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CHECK OUT THE RE-VAMP of a Boerum Hill parlor floor right here on Brownstoner today. Interior design by Julia Mack, above.
LANZAROTE IS A VOLCANIC ISLAND, which many are, but what’s different about it — as opposed to, say, lush Kauai — is that the last major eruption occurred relatively recently. In September of 1730, Mt. Timanfaya let loose a lava flow that decimated two-thirds of the island. Where efforts to re-forest (or re-palm, or re-cactus) have been made, they’ve been successful. But despite the sunny clime (it’s 72 here today, she said smugly), the southern part of the island — all I’ve seen so far — is a blackened landscape, not without its own charred beauty.
The lava, long since solidified, that destroyed a dozen villages and sent islanders fleeing to other parts of the Canary Islands archipelago has been put to good use. You see it in agriculture, in building construction, and in countless decorative applications. I mean, it’s everywhere. See below for some of the practical and imaginative ways the people of Lanzarote have re-purposed the black stuff.
As boulders around swimming pools…
Hotel Gran Melia Salinas, Costa Teguise
Exterior walls…
Fundacion Cesar Manrique
Interior walls…
Fundacion Cesar Manrique
Mosaic murals…
Fundacion Cesar Manrique
Boundary walls…
Fundacion Cesar Manrique
Mulch…
Fundacion Cesar Manrique
Steps…
Monumento al Campesino
Museo del Campesino
Castillo de San Jose
Terraced farming (each shrub, vine or fruit tree has it’s own surround for protection from winds)…
Building construction, often covered with stucco…
Caseria de Mozaga, an inn and restaurant
Crazy paving…
Hotel Finca de la Florida
18th century castle walls…
Castillo de San Jose
Arched interior rooms… floors too…
Castillo de San Jose (now a contemporary art museum)
Castillo de San Jose
I AM IN FULL-ON PACKING MODE at the moment. This evening, I’m flying to Madrid, and from there to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, on assignment for a travel magazine. (And sorry, no, I don’t need a research assistant, but you can come along by following my blog posts for the next week:-)
Where is Lanzarote? You might well ask. Most Americans don’t know (I didn’t, until a few weeks ago) and don’t vacation there, though legions of Brits and Germans do. It’s in the Atlantic, a short distance off the coast of Morocco, though the Canaries, which also include Tenerife, belong to Spain.
Lanzarote is a volcanic island of stark, otherworldly beauty, so the guidebooks say, and I believe them (the images in this post are lifted from Google Image). My research focus will be on Cesar Manrique, an architect/sculptor/preservationist who died in 1992. His efforts to limit insensitive development on his native island apparently paid off. Resorts are contained, low-rise, and in keeping with Lanzarote’s vernacular architecture. Manrique’s own home, and several other sites he designed, are sculpted out of the volcanic rock. This I’ve got to see.
destinosblog.es
Lanzarote has a reputation for the best beaches in the Canaries (see above). I’ll probably spend little time basking on them — too much else to do — but that’s fine.
moanaswake.com
The island is practically devoid of natural vegetation, but that doesn’t stop vintners. Those are terraced grape vines, above, from which Lanzarote produces a wine called malvasia (I’ll be sure to sample it and report back).
flickrhivemind.net
Above, another thing I’m looking forward to: a botanical garden with some 10,000 cacti.
Are you coming with me?
THIS WEEK’S INSTALLMENT of The Insider, my weekly column on Brownstoner.com, is a no-holds-barred (and no expense spared) renovation of an 1840s Greek Revival brownstone in Brooklyn Heights.
Both architect and designer are Brooklyn-based. The house was basically taken down to its brick shell and thoroughly overhauled by architect Brendan Coburn, from new floor joists to custom millwork and cabinetry in every room.
The decor, by Jennifer Eisenstadt, is unconventional, even over-the-top in its unusual combinations of color, pattern, and style. Case in point: the living room, above, which has both a tufted velvet sofa and carved wood African birthing chair.
Other rooms have chevron-patterned parquet floors and Chinoiserie wallpaper in red and black. Go here to see the whole thing.
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