Villa Sheherezade
Croatia

Role: Architect and Interior Designer

In the Arabic folk tales of One Thousand and One Nights, a Persian king and his wife Sheherezade, after whom the villa is named, fell in love. This magnificent villa in Dubrovnik is a National monument in Croatia.

A combination of all design styles and materials topped with a striking turquoise dome, the story goes that Villa Sheherezade was built in the Art Deco period by a Lithuanian entrepreneur fleeing Russia’s October Revolution for his mystery lover, who he called Sheherezade.

Tragically he did not live to see its completion. Continuing its’ romance in the 20th century, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton whilst filming in the Adriatic, fell in love with the location. It is no surprise that games of Thrones have utilised it‘s backdrop.

Surrounded by colourful gardens, with palm and cypress trees, 4,200 square meters of terraces and lush gardens are part of the brief for Archer Humphryes to recreate a modern destination for the villas interiors and landscape for the Luxury Adriatic Hotel Collection. With furniture and inventory coming from all parts of the world, including one of Santiago de Chile’s historic hotels, the concept will be beautiful, classic and contemporary. A new spa, indoor and outdoor pool, amenity space for entertaining and dining in the garden, full internal restoration and reconnecting the dome by bridge to the cliff are all part of the planned renovation. Work will begin in late 2017.