Dream House | Claudette Edwards achieves Westmoreland J’can dream

As this column has reiterated, you cannot fully comprehend and appreciate the architecture and interior design of a house until you understand the unique personalities of the owners who breathe life into them. It is they who are central to the design and its concomitant ambience.

Take for example this featured house. Its owner, Claudette Edwards, who works in early childhood education, is a ‘country girl’ from a small town outside Houston, Texas, in the United States.

As it so happens, this single woman, as a young girl, had always read stories on Jamaica, so much so that it became her daydream obsession to one day, some day, build her dream house there on a hill with amazing views.

In the course of time, she would indeed arrive on the island and be utterly seduced by its natural beauty, the likes she had never experienced before! Claudette’s romantic adventure with Jamaica had just begun.

That was 20 years ago, and with lots of prayer, determination, and holding true to her dream, she would arduously seek the perfect site to build her retirement home. It would eventually be in an untroubled area known as Culloden, Westmoreland, in a gated community. Yes, it’s positioned on a hill, with a magnetic panorama of the sea to entice first-time visitors.

The property already had an existing shell of a building on it with no roof. The new structure would be rearranged and extended, with a footprint of 3,400 square feet.

That it took all of four protracted years to erect didn’t come as a surprise,as the Texas native (now rooted in Jamaica) was abroad a lot during the process, and money was sometimes challenging to come by.

The dwelling is a mere five-minute walk down to the bathing beach. Her love affair with the garden enthrals with myriad scented flowering plants, with their blooms creating a pleasurable atmosphere.

The building embodies four bedrooms, with bathrooms en suite. The primary bathroom is enhanced with a jetted spa tub. You will find two defining living rooms, with one upholstered and painted in yellow, psychologically conveying cheerfulness, playfulness, and optimism. Feast your eyes on the polished wood kitchen, with a granite eating counter. Extensive verandahs and balconies complement the living space.

Floors are enriched with gleaming white marble, and walls are painted in the purity of white.

Claudette’s cherished childhood visions have become a reality, and she’s enjoying every moment of it.

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