Is This What Leo’s Soon-to-Open Island Resort Will Look Like?

His architect's private island home may provide some clues

August 14, 2017 9:00 am EDT

Leonardo DiCaprio’s eco-resort in Belize is still yet to debut. Until then, we can look for clues to its design in the (now-former) personal home of its architect, James McLennan.

And that home is pretty spectacular

Built on Bainbridge Island, Washington, with a slew of natural materials, the house was made to fit as peacefully as possible in its natural environment. The nearly 40-year-old residence is constructed primarily from local, reclaimed wood, with century-old Douglas fir providing material for the beams.

The design nods to manmade efforts as well, and in nods to local seafarers, some elements were taken directly from ships: like porthole windows and brass doorknobs made from “an old sailing vessel.” 

You can bet the close connection to its environment — both natural and not — will be replicated in DiCaprio’s resort. And if the McLennan house itself sounds appealing, some tough news there: it just sold for a price that puts other areas of the country to shame, at just $875,000.

Bainbridge Island Home (4 images)

Meet your guide

Diane Rommel

Diane Rommel

Diane Rommel has written for The Wall Street Journal, Outside, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Travel + Leisure, Wallpaper and Afar, as well as The Cut, Buzzfeed, Huffington Post and McSweeney’s. She once drove from London to Mongolia, via Siberia.
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