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Nearly 12 year ago, Molly Berry posted a photo on Instagram of her then-infant son laying on a bedspread that changed everything. Her friend, architect and interior designer Hildegard Vásquez Omlin, called her up: Where did she get that bedding? Omlin’s firm, Hache Uve, was working on a boutique Panama City hotel, and Berry’s coverlet was exactly what she imagined for the guest suites. “I said, ‘As a matter of fact, I am the contact,’” recalls Berry.
At the time, Berry had just moved to Antigua, Guatemala, with her family. The city happens to be custom bedding dreamland: There is no shortage of talented weavers. She found an artisan who was able to create exactly what she wanted—king size, naturally dyed, and not overly colorful—in three weeks. Having 15 more made for Omlin’s hotel sparked an idea: Berry could open her own shop and studio. To this day, she runs Luna Zorro, selling textiles ranging from breezy bathrobes to vintage huipils and hosting natural dye and weaving workshops, dining pop-ups, and even five-day-long trips to Antigua. And the studio is only a 10-minute drive from her home—Berry’s greatest design undertaking yet.
In the beginning, the Bay Area native, and her husband, Juan, who is half Guatemalan, rented a fully-finished space, unsure if they’d be staying in Antigua long-term. But in 2015, a friend spotted a two-story listing that had all the charm of a classic Antigua house—a central courtyard, a terracotta tiled roof—with the added bonus of archways and glass doors. They had to check it out. So what if they didn’t own anything to fill it with yet? “I walked in and told my husband, ‘We can sleep on a mattress; I don’t care!” says Berry.
Decorating took time. The couple sourced materials from the sustainable tree farm Juan manages (alongside cocoa, he grows endangered tropical hardwoods like mahogany, rosewood, and teak) to construct everything from the coffee table to kitchen island stools. When they weren’t able to craft something themselves, they reached out to local makers who could. “We’ve had to be very resourceful, and I think it’s ultimately what makes our house feel true to who we are,” Berry points out. Ahead, she gives us a tour of their slice of paradise.