The Maldives may be heaven on earth, but when you’re running a luxury resort like Velaa Private Island, all that fresh sea-salted air can take a devilish toll on the furnishings.
Which might explain why the 47-key property has found it necessary to spruce up one of its four private residences when it’s only been open since December 2013.
The masterplan is to invite a tent-pole designer to refurbish each of the remaining villas – originally designed by Czech architect Petr Kolar – and first out of the box is Patricia Urquiola’s work on Nirolhu Private Residence.
With a quietly sure hand, the Spanish-born, Milan-based designer infuses the two-storey, 1,350 sq m pleasure dome with a low-key mod-Euro atmosphere that doesn’t detract from that fabled vista of sun, sand and sea visible from each of the four bedrooms. The furnishings are a tight edit of her Moroso collection framed against straw weaves, dark timber screens, and earth-toned textiles, making Velaa primed for a fresh close-up. §
