SOMETHING OLD, Something New

Building a home near the ocean in Florida is a dream for many. As dreamy as the prospect can be, it’s an undertaking that comes with an accompanying collection of significant issues to overcome. For starters, there are myriad regulations associated with building along the beach. The weather, salt water and sand must be considered when selecting building materials, as well as exterior and interior finishes. Oh, and the chance of a hurricane making landfall near the home factors into nearly every decision, from the foundation up to the roof.

This particular dream started several years ago for homeowners Connie and Russ Pecoraro, who purchased an old house along a stretch of Atlantic Beach. The couple love the quiet oceanside neighborhood and appreciated many things about the original house that sat adjacent to the dunes and salty waves beyond. However, the existing house wasn’t compatible with contemporary lifestyles nor their family’s needs.

So, architecture, construction and design teams were needed to bring their dream to life, a project that would take some five years to complete. A global pandemic, supply chain shortages, hardly any parking for contractors working at the job site—the homeowners took each delay in stride and kept their eyes on the prize.

According to the interior designer, the homeowners requested that, while the house be elegant, it must also be family-friendly and casual, as well as practical and cleanable when full of teenagers and pets. “The design process started with a long and narrow architectural space and a stunning ocean view, coupled with a passionate wish list from the clients, including elegance, brightness, counter space and ample storage,” recalls Amanda Webster, design principal of Amanda Webster Design. “For Connie and Russ, they love texture and contrast, so they were not looking for gray tones or white on white. They love their starter pieces and they love fun, rich colors and textures along with Mid-century accents. One of the textures that we all loved is the custom tabby fireplace wall in the living room that we commissioned. This brought the old Southern coastal finish inside. We also chose some great wall coverings that mimic sand and handmade papers and some classic turn-of-the-century Pickwick wall paneling from Fraser Millworks for the powder bath.

“The tabby wall for the fireplace feels coastal and features many beautiful cross-sectioned shells,” Webster continues. “The colors of sand, blues and greens were always loved and are fitting for the setting.”

While the home is new, not everything in it is. The Pecoraros had some existing family treasures they wanted to keep. “They had some great, well-loved pieces that we began with by measuring and incorporating them into our scheme so that they don’t appear to be second-thought,” says Webster. “The Stickley barstools and breakfast set and a gorgeous secretary were treasures brought in. We love the challenge of planning around clients’ collectibles. This always serves to make each home that we do unique and personalized.”

Some of the large beams in the original beach house were salvaged and used in the new structure. Other items including a few original cottage doors and pecky cypress planks were saved but sold for salvage. “We actually did use some of the old cypress boards to make bookshelves in the game room,” says Connie. “I also had one made into a bath tray for the master bath tub.”

“Connie and Russ compiled a list of rooms they wanted as well as photographs of some houses and rooms they admired,” says Neptune Beach-based architect James Dupree. “Their examples were traditional in style, somewhat formal in organization, like some of the other houses in the neighborhood, clad with natural cedar shingles trimmed in white, topped with gable roofs and incorporating a few distinctively arched wall openings.”

In addition to photos of spaces and styles they admired, the clients were well-prepared in sharing the rooms their new home needed to possess—five bedrooms, a playroom for the kids, formal dining and living rooms, kitchen with breakfast nook, and a three-car garage. Easy enough for any competent architect, right?

Sure, but Dupree had to place all of that on a 50-foot-wide lot (that’s less the length of two yellow school buses lined up end to end). And the clients didn’t want to miss out on any ocean views. The fact that the street was more than seven feet below the grade of the existing house was another design and engineering challenge to tackle. Dupree did so by placing the garage a half-level below what would become the primary living area facing the water.

“This set up for a staggered set of floor levels facing west and then east connected by a staircase and an elevator between them,” says the architect. “The entry foyer frames a view of the ocean through the living and dining rooms, in line with the grand staircase that leads to the bedrooms over the garage, up another half-level to the third and primary bedrooms, and one more level to the guest suite.”

The living room and all the bedrooms open out to covered porches, offering both space for outdoor seating and waterside views, all the while protected from the sun during the warmest parts of the day.

The design team and homeowners weren’t above changing their minds during construction, adapting the original plan to new opportunities and ideas. For example, the exterior balcony railings began as white painted pickets. This look gave way to a contemporary cable railing system that allowed for better views out to the beach.

The exterior shake in rich brown tones with soft white trim are complemented in the interior with brown Stickley furniture that became the dark shade that a dimensional color scheme was built upon. The exterior shade of white (Benjamin Moore White Dove), complemented the Anderson window shade of white, as used in the interior extensively for the trim and kitchen cabinetry.

“Interior design elements gradually took on a more transitional to contemporary vibe, even while Amanda was careful to maintain a reference to the more traditional aesthetic we all started with,” says Dupree. “Just as the closed-off children’s playroom grew into a more open teenage game room, the interior finishes and furnishings seemed to grow more at home at the beach, dressing down to fit a more comfortable and easier lifestyle.” Life is a beach, after all. u