House in Seseh, Bali | AMOK Architecture

Between Mexico and Bali. AMOK Architecture Designs a House in Seseh

Bali brings to mind rattan, wickerwork, and omnipresent boho style. This house goes against the current. In Seseh - a quiet, picturesque town on Bali’s southwestern coast, located near the bustling Canggu and Pererenan - Olga Kurek of the Amok Architecture studio designed a 200-square-meter house for a yoga teacher and her family. Instead of postcard exoticism, this is tropical modern: a mix of raw concrete, noble stone, Italian fabrics, and custom-designed furniture. The interior is completed by a lush garden that flows into the space and becomes an integral part of the project.

Bali’s southwestern coast has for several years attracted not only surfers and digital nomads, but also architects, designers, and investors seeking a new way of thinking about the tropical home. Among the rice fields, palm trees, and lush gardens, contemporary projects are emerging that increasingly break away from the aesthetic traditionally associated with the island. It was here that a house was built for a family with two children, designed by Olga Kurek, founder of Amok Architecture. The owner, professionally involved in yoga practice, wanted an interior with character, but far from being merely decorative. So instead of Balinese boho, tropical modern emerged - more architectural, restrained, and built on the relationship between material and nature.

Mexico Meets Bali

One of the reference points was contemporary houses being built in Mexico. The raw concrete coexists with wood and natural stone within them, and the architecture doesn't try to compete with the intense vegetation. On the contrary, it lets it in. A similar principle was applied in Seseh. On the ground floor, the concrete ceiling and structural beams were left exposed. Their rawness was juxtaposed with soft fabrics, warm tones, and organic forms. The arches that appear in various parts of the house aren’t a decorative citation of trendy boho. Their function is primarily architectural: they lead you through the interior, define successive zones, and give rhythm to the open space.

A House Set Up for the View

The heart of the house is formed by the living room, dining room, and kitchen. All three functions flow seamlessly into one another, and their composition is built around two elements: light and greenery. The tropical garden here isn’t a backdrop seen through the window - it’s a full-fledged part of the design. It appears in almost every frame, changing the character of the interior depending on the time of day, weather, and intensity of the sunlight. This is most visible in the kitchen. Here, one seemingly small decision influenced how the entire room reads. The architect shifted the window so that the kitchen cabinetry could wrap around the glazing, placing the garden exactly on the axis of the countertop. Instead of looking at a wall while cooking, you look at tropical greenery.

The dining table was set on the same axis. A row of monumental strelitzias stretches behind it. The boundary between the house and the garden becomes blurred, much as in contemporary architecture where landscape is often treated as just another design material.

- “When I start a project, I think above all about the person who’s going to live in that space: how they come back home, where the morning light falls, which way they walk. People often think interior architecture is about choosing colors and furniture. For me, what matters most is space and light - how the interior breathes. The effect comes from many small decisions. Here that included, among other things, moving the kitchen window to let the view become part of the interior, or leaving the concrete ceiling and structural beams exposed” - says Olga Kurek, architect and founder of Amok Architecture.

Onyx, Burgundy, and a Pink Bathtub

The house’s color palette wasn’t dreamed up at a desk. It was largely dictated by the natural stones. In the kitchen, attention is drawn to the green onyx used on the kitchen island and worktop. Its irregular pattern works almost like an abstract painting and pairs well with the greenery visible through the windows. The owners’ private bathroom was treated even more boldly. The starting point was a marble slab set into an arch behind the bathtub. Its coloring gave rise to the deep burgundy of the walls and the powdery pink of the freestanding bathtub. Stone reappears in the sinks, custom-made for this interior. The effect is far from restrained hotel-style elegance - this is a sensual, color-saturated interior, yet still governed by architecture.

Nothing Off the Catalog

The same set of materials recurs throughout the entire house: terrazzo floors, lime plaster walls, wood, stone, and concrete. Their surfaces work especially well in tropical light. Instead of perfect, sterile smoothness; textures, reflections, and small imperfections come through. The furnishings matter just as much. Most of the furniture was designed specifically for this project: from the kitchen, to the table and chairs, to the beds. This allows the furniture to adapt to the architecture, rather than the architecture adapting to the dimensions of ready-made products. The exceptions were chosen very deliberately. In the main bedroom, Dedar fabrics imported from Italy appear on the upholstered headboard and seating. The same material returns on the dining room chairs, creating a subtle connection between the private and communal parts of the house. Above the bed hangs a piece by Balinese artist Rizzi Riza, whose work can be seen at The Medium gallery in Canggu. Local art here isn't playing the role of exotic decoration - it's treated on equal ground with the European design and furniture made on-site.

A Staircase That Shifts the Mood

Against the calmer living area, the staircase acts as a visual counterpoint. A sage-green wall tone meets a more graphic "salt and pepper" terrazzo pattern here. A local sculpture sits on the landing, and the composition is completed by lamps from the Balinese showroom Piment Rouge. A similar principle was applied in the office, hidden behind custom-made decorative glass doors. The room intended for work opens onto the terrace, pool, and garden - even here, nature stays within view. 

Private, But With Character

Upstairs is the main bedroom, connected to a walk-in closet and bathroom. Unlike the more neutral living areas, the private rooms allow for bolder gestures. The bathroom is the most spectacular of all. The arch that recurs throughout the house appears on both sides of the room: on one side it forms an architectural frame for the bathtub and marble, on the other it discreetly conceals the shower and toilet. From the entrance, what's mainly visible are the stone sinks. The remaining bathrooms are calmer but still have their own identity. The guest bathroom features a green sink and a shower with a window that opens directly onto the garden. The small bathroom under the stairs, meanwhile, is finished in green tiles whose tone was matched to the natural stone.

The house in Seseh reveals a different face of tropical design - without rattan in the leading role, without the obligatory palette of beiges, and without decoration meant to prove you're in Bali. What gives the place away is the light, the humid air, the intense greenery behind the windows, and the way the house stays open to it.

Architecture & Interior Design: AMOK Architecture / Olga Kurek
Location: Seseh, Bali, Indonesia

Photography: Visualstories (Ig: @visualstories.jpg)