The Legian Seminyak, Bali, which opened in 1996, has extraordinary significance for Bali and Indonesia.

It was the first commercial project of the late Indonesian design master Jaya Ibrahim （19482015）, whose success earned respect for Indonesia‘s local design capabilities and paved the way for Indonesian aesthetics to shine globally.

Editor‘s comment:

Jaya is regarded as Indonesia‘s most outstanding contemporary interior designer. We believe that his interior design at The Legian focuses on natural elements and spatial imagery, using natural materials such as wood, terracotta tiles, stone and rattan, with a color palette controlled in quiet neutral tones, without using any fashionable styling language to attract attention, hence the enduring freshness today. In terms of functional planning, he harmoniously combined East and West, using symmetrical balancing techniques and the beauty of Zen imagery, creating a very peaceful sense of experience in the space.

Jaya‘s Story

Jaya Ibrahim was born on April 17, 1948 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. His mother was a Javanese princess and his father was a diplomat. Influenced by his grandmother, Jaya learned about Javanese culture from an early age and traveled the world with his father before settling in England. Surprisingly, Jaya never attended design school and began his career solely based on his love for design.

In 1992, Jaya felt a sense of mission calling him back to Indonesia where he established his own interior design studio.

Bali is a global tourism hotspot that combines highquality cultural and natural attractions, and has driven demand for a batch of resort hotels that are both international and local in style. Jaya saw that many of the hotel designers and architects in Bali were foreigners, so as an Indonesian, he felt the responsibility to contribute to his country.

Jaya‘s crosscultural background gave him unique advantages. As a descendant of the Javanese, he had a clear understanding of the design principles of traditional Indonesian architecture and housing. On the other hand, as a designer who had worked in London for many years, he was able to think outside the box and approach design from a completely new perspective.

In 1996, Jaya finally completed his first commercial project The Legian Seminyak, Bali.

The Allure of Beauty

The Spiritual Sense of Belonging

Mr. Budiman, the Director of Marketing of The Legian Seminyak, Bali, told me: ”Jaya treated this hotel like his own child. After it was built, he often came to the hotel to take a walk and see if there were any details that could be improved.”

I felt like I had come to a place where Jaya‘s spirit belonged. The Legian has neither grandeur nor a strong style in its architecture or interiors, but I was touched by its humble, honest, and simple temperament.

From the corridors, halls, and music, to the cheerful beach garden and long coastline, to the beautiful printed fabrics and sincere smiles of the staff, and to the courtyardstyle guest room buildings, when I pushed open the door and stepped onto the cool and smooth wooden floor barefoot, with the thick white fourposter bed, dark wooden table at the foot of the bed, delicate rattan headboard, rough pottery art on the walls, and tropical snake fruit with shimmering patterns in the black fruit platter on the coffee table, and when the ocean wind and sunlight outside the balcony greeted me...

I felt everything was so beautiful. I got rid of my distractions and immersed myself in the happiness of my homeland. I liked the sincere beauty, elegant delicacy without complacency, and direct hit to my heart.

Guests wearing cool clothes walked around the hotel in flipflops, leaned on the sofa in the lobby bar reading, and children chased games barefoot. The restaurant is adjacent to the swimming pool, facing the sea. Children playing in the pool lay on the edge of the pool, showing only their shoulders above the water surface, waiting quietly for the sunset over the sea. The sound of the approaching and receding waves was especially clear, occasionally accompanied by distant cheers from people walking lazily on the beach. Everything is so comfortable.

Jaya must have given his lifestyle and love for Balinese culture to The Legian, so much so that I thought I had come to Jaya‘s residence, a house where he once lived freely and leisurely.

I visited The Legian with strong curiosity and expectation. When I saw the black, slender dragonflylike logo at the entrance of The Legian and the graceful LEGION characters through the car window, the flower that had been floating in my heart bloomed. I just knew that I would love The Legian.

This is the power of beauty, like an allure, where you find your spiritual sense of belonging all at once. It is a pure, peaceful, warm, and everlasting energy.