Home spring 2015 articles and cover optimize by Juliet Johnson

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

CREATIVE SOULS

HOMES OF THE YEAR

WHAT’S YOUR HOUSE WORTH TODAY?

THE FUNKY, ARTSY & STYLISH DENIZENS OF CoRK

REVISITING SOME OF OUR FAVORITE ABODES

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO HOMES, GARDENS & STYLISH LIVING IN NORTHEAST FLORIDA

RIVERSIDE AVONDALE PRESERVATION

Spring Tour of Homes SPRING

2015 A SUPPLEMENT TO JACKSONVILLE MAGAZINE

APRIL 25 & 26

Contents 8

At Your Service What’s new in print and online at Jacksonville Magazine

Hot Topics New trends, cool things and local happenings

Riverside Avondale Preservation Spring Tour of Homes 12 historic houses open their doors to visitors for an annual springtime fundraiser

Homes of the Year Revisiting three favorite abodes from the pages of Jacksonville Magazine

Cheap Thrills Navigating the flea market scene

What’s Old Is New For one local writer, the whole “upcycling” trend has gone too far

Creative Souls The artsy and stylish denizens of CoRK

Welcome Home First Coast real estate continues to rebound from recession lows

Odds & Ends Favorite home stories from the Jax Mag archives

Road Trips Springtime is awash in Southern sights and day-trip worthy events

Marketplace Jacksonville Magazine’s Home clients and friends are ready to help make your castle the best it can be

Life & Limb Advice on planting and maintaining healthy trees

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98 ABOUT THE COVER: 3305 St. Johns Avenue, a featured stop on the 2015 Riverside Avondale Preservation Spring Tour of Homes photo by Agnes Lopez

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Rebirth in the

Oldest City

IN HISTORIC ST. AUGUSTINE, A RENOVATION MARRIES THE CHARACTER OF THE PAST WITH THE CONVENIENCE OF THE NEW

words by Juliet Johnson images by Wally Sears

uropeans chuckle at what Americans think is historic, until they get to St. Augustine. This is old, they agree. For German tech executive Ms. Quigley (who asked that her first name be kept anonymous), St. Augustine was the perfect spot to vacation from Silicon Valley and entertain family—both Floridian and European. She saw potential in an older house in the storied district of Lincolnville—an area originally established by the freedmen of the American Civil War—peacefully sited on small Maria Sanchez Lake. “She loves the patina of old things,” says interior designer Molly Cones. “When we met at my [former] store in St. Augustine, she knew we would be perfect partners in reviving this home.”

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Enormous green urns add color and dimension to the lush garden, while black rocking chairs provide visual contrast and comfy seating on the wide, covered porch.

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From top: A chair and accent pillow covered in antique grain sacks (found beneath a barn floor in rural France, naturally) act as one of the home’s many conversation-starters; The original fireplace was painted white to provide contrast with the home’s vintage furnishings.

Cones’ style is a combination of organic and rustic. She often repurposes natural materials to enjoy them in new ways, while featuring their character. Quigley travels extensively and has been collecting antiques, curios and art for years. She has so many collections, in fact, that she maintains a warehouse, “heaven” for a designer like Cones. Architecturally, the house fronts the lake but can be accessed via Washington Street. Visitors enter through a discrete white gate and immediately step into a brick courtyard filled with flowering vines eyed by stone gargoyles. Overflowing urns blend seamlessly with a modern pool outlined in coral stone. Stairs to the right lead up to a second-story wraparound balcony. What was once the garage is now a detached guest house. A brick fireplace, which looks like it’s been there forever, anchors a built-in outdoor kitchen.

