CARIBBEAN
N
othing’s more delicious than turning a house untouched for 20 years into a modish hideaway on Nevis (known in the 17th and 18th-centuries
by the English as the Sweet Island, because of riches accrued from sugar plantations). Cleaver, 45, discovered the small sister-isle
to St Kitts back in 1994 when vacationing there with her retired advertising executive husband Oliver. “I’d read about Princess Diana and her boys going there and loving it, so wanted to see it.” Over a decade later, she returned to
Nevis (population 12,000 and home to artists, writers, wild monkeys and donkeys) to discover the four-bedroom T e Galleries, a 1950s house lingering on the market for £260k. “T e agent selling it said, ‘I don’t think
you’ll like this, but I’ll show it to you anyhow.’ She didn’t realise my appetite for doing up rundown places.” It took six months to re-wire, re-plumb
and decorate the ‘skirt and blouse’-style house (a stone base with a wooden top), keeping the design simple and real by using local builders and their knowledge. Cleaver moved the kitchen from the fi rst-
fl oor near principal living areas, master bedroom suite and wide verandahs down a level where it’s cooler, as part of a $450,000 (£294,000) revamp. She also rejected the typical turquoise pool in favour of a 70-foot jet-black version set in the tropical gardens. She’s now selling to buy fi nd another
project on the island, and her home is for sale for $1.375 million (£897,974) through Savills’ subsidiary Sugar Mill Real Estate, (
nevishouses.com;
savills.co.uk) §
My sweet little renovation job
TV presenter (Grand Designs: Trade Secrets, Britain’s Best Home, and Honey, I Ruined the House) and interior designer Naomi Cleaver has created a rustic but elegant tropical house, says Cheryl Markosky
114 |
aplaceinthesun.com
Cleaver’s top tips for a Caribbean fi xer-upper
• Building regulations are slacker than in the UK, but you can’t build higher than a coconut tree (two- to three-stories).
• Check if you have termites and whether they’re treatable.
• Pop over frequently to supervise the work. • Use materials that won’t be ruined by the salty sea air.
• Protect your house from potential hurricane damage with Kevlar net mesh in front of windows or roll-down shutters.
• Ask if furniture is included in a re-sale (often, it is).
• It’s crucial to have an outdoor patio or gallery (people spend most of their time out-of-doors in the tropics), or the opportunity to add it on.
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