Dream House | A modern escape in Richmond’s Plantation Village

This Dream House series has, over the years, brought to light many beautiful, traditional-style houses. But the feature has also dared to challenge the conventional and reject the unnecessary by presenting modern residences, such as this one.

This home’s architecture embraces clean lines, minimal ornamentation, and the effortless functionality of an open-plan design. The design also unfolds with generous amounts of tinted glass windows and doors that control the penetrating rays of sunlight, while visually unifying the indoors with the outdoors. In keeping with the modern style, flat roofs dominate here, with this one slightly deviating with areas of hip roofs.

Built on one-third of an acre, in the coveted 24-hour protected, Plantation Village residential community of Richmond, St Ann, the house was completed in Christmas 2024, taking three years to complete owing to contractor issues.

It is owned by a 41-year-old family nurse practitioner with her doctorate, and her husband, who is engaged in the technology of security camera installation. Both of them were introduced by mutual friends, and the gentleman made his intentions known from the get-go. His wife-to-be, however, was not interested in a relationship at the time. But we can’t predict life’s outcomes, can we? Within four months, they were married, and that was 15 years ago.

The doctor is easy-going, goal-oriented and loves nature, especially flowers. She wanted their holiday family villa to reflect serenity with an escape from any disturbance.

The building footprint of approximately 6,500 square feet flows fluidly with five bedrooms enjoying balconies and each with en suite conveniences. The primary bedroom occupies its own private wing of the house. There is also the expected living, dining, and food-preparation areas. A rooftop kitchen and entertainment section is possibly the ideal place to hang out for some, with sea and mountain scenery adding to its appeal. An automated door for a double garage faces the street.

The walls (inside and out) are coated in mainly white emulsion paint, with the exterior partially clad in eye-pulling tile work. The tiled floors are ceramic, and the attractive island (dining counter), kitchen and bathroom sink vanities are all finished in quartz-engineered stone. Vanity wall mirrors have built-in lighting, touch screen activation, and anti-fog capabilities, with motion sensors.

The place that others would rather be during these unbearable, sweltering days is the backyard, boasting an enticing swimming pool and a raised hot tub, with a spill-over waterfall effect – propelling you into chasms of relaxation.

For making a positive architectural statement in the community and far beyond, we unreservedly include this villa in the Dream House series.

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