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ortunately, the house is not registered “historic” and was likely built sometime around the 1930s. The lack of an official historic designation meant that changes could be made. So, Quigley installed floor-to-ceiling windows on both the front and the back, which open and fold away to allow full-length cotton panels to waft in the breeze. The new hardwood floors are actually made of reclaimed antique granary oak. Baseboards are finished in flat stock and walls are kept mostly white, so that the art and antiques are introduced without distraction. Though it might not look it, the kitchen is new and made from a combination of repurposed barn wood and stainless steel appliances (except the two-drawer dishwasher, dramatic marble slabs and deep ceramic farmhouse sink). On either side of the Viking stove are sea trunks on castors so that you can wheel over heavy pots and appliances to wherever you need them without physical strain. Set into the marble countertop, next to the prep sink, is a vintage cutting board with mottled iron bands on the corners. A microwave is tucked under the other side. The breakfast table—also made of repurposed barn wood—seats two, with a comfy bench beneath an acrylic painting of amorphous figures and in between shelves of white china. The breakfast chairs, says Cones, are “loosely slipcovered in linen for a feminine look.” The pillows are comprised of antique grain sacks, which Quigley bought in bulk after finding them beneath a barn floor in rural France. Though at one point full of dust, fearless designer Cones picked through the collection and hand-washed all that could be used. Some have become bolsters and accent pillows, others upholstered onto chairs. Many of the sacks have German words—opening speculation as to their original provenance, which makes for lively conversations. From top: The kitchen is highlighted by a combination of repurposed barn wood and stainless steel appliances; The chandelier in the dining room is a wrought-iron frame covered with parachute material; A contemporary acrylic painting is framed by shelves of white china. Home S P R I N G 2 0 1 5

The dining room’s custom chandelier is a wrought-iron frame designed by Cones and covered with parachute material. This means that when the doors are open, the chandelier billows. The living room’s mantel is original. Cones and Quigley wanted the texture but not the heaviness that so often comes with a vintage mantel, so they painted it and the brick surrounding it a clean, crisp white. More sacks cover wingback chairs with refinished legs (which were stripped, sanded and whitewashed). The wooden primitive figure is an African artifact; the coffee table is an old trolley cart. The fireplace opens to the library, where shelves hold travel mementos and stacks of old books—washed, coverless and held together with twine. Here, a French sofa was re-upholstered in antique linen, also with the raw edge and visible upholstery tacks. The coffee table here is an antique bench from Thailand; the rug an antique kilim. Hides are scattered throughout. It was Cones’ idea to use an antique garden urn for a sink in the powder room. As an antique French Empire mirror reigns over polished nickel faucets, natural shells, and smooth coral stone surfaces, this little room exudes big personality.

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From top: White cotton linens make a fine contrast to vintage touches such as a pair of unusual wooden figurines next to the bed; A trough sink for two in the master bathroom with a similarly shaped mirror reclaimed and hung from the ceiling.

Upstairs, the master bedroom features end tables made from a large tree reclaimed from the St. Johns River. Cones had it sliced at a local mill, and then glass cut to match the exact edge. They make a sturdy contrast to white, cottony linens. Eerily watching over the bed stands a couple of wooden figurines, each three feet tall, and likely vintage doll dress mannequins. Antique wooden angels keep spirits at bay on either side of the French doors leading to the adjoining balcony. A guest room features twin beds and an antique wooden sheep from Thailand. The bathroom is en-suite—literally. The washbasin (a hollowed stone sink) sits on one side of the mirror, the shower on the other. Cones says her style has been consistent for a long time. Some might call it “junking” or “picking,” but she loves the creativity. For her it’s inspiring to take something with character and patina and give it life in a new setting. As for Quigley, when you’re forging a brave new world in Silicon Valley, it’s probably reassuring to own a home richly saturated in history. z From top: The guest room’s wash basin sits in the room itself, with the shower directly behind the mirror; Antique grain-sack pillows feature prominently in the guest bedroom.

LOVELY

BONES Finding a diamond in the rough (and then transforming it into the architectural gem it once was) doesn’t come without some hurdles along the way.

n 2009, when the housing market was at rock bottom, Richard Wolfe and his wife Rebeccah Beller had been house-hunting for months. Independently, they found a single photo of a flat-roofed cube that intrigued them. Presuming it to be a foreclosure, the couple figured a visit couldn’t hurt.

