Every time you believe you have reached the pinnacle of the unknown and the surprising, an object of astonishing discovery brings you to the realisation that your climb isn’t over.

This villa has been kept a secret for over 50 years! Only its owners have been privy to it, but the house wants to liberate itself from the burden of secrecy thrust upon it for so long. So today, it takes us into its confidence, revealing an architectural feature seldom seen in houses around the world! Within the confines of the walls of the house sits an open-air, oval-shaped swimming pool, surrounded by a 20-foot-wide brick floored, roofed terrace encircling it. The occupants simply call it “the pool inside the house”.

The discerning eye will notice features of a house that was luxuriously appointed in its day, with salient attributes that still can’t resist admiration from visitors. It accommodates four air-conditioned bedrooms with en suite bathrooms and a powder room. The living room opens to the verandah directly, watching over the pool and golf course (16th Fairway) on its doorstep. The spacious kitchen boasts all of 52 cabinets!

At approximately 4,000 square feet in size, the building on one acre is finished with floor-to-ceiling height, jalousie cedar windows, sliding glass doors, and terrazzo tiled floors that have made a major comeback. Kitchen cabinetry is in cedarwood painted white, with laminated counters. The colour scheme is a mix of yellows, blues, greens, and white. There’s also a former staff house, turned cottage.

The house is owned by divorcée, American-born Jennifer Reed, who first came to the island on her honeymoon in 1995. She used to be in commercial sales for an oil company.

The house was built for one of the brothers of Maffessanti Brothers Ltd, who, back in the day, were the leading dream house builders on the island for the rich, famous, and infamous.

It is situated in Cardiff Hall, Runaway Bay, with access to a private beach.

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