Homes News Paper, 27 July 2005

Sulu seafarer's retreat in Labuan
Many expatriates dream of building an idyllic home in Malaysia but one “Southern gent” from Mississippi recently realized his fondest wish in Sabah.
Photography by Made Wijaya

American businessman Niles Jerry Withers came to Asia in 1975 working in the oil and gas industries and as destiny would his paraside in Labuan.
In an e-mail interview, Withers related how he came to build an exotic, coastal home.
“I moved to Labuan in 1985 to help construct an offshore supply base on the island. I fell in love with the quaint little island and quickly made it my home and brought my family here to live. The house is for my family and hopefully will remain in my family for generations to come.

“The house is located in the kampung of Layang-Layangan on the Northwest side of the island and is built on a cliff overlooking a small bay. The sunsets are simply magnificent and being in a kampong area it is very peaceful.”
Withers engaged bali-based design consultant Made Wijaya to help him conceptualize his dream home (please see accompanying article).
He chose Made Wijaya for his ability to create “large open spaces to live in.”
“And he captured my love of things old and of bygone eras. He mixed and matched his tropical design with my Southern character quite well. You will see this in the open porches and verandahs.”
Made did the complete project from design to the interiors and landscaping.
“I’m extremely happy. He made one of my dreams come true. Made visited the site and my family. He decided to do the project and design a house for me and not a copy of something else or a clone. He based his concept on his observations of the property and my family and myself, with a keen sense of style and talent. It all blends wonderfully. We sealed the deal in one day over a bottle of champagne.”
The best thing about living in Labuan, says Withers, is the quitness of the island. “And the slower pace which fits with my growing up experience in Mississippi. People here are friendly and enjoy a good time, same as we do in the southern part of USA.”- By Johnni Wong.

THE CONCEPT:
While vacationing at the Taman Bebek Villas Resort in Bali, businessman Niles Jerry withers decided that he wanted to live like that every day of the year.
According to design consultant Made Wijaya, “Jerry had bought a beautiful piece of land, high on a cliff, with an old colonial bungalow overlooking the South China Sea and then, went looking for an architect.”
With the Taman Bebek villas Resort as his inspiration, Withers asked Made Wijaya, who originally created the villas and chalets there, to replicate the much-publicised presidential suite to be the businessman’s dream home in Labuan.
Made took on the job as project architect with the understanding that he could design a Malay colonial home and not a Balinese palatial home, to better suit the Malaysian locale.
Basically, Made designed a “classical colonial” compound consisting of a two-storey main house with large “southern-style” verandahs facing the sea. There is also a separate guest-house in a style typical of traditional Terengganu house. It has a linked bath house.

The kitchen is in a separate building behind the main house. It is designed in the tropical colonial tradition, overlooking the vast mango orchard.
Said made: “The house is approached through a colonial coral gate modeled on the one realized by Oliver Messel for Lady Guinness in Mustique in the 1920s.
“The main door is a copy of a monastery door in an abbey in Espiritu Santo near Cascais in Portugal in keeping with the coastal tradition. All the other doors in the house are either Javanese, Madurese or Balinese in design, to satisfy the family’s love for the Indonesian decorative arts.
“Oliver Musker in Delhi made a pair of superb ‘Syrie Maugham’ sofas – pasticcio with cherry piping, for the main salon.” (Syrie was the decorator wife of the writer, Somerset Maugham.)

Moroccan rugs purchased by Made in Marrakesh and Javanese antique beds complete the picture of an old Sulu seafare’s coastal retreat.
According to the designer, the construction material used were simple, natural and mainly, local. However, terracotta tiles and colonial-era cement tiles were imported from Bali.
Textiles by famed Sydney designer and MAMBO founding artist Bruce Goold adorn all the bedrooms. The gardens are “understated but magical” –deferring to the existing mango grove and the stunning sea views.