A once-crumbling Catalonian farmhouse turned artistic oasis for mindful living, this villa for rent in Spain lives and breathes the creative vision of its owner, a visual artist, ceramicist and jeweler. The art-filled retreat dates from the 18th century yet offers 21st-century comforts and a multitude of opportunities for personal expansion. Think guided yoga, meditation, and silent disco, wine tasting and pairing courses, personal coaching, workshops on cooking, tablescaping, or specific arts and crafts, and intimate guided visits to nearby waterfalls, forest trails, and wineries.

In a lush rural setting surrounded by vines stands a "soul farm", the life-affirming property created by visual artist Iris Tonies and her husband Arnout Krediet. The seven-bedroom retreat has been imbued with the owners’ zest for life, resulting in a rural getaway that is at once serene and high spirited—a place to cultivate creativity and rest mind, body, and soul.

The abandoned farmhouse has been brought back to vivid life as Tonies’ signature interior design vision. A sense of unbridaled creativity reigns throughout the property, where her playful, tactile ceramics, wildly imaginative fixtures and wall hangings, soothing botanical decor, and lively blends of color and pattern fill every attentively styled room. A pool terrace adds to the pervading luxury, and the owners offer both a generous, vibrant spot to host your own DIY workshops and retreats, or the opportunity to work directly with onsite staff for private coaching, cooking classes, wine tastings and arts instruction, or guided meditation, yoga, and mindfulness workshops, as well as offsite recreational tours.

A blank canvas filled exuberantly by Tonies and Krediet, the ancient stone farm is today a sensual modern oasis. A play of light, color and texture, the lively décor might best be described as imaginatively boho—unique and upbeat, with a touch of the luxurious and over-the-top, balanced by characteristic forms and accents that keep the space tranquil, low-key and warm. Arches curve softly over sleep spaces, gauzy drapes filter whitewashed walls, and cool modern furnishings tend toward a palette of earthen neutrals and rose-quartz-to-terracotta tones—all offset by the rich ebony selected for the doors, exclusive ceramic wall accents, contemporary hardware, art, or furniture.

AROUND

Set less than an hour outside of buzzing Barcelona, this villa for rent in Spain is located in Penedès, a charming wine region with a Spanish DOC that’s best known for its production of Cava, Catalonia’s signature bubbly. Wine tours, tastings, and vineyard visits should not be missed, and the area is home to a designated wine route featuring Cava producers as well as vintners of lesser-known varieties. 

The area straddles Barcelona to the north and Tarragona further south, and is situated inland from the nearby Mediterranean coast, home to Sitges with its classified manors and sunny seaside promenade, and picturesque fishing villages such as Vilanova I la Geltrú. The mountainous area surrounding the vineyards offers hiking, mountain biking, and foraging paths, and is fragrant with pine forests and thyme-covered forest floors. The town of Vilafranca del Penedès is your destination for tours of historical architecture and monuments such as the Basilica de Santa Maria, the Palace of Fraret, the church of Sant Joan, and several modernist buildings as well.

LOCATION

Torrelles Defoix, Barcelona, Spain. Nearest airport: Barcelona

BEST TIME TO VISIT: April to October