The veranda at sunrise, looking to the mountains

The residence · Nosara, Costa Rica

A home, made by hand.

Two bedrooms at the centre of the estate, a year and a half young.

Turnkey

Inside, the house keeps its voice low.

A two-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath house on the hill, finished to a standard that asks nothing of you but to arrive. Doors carved by hand in India and hung here as though they had always belonged. Pink sandstone pillars, warm to the touch by afternoon. A pool just off the edge, level with the treetops, so a swim feels like floating out over the gardens.

Bedrooms · 1½ baths

6 hrs

Battery backup, uninterrupted

Fountains fed by rainwater

20,500 L

Water stored on site

The craft

Carved by hand, carried across an ocean.

Nothing in this house was ordered from a catalogue. Each piece was chosen, commissioned or found, and brought here to stay.

The craft I

The doors.

The front door, the bedroom doors and the bathroom doors were all carved by hand in India, some of them antiques found and brought here. Each was carried across an ocean and hung as though it had always belonged, and each one closes with the weight of old timber.

Hand-carved antique bedroom doors painted blue — The bedroom doors

The craft II

The pillars.

The veranda is held up by pillars of pink sandstone, carved by hand in India, with a brass bell hung from the beam between them. By late afternoon they are warm to the touch. The veranda they carry is the room the house is really lived in, with a hanging daybed and the whole valley in front of it.

Carved pink sandstone pillar with a brass bell — The veranda pillars

The craft III

The stone windows.

Carved stone jali screens, a hundred years old, were brought from Rajasthan and set into the entry walkway, where they are lit from within at dusk. They are the oldest things on the estate by some distance, and the first thing a visitor passes on the way to the door.

Carved stone jali windows lit at dusk — The jali screens, at dusk

The craft IV

The furniture.

The four-poster bed, the carved mandala headboards, the vanities, the coffee tables, the dining table and the daybed swing on the veranda were all made for these rooms and nowhere else, carved by hand in India. Among them sit the antiques collected over the years to keep them company.

Carved mandala headboard detail — A mandala headboard

The craft V

The water.

Three fountains run around the house, fed by captured rainwater, a tiered stone basin and a hand-carved elephant among them. The pool rancho and its shower are built of antique Indian wood, stone and cast iron, and the retaining walls around them from stone taken out of the property's own ground.

The tiered water fountain beside the terrace — The tiered fountain

The great room open to the terrace and the valley

The rooms

Two bedrooms, no more.

The house is small on purpose. Every room opens to the gardens or the valley, and every room was finished as if it were the only one.

The great room, kitchen and terrace — The great roomKitchen, dining and living in one long room, open on two sides to the terrace and the trees. A floating staircase to the bedrooms above.

The kitchen island with a mountain view — The kitchenDual-fuel stove, a full set of dishes, pans and Riedel glassware. The window over the sink looks at the mountains.

Bedroom with a four-poster bed and window seat — The bedroomsTwo, each with a carved headboard, a window bench and its own view: one to the valley, one to the sunset.

The bathMarble walk-in shower with rain head, an antique carved door, and the forest through the window.

Considered, down to the last detail

The parts you never see.

SystemsPower and water

Grid and solar with battery: six hours of uninterrupted backup
Juturna UV and mineral filtration to the whole house
Bionest sanitation, no pump-out required
On-demand water heater; thermal roofing for heat and sound
App-controlled alarm, sensors on every external door and window
Fibre to the house on twin long-range routers, Starlink backup

ComfortBuilt for the climate

Power-efficient air conditioning in both bedrooms
Marine-grade ceiling fans that will not rust
Europa window system: screens throughout, safety glass
App-controlled lighting, mostly LED
Laundry room with new washer, dryer and washing sink
Custom cabinetry with built-in lighting in closets and linens

The kitchenReady to cook in

Dual-fuel gas stove with electric oven
Breville espresso machine, Vitamix, toaster oven, juicers
Two gas tanks on the best available safety system
A complete set of dishes, cutlery, pots, pans and Riedel glassware

The house gardens

An outdoor life, thoughtfully made.

The evenings are spent outside. The house was planned around that.

The pool at dusk — The poolLevel with the treetops, with a rancho and shower in antique Indian wood and stone.

The wood-fired brick pizza oven — The ovenAn outdoor brick pizza oven, wood-fired, a few steps from the kitchen.

The fire pit lit at dusk below the residence — The fire pitOn its own landing, cut for star-gazing, with the house lit above it.

Three-car paved parking with charging for electric vehicles
LED-lit pathways around the house and grounds
Retaining walls built from the property's own stone
A hanging daybed on the veranda, made for the house

Floor plans

The house, drawn out.

Ground floor

Second floor

Step inside

Built to be lived in now, and handed on.

The house asks little of you. It is offered turnkey, with the doors, the pillars, the windows and the furniture that were made and found for it. Arrange a viewing, in person or by film.

Arrange a private viewing View the gallery

Nosara · Guanacaste · Costa Rica