Dream House | Tamarind Hill garden paradise

All things considered, it has not escaped my attention that the more appealing houses habitually have the more appealing gardens. Scenic landscaping gracefully harmonises a building with its environment, with the power of bringing tears of joy to those within sight.

The owner of today’s featured residence, purchased in 2018, impressed as he is with the building itself, prefers to spend quality time in the radically transformed, customised garden. He hired celebrated landscape architect Mark Martin to plan and execute tasteful, hand-crafted feats of horticultural wonder in a picturesque setting, with outdoor, roofless living and dining rooms opening to the sky. Favourable physical and mental outcomes are cultivated here as you experience the botanical dreamscape with three full-time gardeners.

Be greeted by a garden fountain in all its eminence at front. An outdoor shower and tub, together with a wood-decked, heated infinity swimming pool; a tiki hut and a barbecue grill with deck are also present, along with stepping stones, created with imported Mexican beach pebble defined walkways, in addition to the bearing trees of fruit, including fig shipped from Italy. Jade vines, various variety of orchids and other exotic plants and a herb and vegetable garden paint an emotive language of fragrance and beauty.

Regretfully, we tear ourselves away from all this to go inside, with the shocking realisation that the home insists that it is also worthy of unceasing compliments as the outdoor spaces. A stylish home by any measure, comforting you with the traits that make living so worthwhile and meaningful. The breezy layout highlights five bedrooms and five and half bathrooms. A foyer inviting you to the living and dining areas and allowing access to the rear verandah with sea and mountain scenery and a balcony flying above. The island (seating) kitchen incorporates white kitchen cabinetry. Besides all this, we appreciate a free-standing cottage with a gym, bathroom, and games room.

The upscale finishes also constitute marble and quartz counters and marble and travertine stone floors. Walls are specifically painted in lime wash, with the artist coming in from New York.

Fixtures include dual sinks in bathroom counters; soaking tubs; walk-in rain showers, lined with polished stones; and a toilet in its own room. The contemporary furniture was shipped from Italy and the United States.

Commanding a sloping hillside, part of Tamarind Hill, in Hopewell, Hanover, the inconspicuous house was built in the 1970s on a lot size of three and a half acres, with the spatial arrangements spreading over 6,000-square-feet.We cordially meet the 46-year-old owner, a native New Yorker, of Italian descent and a commercial printer by profession. Bob Marley’s music and message brought him to Jamaica from his teenage days, and he never stopped coming until he bought part of The Rock.

He fell in love with this decrepit property, but his selfless love and detailed attention to its re-emergence has made him fall in love with it all over again!

Barry Rattray is a dream house designer and builder. Email feedback to barryrattray1@hotmail.com and lifestyle@gleanerjm.com.