee table, while custom chairs in Dedar and cushions combining Élitis and Pierre Frey introduce quieter shifts in texture. A Promemoria D’Ora floor lamp and the brand’s Bassano da gioco table and DC chairs create a more intimate corner of the room, while vintage stools sourced from Galerie Glustin sit comfortably alongside ceramics by Sophie Vaidie and Mylene Escande, and a 1970s resin work by Pierre Giraudon.
The same layering continues in the dining room, where an FBC London Aurora table is surrounded by Promemoria Felicia chairs, with a sculptural maple and elm bookshelf by Chris Lehrecke for Ralph Pucci standing nearby. At the table, Christofle silver and cutlery meet Carlo Moretti glassware, Ginori porcelain and pieces from HestiaLiving’s Everyday Soleil collection. In the kitchen, Lempereur’s custom limestone and travertine surfaces are punctuated by Gessi fittings, pendant lights by Pascal Oudet, Bruno Moinard Pyla stools and a William Yeoward glass vase.
Upstairs, the language becomes softer. Élitis appears across wallcoverings, wardrobe fronts and custom upholstery, beds are dressed in Cittadini linens, and WonderGlass Flow pendants illuminate the bedrooms. In the master suite, an Articolo Light pendant hangs against Lempereur’s white oak panelling, while an FBC London Iris chair, a Promemoria Aziza chair and vintage pieces sourced by Penny Drue Baird prevent the room from feeling overly composed. Even the dressing room becomes an exercise in material contrast, with Lempereur’s custom Vagli Oro marble table accompanied by vintage glass from End of History, a vessel by Georges Pelletier and leather accessories by Giobagnara.
Outside, the vocabulary changes again without breaking the continuity of the house. Kettal furnishes the dining terrace, while the poolside composition brings together Bover Amphora lights, Gandia Blasco loungers and a Jwana Hamdan sofa. A second seating area combines Dedon chairs, Kettal stools and another Jwana Hamdan table, allowing the interiors’ dialogue between contemporary design, craft and collected objects to continue into the landscape.
For Lempereur, island living ultimately dissolves architectural boundaries. “The inside and outside are simply one.” For Guillon, the measure of success is more personal. After completion, Brooke told her simply, “I am so happy at home in my house.”
“In that moment,” Guillon recalls, “I understood that the house no longer belonged to us. It had found its place in her life.”
