A Haven in Saigon
A three-month, $60,000 renovation transformed this two-story, 940-square-foot structure and its fifth-of-an-acre grounds into a lush, barefoot-friendly haven for Valerie Gregori McKenzie and her family here in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; they pay around $1,500 a month in rent.
Ms. Gregori McKenzie on the stone and wood terrace. The jackfruit tree in the background is hung with iron and painted glass lanterns that were custom-made in Hanoi. "As much of life as possible takes place outside," she said.
The majority of Vietnamese are Buddhists, so Ms. Gregori McKenzie felt compelled to build this altar for her Vietnamese staff so they, too, would feel at home. The buddha sculptures were purchased in antique shops.
Ms. Gregori McKenzie framed and hung her son Aubrey's childhood artwork in his room. The lamp has a wooden base and a hemp and mother-of-pearl beaded lampshade; it's available for $140 at Song boutiques (asiasongdesign.com). The carved wooden platform bed was purchased in a Hanoi antique shop 10 years ago for roughly $100.
The 430-square-foot bathroom was built in a new, thatched roof construction. Ms. Gregori McKenzie bought the wooden soaking tub from a Japanese exporter in Vietnam for about $100; a painting by a contemporary Vietnamese artist named Dinh Y Nhi hangs behind it.
"When Aubrey chose this red color for his room, he was only 10 years old," Ms. Gregori McKenzie said (Aubrey is now 17.) "I let him have it, but I added yellow to tone it down." The wine-colored, gathered silk ceiling lamp is by Ms. Gregori McKenzie's company Song.
Throughout the house, plastic floors and walls were replaced by salvaged wooden planks. Ms. Gregori McKenzie installed doors with wooden slats and painted walls baby blue, red and mustard yellow to recreate "the simplicity of Caribbean life."
The kitchen was built outdoors to save space and mimic Vietnamese traditional life. Chi Bich, the family cook, uses the locally purchased rattan bamboo baskets as strainers. "They are more ecological and sustainable than plastic," Ms. Gregori McKenzie said. "Though Chi Bich prefers plastic!"
The platform bed in Ms. Gregori McKenzie's bedroom faces the window on the advice of a feng shui master. "I like to live with the influence of Asia around me," Ms. Gregori McKenzie said. The gold lacquered lamps are by Song.
After termites derailed an attempt at wood floors in the downstairs living areas, Ms. Gregorie McKenzie replaced them with grey and beige cement tiles in geometric patterns that she designed. The hand-made squares are a nod to Colonial times, when decorative tiles were used to keep villas cool and mimic carpets. The antique armchairs, chest, and platform bed were purchased from antique stores and private sellers in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Tara, Ms. Gregori McKenzie's daughter, chose this baby blue hue for her room. The orange and pink quilt is handmade organic silk; the paper cutout chandelier is by Tord Boontje (tordboontje.com) and was picked up during a trip to Milan.
The 80-year-old ironwood dining table came from the house of a friend's Uncle. "She inherited a beautiful Colonial house but had no interest in its old stuff, so she asked me to clear the space for her. It was wonderful," Ms. Gregori McKenzie said. The chairs were made in northern Thailand; they are recycled wood.
Ms. Gregori McKenzie, her husband Rene Tayeb, and Beirut, their dog, on the expansive riverfront terrace. Here, traffic on the Saigon River is limited to the odd chug boat and clumps of floating water hyacinth.
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