Dream House | An entrancing seashore home nestled in Negril

Today, I share a story of an American adventurer and entrepreneur, Bill Blauer, who came here as an 18-year-old, to the Jamaica World Music Festival in Montego Bay in 1982. Succumbing to our culture and landscape, he would end up living in a fisherman’s yard in Negril before building a small cottage for himself there.

How deep does Blauer’s relationship with Jamaica go? This might come as a revelation. For the past 20 years, he and his family have supplied the Jamaica Constabulary Force with their complete uniforms.

He met Julie, now a professor at a medical school, at a bar with friends before going on to the same baseball game. She thought his mannerisms were a bit “wild and crazy”! Now, married for 14 years, she has tamed his once frenzied behaviour.

Julie and Bill whole-heartedly opened their entrancing seashore home to us in Negril at the most westernly end of the island. The 6,500-square-foot glass-pronounced dwelling space enfolds us with a paradisical atmosphere, which feels almost beyond words.

Its private spaces introduce five sleep-friendly bedrooms with glass-railed seaview balconies and porches, in addition to their en suite, out-of-the-ordinary ‘wet room’ (waterproof) bathrooms. The public spaces opening to the leisure verandah include family, meal preparation, and dining areas, dwarfed by imposing double-floor-height ceilings. Oh my gosh!

Italian porcelain tiles extend throughout in synchrony with custom-designed, locally built wood furniture, and walls are complemented by portrait artwork of our musical reggae greats. We take note that the sustainable building is solar-powered, harvests rainwater, and employs energy-efficient appliances.

We readily accept the presence on the three-quarters-of-an-acre site of a stunning infinity-edge pool and its sundeck, along with a firepit to converse around. Meandering cut-stone walkways lead avidly to the rocky water’s edge.

The wickedly stressful construction of this two-year-old house spanned a gruelling 20 months, but the owners found it nearly impossible to part with their object of desire, especially with such an impressive panorama.

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