ROCK OF AGES

The owners of a Menorcan home have made a stylish yet sustainable retreat using the island's signature stone

- Robyn Alexander/Bureaux and Rachel Christie

menorca’s autochthonous limestone, known as marés, is a beautiful natural material that varies in colour between ochre and white and is seen everywhere on the island – from the ancient structures left behind by the Talayotic culture to everyday farm buildings. When Benedicta Linares Pearce and Benoît Pellegrini acquired this abandoned rural property, they knew that its renovation would require sensitivity in terms of preserving the marés stone and also in bringing this beautiful old house into the 21st century.

‘We decided to leave the facade unprotected with the marés stone on show, as the farmhouse is all about working with local materials and this limestone is, undoubtedly, the island’s star one,’ they say.

Born in Menorca, but having lived in London, Benedicta had long wanted to fully reconnect with her place of birth, while Benoît – having visited the island many times – also felt its pull. Looking around for the best team to help them create their luxe eco retreat, the couple met Anne-Cécile Comar, an architect and co-founder of the French architectural practice Atelier du Pont, who, due to many visits, also knew the island well.