Domaine de Cala Rossa: furnishing a villa in Corsica, indoors and out

Corsica, where the maquis runs down to the sea. At Domaine de Cala Rossa, Rua Madeira worked alongside the interior design studio Evasion Habitat: the seating indoors and out, the rugs of every room, and the Brazilian pieces that set the tone of the house.

Cala Rossa, southern Corsica

Scrubland running down to the sea, sun-warmed stone, a light that shifts throughout the day. Cala Rossa, just north of Porto-Vecchio, is one of those stretches of coast where the island does its living outdoors: cork oaks, umbrella pines, granite boulders left where they fell, and the smell of the maquis after a hot afternoon.

The villa sits in that landscape rather than on top of it. A long pool follows the slope, sand paths thread between the rocks, and the lawn stops where the scrub takes over. Nothing has been flattened.

An architecture of timber, stone and shade

The house is low and horizontal: timber-framed volumes clad in pale wood, dry-stone walls, full-height glazing that slides away completely. Over the main deck, wide black shade sails are stretched between the roof and the garden, and a slatted pergola draws moving stripes across the boards all afternoon.

Three materials, essentially: wood, stone, and the light filtered between them. An architecture of this kind asks one thing of the furniture — hold the line, add nothing. Every piece had to belong to that same palette rather than compete with it.

Our part, alongside Evasion Habitat

Evasion Habitat designed the interior architecture and the decorative scheme for Domaine de Cala Rossa. Rua Madeira supplied what sits inside it: the seating, indoors and out, the rugs of every room, and the Brazilian sculptures, headdresses and vessels that give the house its character.

1. A first selection drawn from the plans

Before the house was finished, we worked from the plans with Evasion Habitat to propose a complete selection: the volumes, the circulation, the use of each room, the rhythm of the terraces.

2. Refined with Evasion Habitat and the client

That first selection was then reworked between the three of us, room by room, until the interior and the exterior read as one continuous space: true to the designers' vision, and true to the taste of the family who would live there.

3. Customisation: finishes, fabrics, leathers and cords

Every piece was then customised — frame finishes, seat fabrics, leathers, and the colour of the cord braided onto the outdoor seats. The rugs were made to the exact dimensions of each room, in cotton and banana fibre indoors, in technical PVC for the outdoor dining area. Samples travelled between the client, Evasion Habitat and our workshop until the last approval.

4. Manufacturing, logistics and installation

Manufacturing in Brazil, shipping, delivery to Corsica, installation indoors and out: one point of contact, from the first drawing to the last piece in place.

Outdoors: seating built to stay out all season

The deck is the real centre of gravity of the house. Under the shade sail we installed the Vênus family — three-seat sofas, armchairs and dining chairs — built on slender aluminium frames and braided by hand in black cord. Backrest heights were kept low throughout, so the pool stays visible from every seat.

Alongside them, solid wood relax armchairs on the terraces, rocking armchairs beside the bedrooms, and a wide PVC rug that marks out the summer-kitchen dining area on the deck boards.

Then the swings. Two Bali hanging seats, and two Biboca swings on their own floor supports, set where the cork oaks close over a patch of sand. One of them turns slowly in the shade all afternoon. It has become the photograph everyone takes.

In the pool, two Float loungers with their cushions — the only furniture in the house that moves on its own.

On an exposed coastal site, outdoor furniture works hard. The seating here is built for it: an aluminium frame, which salt air leaves alone, braided over by hand in cord chosen to hold its colour through a full Mediterranean summer. Nothing on this deck has to be taken in at the end of the season.

Indoors: leather, hand-woven rugs, and a wall of Brazilian art

Around the long dining table, eleven Bïa chairs in full-grain leather — ten in the dining room, one at the desk. In the study, the Link desk in a Pau Ferro finish, its curved front drawn in one line. Nearby, a Teddy Jorge armchair in natural fur and a pair of Bulbo armchairs, one green, one pale.

Underfoot, nine rugs, each woven to the dimensions of its room: cotton and banana fibre in the main bedroom, in Lucien's and Jules's rooms, in the two guest rooms, and in the living and dining rooms — a 4.2 by 4.2 metre piece in brown, black and beige anchoring the whole living space.

And on the walls, the part of the house that travelled furthest. Four rope sculptures — Rio, Brasília, Natal, Marabá — and four framed feather headdresses: Guriu, Delta Parnaíba, Ponta de Campina, Sancho. The largest runs 1.8 metres across the wall above the desk. Four ceramic jars complete the set.

Why work with Rua Madeira

On an island project, the value is not only in the selection: it is in everything the client did not have to handle. The back-and-forth with the workshop in Brazil, the samples, the approvals with the interior designers, the lead times, the shipping, the installation.

One address, one conversation, one schedule. That is what allowed Domaine de Cala Rossa to be furnished without the project becoming a burden — for the client, and for the designers working alongside us.

Frequently asked questions

Do you work alongside an interior designer?

Often, and gladly. At Domaine de Cala Rossa the project was designed by Evasion Habitat: they set the direction, we supplied the seating, the rugs and the decorative pieces, and we handled the customisation, the shipping and the installation.

Can the furniture be customised?

Yes — frame finishes, fabrics, leathers and cord colours, and rugs woven to the exact dimensions of a room. Almost every piece at Cala Rossa was customised for the project.

Is your outdoor furniture suitable for a coastal site?

Yes. The outdoor seating is built on aluminium frames braided by hand in cord that holds its colour, so it can stay out through the season on an exposed Mediterranean site.

Do you deliver to Corsica and internationally?

Yes. We handle manufacturing, logistics and installation, in Europe and beyond — from Corsica to Ibiza, from Morocco to Brazil.

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