Bridget Beari in Tulum Mexico

I am thrilled to show you one of the most exciting Bridget Beari projects, Casa Yakunah. I designed the interior of this private home in Tulum Mexico.

 The house is located 2 hours south of Cancun in the biosphere reserve called the Sian K'aan. This section of land is surround by the Caribbean on one side and the lagoon on the other. It is a stunning piece of property. 

The house was designed by Mexican architect from Cancun. We had many challenges between the Mexican architect, the American designer and the Italian contractor plus most of the workers were Mayan so there were 3 different languages spoken most of the time. 

Bringing containers of tile, furniture, lighting from the US and sourcing many things with local craftsmen created the perfect combination of modern comforts, unique design elements and organic pieces. 

The main living area is a typical palapa design - beautifully made by the local workers. It is mesmerizing to just stare at its beauty. The Tucker Robbins bean chairs and sconces are incredible. The Teracea coffee table from the a single tree trunk is a beauty. ( no trees are cut down for the tables. They only use trees that have fallen naturally ) The Gaston y Daniela bird pillows bring in all the beautiful colors - turquoise, pinks, purples and blues. They were may inspiration piece. The handmade light fixtures in the center of the palapa create a dramatic and beautiful glow in the room. The front doors are also hand carved by a local craftsman. 

The master tub is hand made from mahagony. It is extremely comfortable and required many dry testing lay downs for the perfect fit. 

The roof top pool is a stunner. With Italian tile that I fought for and finally one the contractor over. The tile pattern beautifully plays off the blue green of the Caribbean sea. 

The house is also self sustaining with its own water source, spetic system and windmill. Not to mention its own jaguar and crocs and lizards! 

Each of the bedrooms have wall treatments behind the beds - bamboo rods, wave patterns and coconut shells. Fabrics by Manual Canovas, Osborne and Little, Galbraith & Paul, and 

The guest bathroom has a custom designed concrete sink with wave patterns. 

The powder room has a onyx sink and Moroccan Walker Zanger silver tiles. 

The dining room has a table by Teracea, a light fixture by Lepere, and chairs by Janus et Cie with fabric by LuLu DK

There is a dock on the lagoon side for fabulous fishing trips which on our last trip there my husband took advantage of. He caught tarpon, bonefish, snapper,and snook. 

The staff is incredible - Antonio, Paula, Juan, Carlitos cater to your every wish. Prosecco by the ocean, dinner under the moonlight, massages with ocean breeze by Claudia - amazing! 

I am so grateful to have amazing clients who give me such great projects and trust in my design vision. It is truly a magical place. 

If you want to see more visit the house's website and like them on facebook! Casa Yakunah

Costa Rica

Funny that I never travel out of the country for projects and in one month I have traveled to 2 different countries. This is our Costa Rica trip. Painting and redecorating a house in 5 days! Here's how it went:


An all day plane ride from Virginia to Liberia Costa Rica. We stayed in Tamarindo which is about a 45 minute ride from the airport through roads filled with pot holes, cows, ranchero cowboys, chickens, dogs, children and other cars driving where ever they wanted. Once we were at the house the beaches were gorgeous as well as the sunsets. Notice the huge pot holes in picture #1.










We had a time with the American painter boy who would not put the paint on the walls because he was on CR time. Whatever! This is Joe stressing over the painters.


This is Joe after the painters finally started or maybe the stress of it all drove him to have a drink!


Here are the before pictures of the house: yellow walls to matchy with the tiles, black ceiling made the rooms too dark and small, no artwork or focal points but great features like the pool, outside courtyards, glass, outdoor showers, and interesting windows!








Here are the after photos:
I found a great furniture store way out in the country down dirt roads. It took a while but well worth it. Check out the Ikat throws I used for the bed covering and the carving over the bed. In this room the walls were painting a softer cream. I would have liked to paint the trim but changing the black proved to be a real problem with time and the resources that were available to cover it up. There is only one hardware store and that's it no bondo, no regular paint brushes, no sealers, no black caulk, etc.



Blue is such a strong color in CR. The pool has this electric blue color so I wanted the kid's room to reflect this vivd color. I love the Moorish windows.


The next few pictures are the main rooms. I painted the ceilings my signature echo color that I had made up. The walls are a light gray and there are 2 accent walls in a darker taupe. I chose these colors to accent the concrete colored brackets that are in the window frames. I would have loved to paint the cabinets and the trim or at least the outer layer but there was not enough time.








All the showers open to the outside. Very tropical but there are bugs and lizards! I could hear the monkeys howling every night.


The pool is like a little tropical island. There's that blue color!


It was a definite challenge but well worth it. I hope I get to go back as a visitor next time and relax!