Rumah Rubah

“Teakwood sanctuary of style, understated luxury, and culture”

Entering Rumah Rubah feels like leaving Bali behind for the remote Japanese countryside. It shouldn’t come as a surprise when you know that this luxury villa was commissioned to be a second home for Maison Kitsuné co-founder Gildas Loaëc. This is apparent from guests’ first welcome: the two terracotta fox statues guarding either side of the main entrance, an homage to traditional Balinese spiritual gates and the brand’s canine mascot, inspired by the Japanese folklore belief of the animal’s shape-shifting power. Past that is a sprawling acre-wide compound, though the villa itself takes up no more than 15 per cent of the land; the rest becomes grounds for foliage to unfurl, from centuries-old milkwood and Bodhi to sacred fig and banyan trees, each conjured by tropical specialist architect and Gildas’ long-time friend, Maximilian Jencquel of Studio Jencquel. The three-bedroom villa is an all-teak splendour, aerated by coastal breezes that blow in through the many open-air spaces. Furnishings are made out of the same wood, including the 15-seater dining table where private in-house chef Deni Setiyowati would be serving dishes that draw upon local traditions and seasonal bounties of land and sea.