They Lived Their Best Life in Bali. So They Built a Forever Home in the Jungle and Never Looked Back

Dreams of relocating to Bali dance through the minds of many who land on its shores. When Australian couple Rod Williams and Carolyn Markland made the move to officialize their long love affair with the island, they enlisted local architectural design studio Caceres + Tous to realize their forever home on a private, jungle-fringed section in a traditional banjar (neighborhood) of Canggu on Bali’s southern coast. Slung low in a muted palette of local materials, Junipero House appears to emerge from the wilderness, both contrasting and harmonizing with its natural surrounds.

Recalling their first joint visit to the island of the gods in 1995, Rod notes, "Something happened when we stepped off the plane. It still does, nearly 30 years later. The warmth, the aroma of the tuberose flower and the smiles of the Balinese people just envelop you. We were enchanted by the constant ceremonies and celebrations, which are clearly part of local life."

Enraptured, the couple followed their hearts back to Bali on a yearly basis, and eventually upped the ante by undertaking a luxury boutique development in the resort area of Seminyak. Rod supervised the project from Australia, flying over from Melbourne every month with materials and interior pieces in tow: "Twelve ceiling fans in one trip comes to mind," he recalls.