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Near Mexico’s Pacific Coast, chef Ernesto Kut Gomez transformed a property with two dilapidated buildings into a food-focused retreat. Its pièce de résistance is a tower with guest suites and views of the area. Ernesto’s partner, Ellen Odegaard, collaborated on much of the property’s furniture, including the pool lounges.

The gallery has a new whitewashed pine roof that covers the main villa, which includes two one-bed suites and one of the property’s three and a half kitchens. “We think it was a little church before,” says architect Yashar Yektajo. The brick was stripped of plaster from a prior renovation. “It was completely rotten because there’s so much humidity here,” he adds. “Now the brick can breathe, and the whitewash brings it together.” Pinto, one of the couple’s two dogs, rests under a coffee table Ernesto and Ellen designed. The gallery is lined with original arches that lead to the courtyard.

The tower was limited to nine meters in height (because it’s sunken, it rises to about eight and a half), but the construction style emphasizes its stature. “We did the board-forming top to bottom to give it a sense of verticality,” Yektajo says. “It makes the tower seem way taller.” The concrete’s rough texture and brown pigment complement the adjacent brick building, now a lounge.

Shannon, who’s involved in the craft community, suggested that Caleb commission local metalsmith Erica Moody to make the hardware for the cabinetry in the entry.

Penny tiles in two colors cover the walls in the wet room on the second floor where wall-mounted plumbing fixtures preserve countertop space atop the solid brass sink.

Canadian Castaway features a simple and rustic aesthetic with a focus on raw materials. "I didn’t want to paint the wood white, for instance," the owner says. "I just wanted to let it age naturally and invite it to mirror the natural world it's now a part of."