The tropical interior has become the signature touchstone of interior designer Juan Montoya; his dream houses have been synonymous with relaxation and pleasure, the true expression of paradise.
His new book Designing Paradise: Juan Montoya (published by Rizzoli) features his most recent tropical seaside residential projects, but it also tells the story of his roots, which have connected him to the tropical, long before he came to New York and studied at Parsons School of Design. Growing up in Bogotá, Montoya’s family had split its time between the city and a rice farm in Puerto Tejada, a remote town in Colombia. It is this upbringing, between the chic capital of Colombia and the isolated tropical country which have come to shape his taste and professional identity. We learn that the success of his approach to tropical design is rooted in the various influences that he has carried from this unique upbringing: the indigenous population, the Colombian culture and its folk art, the crafts, and the connection to the rustic, relaxed tropical countryside. The book features never published before tropical interiors in Mexico, the Dominical Republic, Miami Beach, and Fisher Island.
