House of whispering waters - A hilltop home combines the best of Bali and Jamaica over 18 acres and has some of the best views in the island. Mirah Lim visits the cross-cultural sanctuary.

Photography by Cookie Kinkead

CHET AND EVE PERRY have two vacation homes on two very different islands, Bali and Jamaica . Built some years after their Balinese retreat, their Jamaican villa, Silent Waters, located in the hills above Montego Bay , is a cross-cultural mix of the Perrys' island experiences. At Silent Waters, the best of Balinese style has been fused with the best of Jamaica to create a beautiful, luxurious and private world all of its own.

Silent Waters was modelled after a traditional Balinese compound and is made up of 12 detached structures spread throughout five of the property's overall 18 acres. There is the one-bedroom Owner's Villa; five individual Villa Suites, comprising nine bedrooms; the Main Pavilion and Bar; the Breakfast Gazebo; the Dining Pavilion; and the Kitchen. In addition to the buildings, there is also a helicopter landing pad and a hard-surface tennis court. All these structures are connected by intimate walkways that are lined with specially-designed thatched roofed Balinese lanterns, tropical flower beds, sprinkled with Hindu and Balinese sculptures.

Like in many traditional Balinese gardens, water features play an important role at the villa. “It's called Silent Waters, but you can still hear water everywhere,” says Nelson, one of the villa's staff members. In the centre of the compound, there are five levels of water-lily ponds, designed to mimic the multi-tiered rice fields in Bali . The most elevated of these five ponds wraps around the front section/living room of the Owner's Villa. This C-shaped pond gives way to an infinity-edge swimming pool, which sprawls along the villa's back end/master bed and bath room.

With the pond and the swimming pool, the Owner's Villa is almost completely surrounded by a ring of water, so much so that it appears to be floating in the heart of a private lake. This sense of floating on water is also echoed by the 80-foot infinity-edge swimming pool around the Main Pavilion, Bar, Dining Room and Breakfast Gazebo. The pool's flat turquoise surface seemingly meets the distant Caribbean Sea and sky and is broken only by a series of irregularly-shaped stepping stones that link the Main Pavilion deck to a lower sun deck.

Although the Indonesian influence is obvious in the Silent Waters' design and gardens, to the lay person it is most evident in the property's interior décor. The owners, Chet and Eve Perry, did not hire an interior decorator, choosing instead to decorate the villa on their own. They started by using muted tones on the exterior and interior walls as well for the fabrics throughout the compound, from the bedspreads to the towels. To this backdrop, they added an eclectic and vibrant collection of furnishings, carpets and artwork, all imported from Indonesia, Thailand, Burma , China , India , and the Middle East . On each corner of the compound lies a captivating piece of art, complete with its own rich history. There is an 18 th century Buddhist bible chest from Thailand, a 17 th century Buddhist temple bell from Burma, Indonesian statuaries, oil paintings from Bali, and 50- to 100-year-old-carpets from Iran and Iraq. From this stunning collection, Chet and Eve's most precious piece is the pair of 17 th century wooden Buddhist attendants located in the Main Pavilion, which once adorned the exterior entrance to a small Buddhist temple near Mandalay, Burma.

Silent Waters truly merges the best of Indonesian style with the best of Jamaica . Resting on top of a mountain overlooking Jamaica 's north coast and the city of Montego Bay , Silent Waters captures the island's natural diversity in panoramic glory. The compound mountain-top perch affords it a 360-degree view that spans a mountain range, the Great River and its valley, the coastline and the Caribbean Sea , and Montego Bay , shimmering in the distance.

“You can't look in any direction here and not see something you ant to look at. Silent Waters has three/four spectacular views of Jamaica . Normally, you are lucky if you get just one,” notes John Kearney, a close friend of the Perrys and owner of a villa adjacent to Silent Waters. Kearney , who also helped the Perrys oversee the construction of the property, says that the architects, RSI International from America , were intent on utilising its spaciousness. “The site for each guest suite was carefully selected to position the structure in such a manner to capture the best views of the sea and/or pristine forest and also to ensure privacy between villas,” further explains Chet. As such, Units One, Two and Three look out over the Great River Valley and also have partial sea views while Units Four and Five open onto views of the coastline, Montego Bay and the Caribbean Sea . Positioned above the Main Pavilion and guest suites, the Owner's Villa commands an all-round view of the mountains, river, valley, sea and city. As Chet mentioned, the architects went to lengths to ensure that each building was kept private and did not obstruct another's view. For example, Units Four and Five were lowered so that they are not visible from the Main Pavilion.

The architects' commitment to utilising the views is evident too in the design of the actual buildings, which have few structural obstructions aside from those needed for support. In keeping with traditional Balinese architecture, all of the Villa's buildings can be opened on at least two or three sides. The Main Pavilion, located at the centre of the property, has a hundred feet of sliding glass doors, which are usually hidden in pocket walls, opening the structure on all four sides. The Villa Suites have louver windows and door panels that can be folded away to open out each bed and living room. This openness also extends to the bathrooms, in particular the showers, which have glass and louver doors that can be left ajar to create a feeling of an outdoor shower. Actual outdoor showers are present in Units Four and Five. This open design makes it “unclear whether you are inside or outside,” observes John, “You are sitting inside, but you are drawn outside because there are very few structural obstructions. So instead of getting an interior sense of space you get a really exposed interior sense of space.”

Yet, although Silent Waters is designed to be very open, it can also be extremely private and safe. As the property manager, Jean Lawrence notes, “One of Silent Waters' special qualities is that it lends itself to privacy. You can have as much or as little privacy as you want.” The Villa Suites are tucked away from each other's view. Each suite has its own living area, television, mini-bar and patio with chaise lounges, so that guests can choose to stay sequestered in their private villa or to mingle with other guests in the shared areas. Even the louvre window and door panels in the bed, living and bath rooms of the suites offer several stages of privacy from completely open when the panels are folded away to very private when the louvers are closed.

“At Silent Waters you have a sense of being connected with Nature and also having privacy and a sense of security,” says John. He explains that Silent Waters' hilltop location gives it natural security because there is no one above or beside the villa. In addition to the natural security, Chet and Eve have also further secured their property by a system of automatic gates and laser beam sensors, interwoven throughout the hillside.