Mallorca's FINEST

A finca, but just a little bit better. Basically the way you want your home to be. Welcome to Osa Major.

What a happy incident: When a hotel double-booked Brenda and her family’s room in 2016, they had to find another place to stay in Mallorca. The family ended up in the middle of the island, a place Roland Verbeek and Brenda Ooteman had never been to as sailors. The wild, untouched interior was unknown territory, but the couple was sold when they found a beautiful ruin at the end of a dirt road. It was a spot where time appeared to have stood still, with sheep and an owl, and an absolutely magnificent view. Against all advice, Roland and Brenda purchased the property. Five years later, the finca Osa Major – named after the Great Bear constellation visible in the night sky – was up and running.

Relaxation, space and the Spanish sun make Osa Major the perfect place to recharge your batteries. The relaxation you experience is because coming to the finca feels like coming home, thanks to the wonderful hospitality. At Osa Major things are just a little bit different than on the rest of the island. The throngs of tourists are missing and all around you there are beautiful views of a rugged and pristine landscape, not the sea. So what do you get instead? A terrace that is ideally suited to star-gazing, secluded outdoor showers surrounded by greenery and a swimming pool where you can lean back, relax and cool yourself down in the shallow end. And all this is a mere half an hour drive from the lovely beaches and bays for which Mallorca is famous.

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HOME AWAY FROM HOME

At the helm of Osa Major are Roland and Brenda. Brenda is responsible for the stunning interior – as well as the fantastic food, it must be said. Brenda got her inspiration for the interior design from her many travels. The finca is a collection of souvenirs that don’t go together – but it is exactly because of this ‘mismatch’ that they ultimately do go together, according to Brenda. Many of the souvenirs come from Africa, where Brenda lived for the first 12 years of her life. Osa Major features ample Moroccan pottery and ceramics and Egyptian lamps, for example.

Other pieces of the collection Brenda found at the island’s vintage markets, such as at the Sunday Consell Flea Market, an instant top destination for flea market enthusiasts. The common thread running through the decor is the vintage glasswork in all shapes and colours that Brenda combines so effortlessly, even though it appears to be a visual mismatch. Brenda knows that the interior of a space becomes interesting when you have a good grasp of art and dare to combine. When guests ask where she gets her decorating ideas, her answer is that one bowl by itself doesn’t really make a statement, but a stack of bowls does. 

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The finca is a collection of sleek design mixed with warm, natural materials and bright colours, a mixture of orange, red, blue and green, with beautiful vintage textiles. If you want to take a little of the finca home with you, you can score local souvenirs such as green glassware and wicker baskets in Manacor, for example, where you will also find typical Mallorcan products. Brenda’s husband Roland has also made his mark on the decor, as he likes designer furniture. The Charles Eames chairs are his contribution. The living room features an artwork that was specially made for Brenda’s 50th birthday by a Norwegian artist. The artist was a guest at Osa Major to glean inspiration from the colours and objects in the house and to talk to Roland and to Brenda’s children in order to come up with a very personal piece of art. It’s not a realistic painting, but you can see elements of Brenda in it, such as her favourite animal, the tiger. It’s a magical location: the large finca, two tiny houses, a safari lodge and several cabanas.

Natural resources are used in the finca, as the couple proudly describes. The retreats and yoga sessions that Brenda and Roland organise revolve around the sun. The fertile soil sustains the Osa Verde vegetable garden. A vegetable garden whose contents you will later find on your plate during one of the finca’s fantastic dinners, or at breakfast, prepared by queen of the kitchen Brenda. One thing is certain: They’ll never go home again. osamajor.com

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