Villa Douceur

Villa Douceur faces the open sea from high on a rocky hillside in Camaruche. Several islets sit offshore, and a hilly headland rises to the left. On clear days faint land shows on the far horizon. This is a calm and stylish villa in Camaruche, St Barts, sized for a couple or two.

White cottages with gray slate hip roofs and louvered French doors are spread across several levels. Dry stacked stone walls and wood decks tie them together, and a white curved stair climbs between stone walls. Inside, the style is airy and natural. Whitewashed walls meet plantation shutters and pale oak floors. White sofas carry blue and white cushions, and wicker pieces add texture. The white kitchen has black counters and a patterned cement tile backsplash, plus a professional style range for anyone who loves to cook.

The infinity pool sits on a pale wood deck backed by a dry stone wall. White sling loungers line it, with an umbrella for shade and a steel ladder into the water. A shower fixed to the stone wall seems to serve as an outdoor shower. Up a level, an upper deck with wicker armchairs and a glass railing looks out to sea. Dinner for 6 can be set on a lower deck among boulders and orchids, shaded by trees.

There are two bedrooms for up to 4 guests, each with a king bed, and two bathrooms. One room has a headboard wall of bleached planks. The other has a white canopy bed draped in netting. The bathrooms have wood vanities. One has a walk in shower lined in stone, and a separate bath pavilion with a double vanity opens onto the terraced garden.

Camaruche is a quiet residential hillside in the north east, set between Lorient and the Marigot and Grand Cul-de-Sac bays. The pace is slow and the views are wide. For groups who cook and gather outside, Villa Colline has a kidney pool on a terracotta terrace and 4 bedrooms for up to 8 guests.

Villa Douceur is right for a couple or two couples who want peace and a big sea view. Few things here compete for your attention, and that is the appeal of this villa in Camaruche, St Barts.