A first for us. A 150-year-old colonial bungalow, located in the picturesque Lovedale (Ootacamund) The Nilgiris (blue mountains) of Tamil Nadu.
This fairytale cottage (Haiwatha) is owned by dear friends, which we frequented for the last 25 years! Every sunrise and sunset is a revelation. The spirit of the Nilgiris is deeply imbued in the home, as are our fondest memories. Our children have enjoyed the cool climate and basking in the sun, barbeques and bonfires.
Over the years of wear and tear and updating the property for today’s travellers was the aim without losing its charm and soul! Love and care, is what this endeavour was about, a love of a very special kind.
The entire roof was redone, retaining the same slopes, heights and profile. The floors of ochre flagstones, to compliment the new hardwood doors and windows. Ornate tiles and antique furniture and lights sourced locally, were used judiciously to create just the right atmosphere.
A mood, in which the low sun could stream in when the mist clears and warm the conservatory living room. The home celebrates high tea equally as it does a tipple of wine, with bird song and the occasional brown deer or Bison on the fir tree hillside across. Not to mention the omnipresent hum of the brook which feeds the Toda tribes fields down slope.
The Wedgewood blue with white roof trims, echoes the blue mountains and is the idyllic image of a mountain home, from the chugging meter gauge Ooty-Coonoor train that leisurely winds down the hills, through fir trees dotted with perfect peppering of flame of the forest reds and purples of Jacarandas.
There is no room for modern discourse, the romance of this home wins you with a breathe of ease.