How an Ibiza love affair led one couple to the finca restoration of a lifetime.

When Georgina Scarbrough and Will Penn met in Ibiza in 1998, they could never have imagined that chance encounter in a hotel would turn into a love affair with the island that&rsquo;s lasted a quarter of a century. Relocating to Ibiza permanently in 2007, the then-fashion editor and executive producer went on to build Can Tumasi, a modernist lair in the south&rsquo;s &lsquo;Golden Triangle&rsquo; between Cala Jondal and Es Cubells that they sold to a Dutch superstar DJ in 2019. During their time at Can Tumasi, the pair set up 365 Productions, a photographic and film production agency whose clients include Stella McCartney, Gucci and The White Company. Having visited the island&rsquo;s most spectacular homes through their work, the couple knew that their forever home would be a traditional finca in the north of the island.
When real estate agent <a href="https://www.instagram.com/matt.crowther/?hl=en">Matt Crowther</a> took them to see 400-year-old La Vi&ntilde;a Vieja, in the Morna Valley, the couple fell instantly in love.

Finca Viña Vieja Ibiza

The house had been owned by a German family for 50 years and it took six months of negotiating to agree a sale. &lsquo;The finca is so old and beautiful that we could sense its history on the first visit,&rsquo; explains George, over coffee in her cobbled courtyard. &lsquo;It has the six arches which are particularly typical of San Carlos, along with original sabina ceilings and centuries-old stone flags on the floor. The open-sided upper gallery has far-reaching views across orange groves to San Carlos and to the sea.&rsquo;

Outside, the property is pure casa payesa with a whitewashed bread oven, curved walls and a terraced courtyard clad with bougainvillea and vines (the house&rsquo;s original name, La Vi&ntilde;a Vieja, means &lsquo;the old vineyard&rsquo;.) Inside, the home has been sensitively updated by the couple, restoring the classic interiors to include three new bathrooms, a sleek new kitchen and a pool terrace where the couple&rsquo;s six-year-old son, Luca, chatters with the wild peacock who visits the house daily. &lsquo;We wanted to keep it as traditional as we could, so we tried not to change too much,&rsquo; says George.&nbsp; &lsquo;We worked with local Ibicenco builders who were like archaeologists &ndash; they kept uncovering old bits of hidden woodwork and little alcoves that had been covered up, so we restored them and made features of them.&rsquo;

Villa Viña Vieja Ibiza

George&rsquo;s fashion background has merged seamlessly with interiors styling over her long career, and her keen eye is in play everywhere in the finca. &lsquo;I sourced furniture from all over island, with lots of second-hand pieces from the San Jordi flea market and Ibiza Troc, as well as vast linen sofas from Absolut Home and Gervasoni,&rsquo; she tells me, adding &lsquo;It&rsquo;s easy to overdecorate in these big old houses, but my style is low-key and pared back, using pieces a that are quietly beautiful, not shouty. The house&rsquo;s original features and proportions are perfection itself, so to detract from that would feel like a mistake.&rsquo;

La Vi&ntilde;a Vieja sleeps 10 and is available to rent through <a href="https://www.instagram.com/365ibiza/?hl=en">365 Productions.</a>

Finding paradise in rural Ibiza

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