Carol West loves Dockyard. In fact she loves it so much she moved there a year ago — one of a handful of tenants who live in the newly renovated Dockyard Terraces. As owner of The Frog and Onion Pub in Dockyard, she wanted to be close to work and as she jokingly sums it up: if she lived any closer she would be living in the pub's basement.

What makes Ms West's apartment unique from all the others is that it was once occupied by The Masterworks Foundation. Signed bricks sold off as a fundraiser at "The Terrace Gallery", as it was called back then, still pave the private courtyard as a reminder of a time gone by.

The buildings date from the mid-1800s and were used as living quarters for naval officers. These elegant residences are composed of hard Bermuda limestone of the Walsingham Formation — named after an area near Tom Moore's Tavern in Hamilton Parish.

During renovations, the West End Development Corporation (Wedco) aimed to retain as much historic character as possible. In some cases the original bricks were simply put aside to be reused as work got underway. Wedco even referenced old photographs in an effort to restore the buildings to their former historic glory.

Today, Dockyard Terraces are magnificent, both inside and out, with the original staircases, high ceilings, beautiful wooden floors and teak windows that retain their original sashes.

In fact, Ms West loves the windows so much so refused to put up window treatments. And with good reason. Each window frames a different scene of Dockyard — from the ferry terminal, where local artists work outdoors and tourists bustle to and fro, to the Clocktower Mall and busy boat yard.

For some 40 years Ms West lived in Baileys Bay and says she never imagined she would end up living in a condominium, nor Dockyard of all places.

"It's like living in a village, "she shares with a broad smile. "Of course the ferry service is very important to me, and my appointments in Hamilton coincide with the ferry schedule."

She adds with a chuckle that her doctor is in St. George's so she prays not to fall ill in the winter when the ferry schedule is drastically reduced.

However, once summer arrives, her social life kicks off at breakneck pace and she loves nothing more than catching a 6.30 p.m. ferry to Hamilton to have drinks and dinner with friends before catching the late ferry home — docking within stone's throw of her new home.

Walking through her home, Ms West proudly points out the various items purchased during her many trips abroad — the African influence is unmistakable with animal prints and a beautiful drum from Kenya that doubles as a coffee table in the living room; the model ships and artwork tastefully displayed around the apartment and complimented by the available light. Helped of course by the fact that there are no window treatments.

She believes in living with just the basics and recalls getting rid of a lot of unnecessary furniture and dust collectors when she moved. In fact she insists now that all gifts be disposable: "You have to be able to eat it, drink it or throw it away when it dies."

Benefits of living in Dockyard include the plethora of restaurants and pubs, a cinema, shops and of course the snorkel park in the summer. However, Ms West also keeps her boat berthed at Dockyard and since moving says her friends don't just drop by for a visit anymore, they come and stay for the weekend — almost like a mini-holiday — also, everything is within walking distance making her car redundant.

She enjoys walking and cycling on weekends and says the West End is perfect for that since it's very flat. "There is always something to do and there's always someone to talk to," she jokes. On weekends in the summer she likes to sit outside on her porch where she gets plenty of "good afternoons" from locals and tourists going by.

Of course living in a "touristy" area means every now and then someone will knock on her door — not realising it's a private residence — but she simply smiles and says it comes with the territory.

Her favourite spot? The private little courtyard where she sits at night under the stars enjoying a glass of wine as life at the Royal Naval Dockyard goes quietly by.