Beach House Blues

Interiors

Beach House Blues

A luxurious estate in the Bahamas proves that life is indeed a beach Photography and text by Sean Drakes

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W

e came out here on our honeymoon 38 years ago. We walked down the beach and decided someday we would build a beach house here,” reflects Arlene Cohen.

“That is exactly where we built it.”

Arlene, originally from Ohio, together with husband Harry, a Kentucky native, are part-time residents who wanted their “upscale beach house” in the Bahamas to capture the view of the ocean. Harry surmises, “it’s a Mediterranean beach house with a lot of light; every room is full of light and color. We capture all the different blues and turquoise of the sea in this house.”

The Cohens’ airy, dream house consumes 12,000-square-feet on the north coast of the Ocean Club Estates on Paradise Island and took two years to realize. This super-chic Bahamian outpost is the brainchild of luxury resort developer Sol Kerzner who built five homes on spec here in the mid-90s.

Initially this gated community was intended to be for subdued-style houses to mimic the aesthetic of the One & Only Ocean Club resort.

But to stimulate buyers, Kerzner relaxed building stipulations, and the Opposite Left:

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prohibited materials list went out the window”, according to an architect with luxury residences in his repertoire.

The home has four loggias, two facing north, one facing east, one facing west. The Cohens use the loggias for different kinds of entertaining: for example, the north loggia is used for lunch and grilling; the upper loggia facing north is for breakfast and afternoon lounging; and the west loggia is used for sunset and outdoor living.

“We have dinner parties out there, poker events—with three or four poker tables—Valentine’s and dinner parties,” says Harry. “We sit there after dinner while port is served – it’s a very important room.”

The popular loggia is designed so that air can float through by opening all its windows, or the airflow can be reduced by closing them. As Arlene explains, sitting on the ocean-facing loggias can be almost impossible on some days. “That’s when we’ve gone to this one. It’s Opposite Left:

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covered, so we use it when the winds are too harsh to be outside.”

The seven-bedroom, two-story residence is built to do battle with the fierce hurricanes that periodically storm through The Bahamas.

Turkish tiles, onyx and marble lend to the home’s rich finishes. The Cohens painted all the wood white, then used pastel colors to accent the turquoise color of the ocean. “Centuries ago, in the south (in the US), when people didn’t have screens, they would paint the ceiling: that way the light color would not attract many bugs,” explains Arlene.

No doubt this is why the master suite seems bug-free. Its ceiling, linens, furniture, drapes and main wall are all cotton-white. The suite is wrapped with large curved windows because the Cohens wanted to import the ocean’s hues without creating color conflict.

“In decorating, we tried to keep things simple,” says Arlene. “We knew people would be coming in from the ocean and wanted things that are easily maintained.”

That consideration prompted the choice for cotton couches by Brunswick et Fils and chairs by British Khaki. “They last better in the heat and they’re more comfortable,” she says. The few lush silk touches include silk plaid drapes by Old World Weavers in the dining room and Bergamo fine threads in the master bath.

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The home’s recreation room is a visually striking space and a true conversation starter. To begin with, a limited edition commemorative book on Muhammad Ali—which weighs 75 pounds—is displayed in a huge glass case next to gaming machines.

On the other side of the billiards table stands a full body of armour from the days of jousting, a diving bell and an assortment of other antiques that form the Cohens’ eclectic collection of travel memorabilia.

“When I have a poker game with the neighbors, we start off in there drinking wine and shooting billiards, then we come into the other room and play poker,” explains Harry. “It’s a guy’s room, but my wife decorated it.”

To do so, Arlene chose a Ralph Lauren wall covering that is a plaid pattern with earth tones. “I wanted it to look clubby and intimate, with a masculine look,” she says. “It’s not a traditionally dark plaid.”

The house is sandwiched between Cabbage Beach and Ocean Club Golf Course. Arlene is the golfer in the family: “It’s a beautiful championship course. They host the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational Golf Tournament and the Office Depot Father-Son Challenge. Several of the holes either face the ocean or run alongside the ocean—it’s a dramatic course.”

Arlene is also an amateur glassblower, and her vivid glasswork is displayed in the great room alongside decadent vases by a celebrated artist. “It’s a total rush,” she says, explaining the satisfaction she gets.

“You can make all sorts of plans, but at some point the glass takes on a life of its own. That’s what’s so exciting for me.”

When the Cohens first bought the lot at Ocean Club Estates, their friends told them that, living by the ocean, they wouldn’t need to invest in a lot of art: every day, they explained, you’ll see a different painting when you look at the ocean.

Arlene confirms this, and emphasizes that she has decorated the house in such a way that every room is “full of the ocean”.

“When you are on the balcony and you look right you could possibly be on a deserted island,” she says. “When you look left you can eat at some of the best restaurants in the world. We kind of have the best of both worlds.”

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