Designer to the Stars Comes
Home to Harbour Island
Wallace Tutt
-- the very name brings up the image of design elegance with
a twist, and the joy of one man's exuberant thirst for life
that has inspired him to create uniquely styled homes for
the likes of Gianni Versace and Cher in both Miami and Malibu
Beach.
 Tutt
now calls Harbour Island home, where he and partner Don Purdy
have created Caribe Cay - a private island
fantasy - and Rock House, an inviting small
hotel set high on a harbourside hill.
It was a combination of influences that
drew world famous renovation/restoration designer and decorator
Tutt to adopt the bustling island community of Harbour Island
as his home. After a chance visit in 1990, he just never
left, calling the architecture "stunning" and the
hearts of the people "beautiful".
''I live in Miami but my home is here,''
says Tutt. "Harbour Island is a unique place in the
world. People grow up side by side, black and white. There
is no prejudice; people don't think about it. I don't know
if they ever have.''
 Caribe
Cay, Tutt's island creation has been a port of call for the
who's who of the popular and entertainment world - Christie
Brinkley, Master Magician David Copperfield, Elijah Blue
(Cher's son), and news personality Diane Sawyer have visited.
With personal chef, concierge, the impeccable service underscores
the fantasy of total escape combined with wonderfully luxurious
amenities.
When Rock House, Tutt's eclectic small
Harbour Island hotel opened in November of 2002, its whimsical
decore, seemingly tumbled together from varied influences,
was an immediate success with both the local crowd and the
international set.
Donna Paul from Departures says it best
in her "Hot Property: Home Away From Home" feature
on Rock House: (http://www.departures.com)
 "The
best thing about the nine-room Rock House, Harbour Island's
newest boutique hotel, is the wonderfully idiosyncratic decor.
Owners Wallace Tutt and partner Don Purdy raided their own
private collections to give Rock House the feeling of, well,
a house: Modigliani drawings, a white-porcelain English chandelier
from 1910, art books piled on tables, rolled-arm sofas, and
deep club chairs (designed by Tutt).
No two rooms are alike; the Parrot room
has drawings of birds, Citrus has original Picasso lithographs.
The level of service helps the hominess, too, with Tutt and
Purdy themselves tending to everything from mixing drinks
to beachside service.
 Rock
House isn't exactly a secret; the fashion and Hollywood crowds—including
Elle McPherson, Jack Nicholson, Barry Diller, and Diane von
Furstenberg—have been lounging around the pool for
months (albeit hidden away in the private cabanas, of course)."
Two intriguing and singular properties
from the one-of-a-kind touch of Wallace Tutt. Another reason
to consider Harbour Island the place to be, and the place
to be seen.
 Rock
House:
Nine Rooms, each with private cabana by the pool, martini bar, two dining
rooms. $245-$525. At Bay and Hill streets; (242)333-2053; www.rockhousebahamas.comm
Caribe Cay:
One to six people, includes daily housekeepers, cook, all meals, snorkel
equipment, use of 3 boats guided by manager (fuel is extra). $2,500/day,
$15,000/week. (305)532-8800 www.myownprivateisland.com
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