Dream House | Enchanting mountain home filled with rustic charm

Envisage being part of the soaring heights of nature and sharing the intimate feeling that comes from living in the clouds amid the wonders of the outdoor wildlife.

Some can only envision it. Others are fortunate to live it, like the owner of this mountain house nestled at an altitude of 4,500 feet high in the Blue Mountains – whose existence few know about.

Behold the lure that surrounds and uplifts this home off the less-travelled path. The peacefulness and stillness. Mountainous panorama; fresh, crispy air. Physical, emotional, and mental-health benefits are scientifically proven. The area has 1,000 varieties of plants and 200 different bird species. Most people spend 87 per cent of their lives inside buildings and another 6 per cent in automobiles. Up here, you will want to be in the intoxicating outside.

This rustic cottage in its rainforest, enchanted setting, is pacified by the sparkling waterfall river whose burbling sounds play throughout the house, causing relaxation, meditation, and deep rest. Its half-acre site was once a coffee, banana, and cocoa plantation with added sheep–rearing.

Its sleeping accommodation offers three bedrooms with three bathrooms. Board stairs climb to a sleeping loft. Savour what the kitchen/built-in dining area has to offer, warmed by an imposing brick fireplace, which also doubles as an oven alongside the modern electric stove.

The open living area derives pleasure from its own wooden-deck balcony, surveying the breathless spectacle of the backyard and mountain terrain from above the relaxing patio directly below it.

The horticultural experience is amazing in the appropriate company of three timber garden bridges, spanning the open stormwater channels across the land, used to discharge rainwater. Several outdoor seating areas complement the lazy atmosphere with its three fish ponds.

A kaleidoscope of mother nature’s colours greets you, including those of the cottage, with bluish-green on the inside and pale yellow on the outside.

Who calls this home? Her name is Meg Phillips, a lady who has spent considerable time in property management. She raised her two children here as she herself was born and also raised in the neighbourhood by her grandparents, who built the house 60 years ago, which she has inherited.

It is located past Irish Town on the winding New Castle road. But you won’t find it! Seductively hidden on an unfinished parochial road, seven minutes drive into the deep forest. Here, time has no significance!

- Barry Rattray is a dream house designer and builder. Email feedback to barry-rattray@hotmail.com and lifestyle@gleanerjm.com.