Hailing from Dinuba, central California, The Little Design Company’s Jana Belknap grew up in the most rural of settings a Californian can have. She was a free rein child, surrounded by panoramic skies and a mountain range backdrop. With Native American (Choktaw) ancestry, honouring and respecting the Earth and its natural bounty is in her lineage. Jana’s tender appreciation for the natural world is reflected in every aspect of her work renovating and designing Blue Reef Beach & Marina. She fought for trees to become features not to be removed from Blue Reef Beach’s large beachfront pool, for example, and for the natural habitat to be the protagonist of the story rather than a supporting character. The tone of her company’s work is to bring an element of fun to the environments she creates whilst maximising what can be transmuted and repurposed, or selectively importing what’s already as sustainably created as possible.
Once upon a time she was a prominent cog in the Hollywood TV commercial and music video world, soaking up each new exotic location’s nuances and orchestrating multi million dollar, time-pressured productions. Now, 15 years into a life in Belize, she runs the infamous, quirky, The Little Wine Bar in Placencia, and The Little Design Company, of which she is the owner.
Repurposing with a Purpose
To ensure the preservation of the past by bringing it, sometimes unexpectedly, into the current moment, is a priority in her artistry and Blue Reef Beach & Marina became a unique playground for that task. Warehouses, guest rooms and restaurants acted as mausoleums to the former resort - even physical photographs of gatherings were unearthed in the depths of the remains, providing her with a plethora of past trinkets with which to weave a new narrative. Piles of discarded original artwork, hardwood furniture and sunbleached lumber lay waiting for a role in a new incarnation and having Jana’s keen repurposing eye meant they finally had the centre stage they deserved.
Her desire for working in design sprung from seeing old, neglected items cast aside and from using them in a new way. Witnessing the resort buildings and contents of the former, beloved, Robert’s Grove Resort, getting older, no longer filled with laughter and celebrations as they used to, it became The Little Design Company’s mission to reignite them with a contemporary energy, whilst nodding to their former place in the resort’s history. Old wood carvings with imperfections are now talking points, playfully dotted around the reworked spaces and are in perfect balance with contemporary items she hand picked.
The heavy mahogany bar from the original beachfront restaurant is now ideally placed to be a talking point for future generations of guests, its placement a topic of many discussions amongst the new staff and contractors. Many wished to hold onto the nostalgia of its past, even if it meant guests were positioned with their backs to the mesmerising Caribbean Sea. Instead, Jana made it the heart of the eclectic bar lounge, amongst African arts and a gallery of paintings. Over 30 original artworks by local artists, including the prolific painter Lola Delgado, were dusted off and hung to be admired once again.
How to balance aesthetics and functionality in her designs, particularly in a high-traffic environment like a resort, was a question of one of the fundamental rules of art and affected every decision that was made by The Little Design Company at Blue Reef Beach & Marina. ‘Will it last?’ and ‘Is this the right spot for this item?’ was continually assessed. Jana starts with the piece she has chosen and then finds a home for it. At the resort, it was crucial to maximise the existing space, its use and how it will feel for the guest to be amongst it.
The guest journey was the narrative for each idea and, unique to Jana, making the guest smile was always the subcontext. ‘How can this scene, with these aspects, transport someone out of the everyday?’ she asked. The resort she curated answered loud and clear - with a voice of rustic beach luxury, dancing on the azure blue coast.
Environmental Considerations
Incorporating Belizean traditional crafts and materials into the fixtures, fittings and structures of the resort buildings was a consistent avenue in creating that natural rustic beach luxury vibe. Decisions were made early on by Jana to avoid pine lumber (which can be less than environmentally friendly) and use local wood such as mahogany and sustainable materials for art projects, structural reinforcements, porches and lights. Victor’s Construction in Placencia created one of a kind tree-branch stools for the guest rooms and Jana chose a palette of beachy, sun-drenched pale taupes and flashes of deep Santorini blues throughout to complement the vintage, European, feel of the property.
Bushstick, the influence for which was Mexico, where it’s used extensively, was the ultimate sustainable material and under the craftsmanship of Sho Brothers Furniture, the hand-crafted lengths were turned into lanterns. The Sho Brothers also created vine chandeliers and vine-wrapped posts on the beach restaurant pergoda whilst three generations of Garifuna weavers in Tea Kettle village, led by Margaret Welcome, created bespoke baskets and wall hangings just for the project. Partnering with these multi-generational artists, working as a team on unique concepts, has been the most enjoyable part of the journey for Jana. Decorative discs for guest suites and coconut lampshades for bespoke lighting are just two of the many products of that collaboration process. Furthermore, when her forward-thinking ideas were introduced to construction partners José Requeña & Friends and Eduardo Chen, the contractors for the vast renovation project, they were again met with a flexible mindset and yet more creative input.
The result is a true labour of love, woven out of sheer grit, determination and inspiration by all involved and the coupling of The Little Design Company with the Seine Bight-based construction team rose gracefully to endless challenges time and again. The crew’s positivity still remains constant, in the true Belizean spirit, even at the last rush to the finish line as deadline day approaches.
Next for The Little Design Company? It may be slightly strange for Jana not to inhabit Blue Reef Beach daily, which she has done, much to the disgust of her cat, since January. She may soon be found exploring El Salvador, surfing or diving, or possibly soaking up the urban and rural buildings for, as Jana so eloquently puts it, ‘Travel fuels creativity for its immersive experience - ambition in architecture has to be experienced to really get to you.’
We open our bright blue doors very soon, come and immerse yourself at Blue Reef Beach.
Jana Belknap can be found at janabelknap@icloud.com.
Interviewed by Kimberley Perry