Maco Magazine - Toute Bagai Publishing

Dana’s wishcraft - In a hamlet in St Martin, a traveller draws on her worldwide experiences to transform a traditional Creole house. Sophie Munro drops in

Photography by Sophie Munro

ST MARTIN/ST MAARTEN is the smallest island to be divided by two nations, the French and the Dutch. Rumour has it the divide happened in a very civilised manner. A Frenchman and a Dutchman met, the Frenchman arrived with a bottle of wine, the Dutchman with a bottle of gin. They agreed to walk off in opposite directions and where they would meet again would establish the border. The French came off with a bigger portion of the island; could this have had anything to do with the gin being stronger than the wine?

On the French side of the island, set in a lush, peaceful valley, is Colombier, midway between Marigot and Grand Case, where beautiful Creole houses make up small hamlets. Situated in one of these hamlets is the home of Dana Wish.

Wish is American and has had a long history with the island, first arriving at the age of 16 with her parents, who opened a jewelry shop on the Dutch side. After spending 13 years living in St Martin , she left and went travelling to Israel , Japan and Asia . These experiences were paramount in her life, influencing her eye, her aesthetic and her taste for something different. On her trips she learnt about fabrics and furniture, essential factors in the businesses that she has subsequently created. Big Blue Clothing is a company she runs, using Italian fabrics to produce denim driven based clothing. She also works as an interior designer and is a collector of exotic furniture.

After years away from St Martin , Wish accepted an invitation from a friend to go to Tortola . It was on this trip that she met a French sailor and with him made her way back to St Martin , where she currently divides her time between the island and Los Angeles.

Her house was found in a serendipitous way. In a car on her way to the airport bound for LA, a friend called her to say there was a house for sale that she must see before she left. She did an about turn in the cab, made it to the house and upon seeing the central staircase, agreed to buy it; she made the flight and wired the money the following week.

The pretty wooden Creole house is modest in scale, with two-tone shuttered windows and doors, and a double-height veranda at the front with gingerbread detailing and latticework on the second floor. It is set in a mature garden of palm trees, interspersed with flowers and surrounded by a white picket fence. There was little to do structurally, as the previous owners had completed a major renovation after the house had been damaged by Hurricane Lewis.

The downstairs veranda, surrounded by lush green vegetation, is inviting; an iron day bed overflows with cushions on which to lounge and daydream. A planter’s chair, found locally, is flanked by side tables from Indonesia and Italian floor tiles run throughout the entire downstairs area, linking the rooms.

Stepping inside from the veranda, one enters the sitting room, full of colour and texture, where one can’t help but delight in the treasures of furniture and antiques that Wish has collected. Throne-like wooden chairs, intricately hand carved, are thought to have once belonged to the Moroccan royal family. A comfortable rattan corner sofa, with cushions covered in bright orange fabric, surrounds two small tables from Morocco, on which sit Mexican spinning tops. Wish is a passionate art collector and paintings by local artists adorn the walls, including works by Nathalie Lepine, Patrick Poivre de la Freta and Sylvie Calley. With so many paintings in her collection, she has begun to hang them, or at least one, from the ceiling. The painting in question was a gift from her neighbour and well-known artist, Paul Elliot.

The dining room and kitchen are open on two sides, successfully reducing the definition between inside and outside living. A table surrounded by teak chairs awaits long, lingering gatherings with friends, and a bar divides the kitchen and dining area, where mahogany stools line up in a military fashion. Bright pink gingerbread detailing above the bar links the greens and pinks used in the kitchen, inspired, Wish says, by French Creole colours.

Upstairs, the bedrooms are uncomplicated and painted off-white boards contrast with polished mahogany floorboards and both bedrooms open out onto the upstairs balcony, where an elaborately-detailed hammock, bought from Brazil, is crying out for you to sink into its embrace.

In the guest room, the mahogany bed is 250 years old, a find from Martinique and designed with hinged rolled ends in which to tuck the mosquito net. Indian fabrics cover the bed and more paintings by Lepine and Poivre de la Freta hang on the walls.

The master bedroom is light and airy. Moroccan furniture dominates and the same greens and pinks that were used in the kitchen are repeated in the bathroom. Louvred swing doors divide the bedroom from the bathroom, allowing the light and breeze to flow through.

Wish’s plan is to open a shop in Grand Case, selling clothing, art, antiques and jewelry and when she is not in residence, her house is available for rent.

Colour. Texture. Passion. These elements flourish throughout the home, from the ceilings to the floorboards. By mixing different styles, and infusing her personality into her choices, Dana Wish has transformed the little Creole house in the valley into an experience that reflects the best of herself.