Inside Villa Belantara, a beachside haven in Lombok that honours local makers

When people say they’ve stumbled upon a property, they usually don’t mean literally. In the case of entrepreneur Juliane Bailey, founder of Singapore-based lifestyle brand The Jungle Emporium, the decision to buy a property in Lombok stemmed from an unfortunate stumble.
“My daughter broke her ankle the first day we arrived in Lombok, and she had to get surgery in the local hospital and an entire leg cast. That meant we were confined to the villa complex for the whole holiday,” shared Bailey. Staying in one place meant they spent a lot of time strolling along the gorgeous beaches of Selong Belanak, and it’s during these walks that they first spotted a big, attractive villa on top of a hill and dreamed of owning it.
Her husband Nick did a bit of digging and discovered that the villa was, in fact, for sale. With no time to waste, he got in touch with the hotel manager and the couple were able to view it before the next guests arrived. “It felt like a serendipitous moment, like it was meant to be. We immediately fell in love and decided to go ahead right there and then,” said Bailey of acquiring the property in June 2023.
Just over a year later, the Bailey family are now the proud owners of a holiday home they’ve christened as Villa Belantara. The name means “wilderness” in Bahasa, reflecting its raw, untouched setting in South Lombok. Perched on the hills of Selong Belanak, the tranquil four-bedroom villa is enveloped by greenery and boasts stunning ocean views from every angle.
“The villa actually reminded us of the house in The Thomas Crown Affair, located in Martinique. It’s one of our favourite movies of all time! When my husband and I saw a photo of our villa taken by a drone, we discovered it looks just the same,” added Bailey.
VIEWS FOR DAYS
While the villa’s bones were remarkable, Bailey and her husband decided to expand the footprint as well as completely revamp the interiors — an endeavour they began last October and finished in July. It was a dream project for Bailey, whose deep passion for design and craftsmanship led to founding The Jungle Emporium in 2020, a lifestyle brand that stocks artisan-made resortwear, tableware, and furniture that embraces a nomadic spirit.
Unsurprisingly, travel is one of her main inspirations. “Many years ago, we spent a fantastic holiday at the Round Hill Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. We absolutely loved the style of the villas. One of them is owned by Ralph Lauren — a colonial building with white walls filled with incredible furniture and plants that served as one of our main inspirations,” she expounded.
The largest transformation was the addition of a new pavilion, an octagonal building completely made of wood featuring five-metre vaulted ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows and a 360-degree view over the bay of Selong Belanak. The pavilion is the villa’s central gathering place, and its large glass doors can be fully opened to create a lovely, airy space to take in the panoramic views. On clear days, especially in the morning, one can see the imposing volcano, Mount Agung, on the horizon.
The pavilion also provides easy access to the infinity pool overlooking the ocean and the beautiful landscaped gardens, which was conceived by the Bali Landscape Company. They incorporated a variety of plants including mature palm trees, as well as an unbelievable amount of bougainvillaeas providing a jolt of colour visible even from the beach below.
This generous sitting room serves as a place for the family to pursue their passions. “We’ve filled it with good books, and added an excellent music system with our entire CD collection. Nick bought himself a new guitar so that we could spend a lot of time here and enjoy the things we love the most.”
CRAFTED TOUCHES
The main intention behind creating Villa Belantara was for the family to have a place to relax away from the frenetic pace of Singapore and to immerse themselves in nature. Influenced by the thick tropical foliage surrounding the villa, Bailey chose green as the overarching colour. “We wanted to emphasise the colour palette of nature,” she noted.
Varying shades of green are found in the entire home, spotted on everything from the sun loungers by the pool to the jungle wallpaper in the powder room. Being a beach house, shells are another dominant motif. “I wanted to decorate the house with lots of shells — real shells, as well as those made from brass, shell artwork, shells made of rattan and wood. I also have a whole wall covered with ceramic shells by one of my favourite artists, Lucie de Moyencourt from South Africa.”
Apart from referencing nature, Bailey was adamant that Villa Belantara pays homage to the local arts and crafts of Lombok, and the artisans of Indonesia as a whole. Perhaps the strongest proof of Bailey’s commitment to championing local creativity is that every piece of furniture in the house was made in Indonesia, sourced from Lombok, Bali and Java.
“Sourcing is my favourite part of the business. I loved working with the local artisans — each and every one specialised in a different material. We have teak furniture from Java that is locally made in the resort carpentry, as well as rattan and bamboo furniture from Bali,” she shared.
One of her favourite pieces is the teak furniture with shell inlay from Lombok, seen in the sizable octagonal coffee table in the pavilion. “I thought that these types of pieces were only made in India, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that they are also typical in Lombok.”
ROOM FOR MORE
Villa Belantara became a place for Bailey to experiment, to do things differently from their black-and-white home in Singapore and apartment in her hometown of Hamburg.
For instance, every room on the top floor has a different theme. There is a coral room, which features coral tones and patterns, as well as decorated with coral artwork. Then, there’s a green room, which is a fun kids’ room housing green furniture and furnishings. Lastly, there is a blue and white room with fabrics in different shades and patterns of blue and white, one of Bailey’s favourite colour combinations. “Each room represents a distinct style that I love, and the majority of furnishings are sourced from The Jungle Emporium,” she added.
They say spontaneity is the best kind of adventure, and that’s certainly true in this case of the Baileys who described acquiring the holiday home as “most spontaneous decision” they’ve ever made. And while there were challenges as in any renovation project, the couple loved the process from start to finish, and are very proud of the results.
“I think it will take some time to truly enjoy the villa without constantly thinking about which areas I could improve. As a perfectionist, it is a bit of a curse, but I love interiors, and I’m fortunate that my husband is the same — we can talk for hours about these kinds of things,” shared Bailey.
Where will we find her when we visit Villa Belantara? “My favourite room is definitely the pavilion, and I cannot wait to spend more time there and work from my shell inlay desk.”