Dream House | A house in a league of its own
Published:Sunday | April 19, 2020 | 12:00 AM
HISTORY INFORMS us that over 400 years ago, the French mystic, clairvoyant and astrologer Michel De Nostredame, better known by his Latin name Nostradamus, foretold and forewarned of world events with astonishing accuracy, with predictions still astounding us even in our time.
I wonder if this amazing man of vision who saw the future, could have foreseen the incredible houses of today – like this one!
This is not just simply a sensational Jamaican house. This is a staggering residence, able to command respect and attention on the world stage of ultra luxurious dream houses, where site location, design (interior/exterior), landscaping and water forge an incontrovertible alliance – putting it into a league of its very own.
Come, this home eagerly awaits our visit in western Jamaica, strategically placed on the crest of a hill, rejoicing with its highly sought-after, captive views of sea and countryside. The premises was completed 13 years ago, after three years of diligent construction.
The husband is a retired, insurance company executive, and he and his wife have five sons and one daughter.
The eye-popping design – I know your eyes are positively glued to the attention-grabbing façade of the building, which says more than mere descriptive words could.
As your eyes inquisitively roam through the vastness of its 13,000-square-foot blissful interiors, they will focus on the intricacies and niceties of what they have never beheld before.
The must-see gardens appeal to emotions you never knew existed. Its lure is as old as Adam and Eve; harmonising the remarkable building with its environment.
Here are some details:
• 24-hour security - manned and electronic.
• Sited on four landscaped acres, with a total of three gardeners employed at any one time.
• A long, royal palm tree-lined, brick driveway, with two separate columned entrances - one at the main road, and the other just before you reach the home, with its central water fountain.
• Two separate, heated swimming pools (one a 50-foot-lap pool); both with heated waterfalls at separate levels of the house and a fully stocked poolside bar.
• A gazebo on top of the waterfalls, where both pools meet at different levels.
• Double carport.
• Views from rooms, patios and terraces.
• Four oversized bedroom suites (each a master in their own right), with built-in, floor-to-ceiling walk-in closets, utilising over 1,000 square feet of living space. The fifth bedroom hides behind the waterfall at a lower level. Most bedrooms access private patios or the pool deck.
• En-suite travertine (like marble) bathrooms are provided with walk-in showers (each having multiple shower heads), dual-basin granite counters and spa tubs.
• Entrance foyer.
• Great room (living area) with terrace.
• Formal dining room with terrace.
• Chef’s kitchen with granite counters.
• Multi-media theatre room with individual theatre seats.
• Library.
• Office.
• Cigar lounge with wet bar, complete with a built-in temperature-controlled display wine cooler, and 100-bottle wine closet.
• Furniture, mostly of cedar and mahogany, custom-built by an ingenious local craftsman. The master bedroom is something else.
• Travertine and hardwood floors.
• Colour scheme: white and off white (outside); off white (inside).
• iPod docking stations, Sirius satellite radio, and Sonos wireless home system throughout.
• Private beach access.
Barry Rattray is a dream house designer and builder.
Email: barry-rattray@hotmail.com