La Formentera: The Woodland Refuge of Juan Montoya

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Photographs by Eric Piasecki

Introduction by Karen Lehrman Bloch

The Monacelli Press, New York, 2012, English

Nonfiction, Architecture; Nonfiction, Interior Design

11 x 1 x 14 inches, hardcover, 232 pages

ISBN: 9781580933360

Suggested Retail Price: $65.00

From the Publisher. In the 1970s, renowned interior designer Juan Montoya lived on La Formentera, a Balearic Island off the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Later, near Garrison, New York, Montoya acquired land and built his place of solace, his own La Formentera. He fulfilled his dream of a property that could evoke the same majesty of that island’s rocky terrain, without the Mediterranean climate. The retreat is made up of an elegantly simple Japanese-style house and 100 acres of pristine landscape, shaped by Montoya himself. Setting out on the paths, one encounters massive stone sculptures, an inviting pool complex, and rustic shelters made of rough stone. A rushing brook runs through the property, and empties into a lake with a small island where thousands of daffodils bloom in the spring. La Formentera is the perfect refuge for Montoya, whose credo is, “I want to be surrounded by beauty and creativity.”

Photographer Eric Piasecki has captured that beauty and creativity inherent to this unique place in all seasons—from the deep greens of summer, to the golden leaves of fall, to the pristine snow drifts of winter, to the first blush of spring. Karen Bloch's engaging text tells the remarkable story of the property, as well as the great pleasure it gives Juan Montoya and all who visit there.

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Stanley Abercrombie

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This is important because it is so beautiful. Formentera, named for the Spanish island where interior designer Juan Montoya once lived, is a 110-acre site near the Hudson River town of Garrison, New York. There is, of course, an interesting house with skillful interiors, but the emphasis here is on nature—trees, forests, streams and ponds, subtly augmented with sculpture, walls and walks. Idyllic.

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