SHELTER: Oscar de la Renta's Dominican Republic Home

With our love of architecture and design it would be remise of us not to pay homage to great works of architecture from time to time – let’s face it Hollywood and extraordinary homes go hand-in-hand.

After much deliberation amongst the staff we finally agreed on the home that would be our first official feature – the Dominican Republic home of Oscar and Annette de la Renta.

Casa de la Renta – an oceanfront compound in the Dominican Republic’s Punta Cana region was built from coral rock quarried on the island. Designed by Oscar and Cuban-born architect Ernesto Buch the house sits on what use to be large fields of sugarcane, now the grounds are filled with beautiful flower gardens and orchid greenhouses. The main house looks like a fortress with 18 two-story pillars. The guest house, built for Oscar and Annette’s fabulously-famous friends, has a tranquil pool overlooking the crystal-like sea. There is also a romantic Balinese sleeping pavilion – a gift from neighbor and business partner, Julio Iglesis. Oscar and Julio developed the 15,000 acre Punta Cana Resort www.puntacana.com.

“I come here to remind me of who I am,” Oscar says, “and to surround myself with the talent and the pleasures of the world that I come from.”