When Pau Munar and Victoria Rodriguez decided to build a beach house on the sunny Mediterranean island of Mallorca, they had their sights set on Son Serra de Marina. It’s a precious stretch of coastline that backs to grassy dunes and mountains and is one of the few beaches on the island where good surfing is possible, thanks to winds that sweep onto its northeastern shore. The couple, who live and work an hour away in the capital, Palma, imagined a laid-back cabin where they could connect with nature and relax with friends.

“We wanted the house to be like a local fisherman’s cottage from a hundred years ago,” says Pau, cofounder of local architecture firm Munarq. To capture that sense of place, Pau and Victoria used as many local construction materials as possible. The structure is made of marés, a pink-beige sandstone quarried in a neighboring town and once a primary building material on the island, before the advent of concrete. They lined the ceilings and floors with cork for insulation, then covered them in local pine, which also clads the custom cabinetry. A soft pink glows off the warm stone and wood throughout the roughly 700-square-foot interior.

The home has one bedroom and bathroom, an open-plan kitchen/living area, and a raised loft space for work or guests. On the western side of the house is a large pivot door that Pau designed and that opens to a covered porch off the kitchen, which connects to another terrace facing the sea to the north. The porch acts like a second living room and is easily Pau and Victoria’s favorite space on the property. During summer, the couple can move their wheeled kitchen island out here to entertain friends. “Sometimes the simplest solutions can create new ways of living,” explains Pau.

“We wanted the house to be open to conversation and community.”
—Victoria Rodriguez, resident

A sparsely landscaped garden with native plantings such as rosemary, lavender, and succulents wraps around the home, shaded by a few pine trees. Instead of surrounding the place with high fences or other barriers, the couple opted for low stone walls and shrubs so that passing neighbors could stop and chat. Almost like a hundred years ago.

Project Credits:

Architecture: Munarq

Styling: Cristina Gimenez

Photography: Tomeu Canyellas / @tomeucanyellasphoto

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