Home is where the heart is. A man’s home is his castle. Home sweet home. It’s safe to say that our homes, the places in which we dwell and can (hopefully) call our own, are of great importance to us.
Few places of living have captured my eye and imagination in quite the same way as the houses spotted on a recent trip to Barbados. Abundant and vibrant, these wooden-framed buildings known as Chattel houses were originally created as slave dwellings.
The easy-to-move units were, and still are, made from pre-cut lengths of pine and are elevated on blocks with no lasting foundation created. Whilst wholly standardised and minimal in their original construction, Chattels have since become a commonplace tradition with very few variations of building apparent across the entire island.
This could be attested to the fact that the emancipated owners wasted no time in personalising their homes, turning them into a riot of multiple coloured dream homes that offer a feast for the eyes wherever you go!
