Formentera Blues

Ibiza’s Balearic sister has everything to forget about what you need to forget about and all to remind you of what you need to be reminded of.

The first thing you notice, straight off the boat in La Savina, is that everything you have just left behind doubled: the amount of sunshine (which is hard to believe, arriving from Ibiza), the feeling of peace and calm, and the price of a beer … or a house. They someway, somehow seem to correlate.

Others significantly diminished: the pace of living, the fear of missing out, your mobile phone reception, what’s left on your bank account.

Think Formentera and think wide open linen shirts, vale colours, and worn stray hats. Scruffy but well-kept beards, casually worn with Submariners of course, will tell you the time from beach to boardroom (not that there are any). All you’ll see are leather sandals, comfy loafers and soft faded fabrics. Designer sunglasses obligatory. Effortless chic and casual cool: Formentera People.

When you know, you know. And Formentarians (is that a word?) they know.

Formentera’s housing style tends to be a tad more understated and ‘untouched’. Still perfectly decorated with minimal interventions, just the way we love. Some simple wooden chairs, a comfy sofa, a table from the flea-market, and that piece unique from a cute little artisan shop named 1stdibs.com.

Safe to say we are in awe with the style and grace this Island exudes. Not only because of the way classic housing typologies and spartan interiors were kept almost intact, but also because there seems to be a young and modern movement that clearly understands how to integrate the new with the exsiting without being paralysed by the burden of the past and the beauty of the present.

In comes the true paradox of architecture and interior design: the more authentic its surroundings,  the less there is a need for bold and designed interventions. Not-screwing-up or trying-too-hard as the real challenge.

Stuff to think about on the way Home. Blue.

Credits:
10.7 Formentera restaurant, Playa Migjorn, Carretera de la Mola km 10,7. Photo: 10.7 Formentera