Pinkie Palace, a restored century-old cottage, and Driftwood, a newly built home designed in traditional Caymanian style, weave together an eloquent story that touches on history, sustainability, transience, and the owners' globetrotting adventures. Heidi Bassett Blair and her family had first encountered the half-forgotten wattle and daub cottage, tucked in among the seagrapes on South Sound Beach while on vacation thirty years ago. Once home to a renowned midwife, Nurse Pinkie, Heidi felt the humble property embodied, “the romanticism of the seafaring culture and the women of the past who held the community together.”
Charmed as much by its prime position on the beach as by the history contained within its layers of peeling paint and time worn doors and shutters, she never dreamed it would one day be hers.
The years passed, the family moved to Bali and travelled throughout Asia, eventually settling in Cayman seven years ago. Three years ago, they were finally able to purchase the 115-year old cottage
and the land around it.
Restoring the cottage was Heidi’s priority. With the help of Dean Scott and architect, John Doak – an ardent advocate for the preservation of Cayman’s architectural heritage – the concrete block extensions that had been added over the years were peeled away, revealing ironwood posts, wattle and daub walls and beams with Roman numerals carved into them by the original builders. Almost 100% of these were preserved. Once the walls had been strengthened and a new roof, new floors and hurricane-rated windows added, the whole structure was lifted and moved 100 feet inland, making way for a new family home – Driftwood – to be built later on with the help of Jonathan Correia of Tropical Construction Management and Bavan Antonysraj.
“It is such a gift to be able to live on this land, that the best way to give back was to preserve the legacy of those who were there before us,” Heidi reflects. “I felt strongly that we should celebrate the past and bring it up to date so that we may continue to create stories and educate this generation by bringing the cottage to the road side.”