Laroona Canggu

Laroona is built around a sunken lounge, and it changes how the villa is used. A continuous cream sofa drops below floor level in a deep horseshoe around a low timber table, facing out through folding glass to the pool — so instead of everyone arranging themselves on separate seats, the whole group ends up in one pit for the evening.

The rest of the house is white plaster and arched openings, with rattan pendants hung in clusters and arched timber doors between rooms. Outside, a thatched umbrella and an alang-alang bale shade the pool deck, and yellow-striped loungers sit along the water — a bit of colour against all the white, and the detail most guests photograph.

Two bedrooms sit upstairs behind arched windows with niches cut into the plaster for books and lamps. The bathroom is the surprise: emerald-green herringbone tile floor to ceiling, gold tapware and an arched mirror, an unexpectedly bold room in an otherwise pale house. The beach is a short walk at around 850 metres, with cafés and beach clubs closer still.