Design Portfolio — recent projects
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Casa Oasis Troncones
Vacation rentals — Accommodations & Vacational Therapy
Troncones Beach, Mexico — 2009-present
No, really, my biggest art project to date. My first construction project, and my second business, I made Casa Oasis from the ground up. Starting with an overgrown beachfront lot (which, in itself was quite a challenge to procure), I designed the buildings and worked with a draftsman to create the plans, then supervised construction. Ten months later, I moved in to the bottom floor. After getting furnishings, decor, branding and web presence in place, I started renting the top floor. In 2014, I built the second house, and added two more units to Casa Oasis.
Now, It’s three successful vacation rentals with nearly a combined decade of making people happy. I’ve provided Vacational Therapy to hundreds of beach lovers and made many friends. We have tons of return guests. In 2016, I moved back to the states and started running it remotely. In 2018, I built a brand new mobile-friendly website, which has expanded our reach tremendously.
It’s a great little business that injects a little beach bliss into people’s lives.
Client
Me, again
When I decided to move to Troncones, of course I had to create another business. Several (arduous) beach scouting vacations later, I finally found “the” lot. After a few Kafkaesque years of mountainous paperwork and a multiplicity of permits, I got permission to build. A nine day visit turned into nine months, and I started construction of the main house.
Starting from scratch was a brand new challenge, as I had only remodeled existing buildings before. It meant I spent a lot more time in the planning stages, and I got to create (within serious budgetary constraints) my dream beach eco-property, with septic tank, sustainable materials, and palms, banana, ylang ylang and moringa trees.
Again, with the everything? Yes, but this time, I got to have furniture made out of bamboo and tropical woodland decorate with palm weavings. (And I learned what is ad isn’t sustainable on the playa — what the beach climate does to metal, and even some plastics.) Then came decor, branding, website, etc.
And the rest is Casa Oasis history.
Mission
A sustainable beach life
Sustainable not only environmentally, but financially. The business provided income as well as creative projects and a sense of purpose, but still left me time for my other artistic endeavors. I got to live right on the beach and intimately get to know and photograph the area, its people and its seasons. Joy.
Design Inspirations
Lifelong love of and visits to beaches
Tropical Mexican architecture
Gaugin, Zozaya
