Villa Topaze

The pool at Villa Topaze hangs in the air. It is long, narrow and heated. Clear glass sides show off the green tiles as the pool projects out over the lawn below. An exterior stair runs down beside it. If a showpiece pool is high on your list, this villa in Saint-Jean, St Barts was designed around exactly that.

The plot slopes gently, with a lawn and dense tropical greenery on a fenced site. Houses dot the surrounding hills, and a distant sea view opens over treetops from the pool and the upper decks. The house is a contemporary two level pavilion design. Gray hipped roofs sit above a dark stone base, with wood cladding and large glass walls.

Inside, the style is warm and natural. Vertical pale wood paneling lines the walls under white timber vaulted ceilings, and wood floors run throughout. Sculptural chandeliers hang above cream sofas on floral rugs. The dining table has a marble top and cane chairs. In the stainless steel kitchen, a black and white checkerboard floor adds a playful note.

The teak deck beside the pool holds cushioned double loungers, and a separate hot tub sits on the same deck. A covered outdoor lounge offers sofas and a round daybed for the hottest part of the afternoon. The lawn spreads out below, and a BBQ is available for dinners outside.

Eight guests share four bedrooms, three fitted with king beds and one with a queen. All have white beds and wood paneling, and glass doors open to terraces. A desk is built into the headboard wall of each room. The bathrooms match, with long wood double vanities and glass walk in showers, and one shower is walled in stone. There is a safe and satellite TV.

Saint-Jean is the central stretch of the north coast, around the bay and beach of the same name. Beach clubs and restaurants keep it lively. It is also a convenient base for getting around. In Saint-Jean you can also book Villa Cobalt, built around a sweeping St Jean bay view from the pool deck.

Design lovers will keep finding small details to admire. Still, the glass pool is the image most guests take home from this villa in Saint-Jean, St Barts.