Minimalists in Mallorca: Hands-On Remodelers September and Colin Moore’s Latest Rescued Wreck

September and Colin Moore met on a Paris train bound for Italy. She was an American art school grad en route to her first fashion styling job in Milan. He was a South African rugby player with an interest in sports medicine. They spent three days together, reunited in Cape Town, and were married within the year.

That was in 1982, and September and Colin’s  life is still something of a rolling romance. They raised three now-grown children in the US and France, and, along the way, he graduated from chiropractic school and began practicing while she ran two successful garden and interior design stores and a B & B. They also discovered a joint love of resuscitating old houses.

In 1999, objecting to the direction this country was heading, they moved from Tampa, Florida, to a village in Carcassonne in the South of France. And there one wreck led to another: the two have remodeled approximately a dozen places, five of them in the last five years alone. September, a devout minimalist, is the visionary, and Colin figures out how to implement her plan—or what to do instead. “There’s a lot of back and forth,” she says. They tackle as much of the work as they can themselves, often learning as they go, and they always opt for traditional materials and methods: no Sheetrock or laminate pass their thresholds. They camp out in their houses during the renovation, live in them for a time, and then move on.

We were introduced to the couple in Hilary Robertson’s book Nomad at Home—see Required Reading—and recently caught up with them at their latest project in Felanitx, an untrammeled seaside town in Mallorca, Spain.

Photography by Anna Malmberg, except Before and In Progress photos, all courtesy of September Moore Projects (@septembermooreprojects).

The Inner Courtyard

Above: When a Spanish architect friend invited September to go house hunting with him in Mallorca, she fell in love with a long-abandoned century-old limestone structure with an inner courtyard. Nondescript on the outside, the two-story building opens to arched doorways and astonishingly high-ceilinged rooms. It had once been used as a sewing workshop and came with a stone barn. (Scroll to the end to see some Before and In Progress shots.)

September first waited for her friend to turn down the property and then had to campaign Colin to make yet another move. They both now love Mallorca so much, they plan to stay a while.Most of the furnishings came from a side-of-the-road used furniture and pottery vendor, including the mix of wooden chairs. September brought the woven lampshade from France—it’s from La Métairie de Montgeard, a favorite shop of hers in Toulouse.

Above: September and Pixie under a sculpture that Colin put together from a piece of wood and rope found in their garage. The floor is a mix of cement and little pebbles, “a special Mallorcan-style finish that Colin and I devised.” September had the pillows made from antique French linen sheets with metal zippers—they’re one of the few things she brings with her from move to move.

As for planning their remodels, September says she tends to sketch ideas directly on walls. When the place is our own, we figure things out as we go.”

The Main House

Above: The entry opens to a small indoor dining area. The couple preserved the layout as is, leaving most of the wall surfaces as found, but had all of the windows meticulously rebuilt by Pierre of Menuiserie Bois in Carcassone, France, where they still have two houses. They also added poured concrete flooring with under-floor heating and preserved the walls with limewash from Mallorcan brand Unicmall.

September found the chairs at their local vintage vendor and had them reupholstered in hotel linen for easy cleaning. The Rice Paper Shade is by Hay.

Above: September reports that the building had no kitchen, bathroom, or fireplaces—so was likely never lived in and reportedly sat vacant for 50 years. She and Colin enlisted a mason to build this counter of microcement—”a super fine cement that you polish to get a buffed surface,” she says. The brass taps are from Studio Ore, a UK company that makes its products to order in Northern Italy..

Loath to crowd the kitchen with a refrigerator, September built a pantry under the stair (and sacrificed what was going to be a guest bath). “We broke a big decorating law but my kitchen is so much nicer without the fridge. I have a tiny Smeg, but it was ruining my whole aesthetic. I buy day to day from the fresh market, so to me it’s not a big deal.”

Above: An adjacent outdoor kitchen of microcement with garden taps is used during the warm months. September is a painter and sculptor, and has begun making ceramics—the lemon compote is one of her pieces. The globe light is a flea market find. Above: A glimpse of the guest room in the main house. Of the hand-blown original glass in all the windows and French doors, September says, “So beautiful, and so not practical in the winter”—but clearly worth it to her. Above: The living room, also known as the VIP Lounge, is on the second floor. For the wrap-around sofa, they built a base of terracotta bricks inset with traditional clay flowers for air circulation. (Contemplating your own built-sofa? See 13 examples from the Remodelista archives). Above: Colin put together heir bed frame from old beams. It’s topped with a futon filled with cotton and latex from Futon LLIT, their friends’ Barcelona company. The ceiling beams throughout the house are painted a warm white, Farrow & Ball’s Pointing. Of her pale “super calm” palette, September says, “I appreciate beautiful textures, but I keep them all the same color so it’s not too much to take in. This house feels like a sanctuary—that’s really my goal lately.” Above: The bathroom counter is finished in hydraulic cement tiles from local maker Huguet. The basin is a ceramic bowl that September’s local bric-à-brac vendor may have made himself. The brass faucet is from Studio Ore, a UK company that makes its products to order in Northern Italy.

As for the lack of storage beyond his and hers ceramic trays and a single basket, September says, “We don’t take medicine. I have a box of essential oils. We’re minimalists in every way.”

Above: The big-enough-for-two bathtub is microcement and was built onsite by a specialist. The faucet and handheld shower are from Studio Ore.

Note the branch hooks: “they’re a Mallorcan thing,” says September. “Colin just cut some branches at an angle and set them into the wall. They’re cemented in.”

Before and In Progress

Above: A glimpse of the exterior as it was: the façade doesn’t give any of the structure’s secrets away. Above: The view from the arched entry to the interior courtyard and barn—before the concrete floor was poured. Above: Despite the decrepitude and the huge amounts of work required, September loved the setup—the interior courtyard, the soaring ceilings, the arched passages—and says, “I’ve never seen a house so perfect for me. We didn’t change the footprint at all.” For clients who aspire to her approach, September consults on interior design projects.

Stay tuned for a tour of the barn next. And N.B.: the Moores maintain a toehold in France and from time to time rent their Mallorca home for a month at a time. Watch for announcements on Instagram @septembermooreprojects.

Three more favorite remodels in Spain:

• Shed Chic: Architect Marina de Delás Turns an Off-the-Grid Hut into a Dream Retreat
• Before & After: A Historic Catalan Farmhouse Redone by Espanyolet
• A Ceramicist’s Airy, Open House on Mallorca