“It felt sad and droopy,” says Rebeccah, “but it had spectacular views, and an imaginative flow.” That whole “sad and droopy” bit wasn’t too far off—the home’s cantilevered beams were sagging. The cube-shaped residence was divided into four towers, connected by a low rise staircase scissoring each floor. Overwhelmed at the work required to fix up such a place, Rebeccah forgot all about it. Richard, however, was captivated, and confided his curiosity to a friend.

WORDS BY Juliet Johnson

IMAGES BY Agnes Lopez

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The coquina walls were hand-scrubbed by Rebecca, removing the moss, plant life and black crud, one linear foot at a time, over the full 18 month renovation.

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Prior to the renovations, large rope rigging had been bolted from the roof to the basement in lieu of bannisters. The first owners were enthusiastic sailors.

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Bamboo flooring replaced “kitschy parquet floors,” which were collateral damage from framing repairs. Ikea cabinets provide just the right mod look, with steel pulls to match the stainless steel double ovens and lighting cans above.

hen he and his friend went to explore the place together, the friend recognized the structure as a William Morgan build. (Morgan, an award-winning architect, was a pioneer of sustainable design and has three designs included on the American Institute of Architects’ list of Florida’s Top 100 Buildings.) In fact, the “sad and droopy” cube was actually the 1967 Hatcher House: Morgan’s interpretation of renowned architect Le Corbusier’s Villa Shodhan in India. Richard was eager to rescue the iconic modern home; Rebeccah, delighted to see him so enchanted, agreed they would rescue and revive a landmark home, creating a completely modern classic. Despite being asked by their realtor if their marriage could “survive a house like this,” they forged ahead, surviving bidding wars, financing fumbles and snarls with insuring the “neighborhood eyesore.” Did we mention the house was uninhabitable? Undaunted, Richard and Becky met with the original owners to understand the home of 1967. They even met with William Morgan, who weighed in on the renovation. Morgan explained he had deliberately used native Northeast Florida material—coquina stone, cypress and yellow pine. Further, he had designed the home to optimize the same aspects as Villa Shodhan: sun, wind and views. Using a spiral design, 3,600 square feet of interior space is designed proportionally, as a reference to Fibonacci’s numbering sequence of recurrence relation (sort of like the nautilus shell in nature and the Golden Rectangle in architecture). Home S P R I N G 2 0 1 5

BEFORE

The couple decided to restore the home’s original floor plan, removing the mirrored tile ceilings and wet bars on every floor that the last “rescuers” had installed. Mercifully, the enormous cage left over from a former resident’s pet squirrel was already dismantled. Morgan agreed that the lapped cypress siding wasn’t his best idea and, though leery, he could see the benefit of newer, more durable materials—in particular corrugated metal siding. Metal would be lighter (weight is a significant issue with the house’s cantilevered structure), cheaper, more weatherand water-resilient, and would present the same textural element of lapped siding. Plus, it came in red! The family then moved into a 300-squarefoot camper on the property to supervise construction is simply the house’s tradition. The last rescuers, of mirrored-tile repute lived on their sailboat, which sat parked on the back lawn, during their reno. But longterm camping for a family of four is not easy.

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The beams sagged due to the weight of the cyprus cladding, amongst other stresses. All beams were replaced individually.

Mirror tiles were popular to amp natural light in dark spaces and reflect dramatic views into rooms with no sightlines. With no desire to live in a disco, the Wolfes removed them.

Opposite page from left: Carpeting was removed from all four floors. The rough concrete floor in the library is both authentic and on trend. The quietest room in the house, it’s perfect for reading; The children have their own homework desks, open to the kitchen and library for quick questions…and parental tracking; Dramatic lighting clouds “float” against interior coquina stone wall, and wood paneling. A sliding glass door leads to a small balcony overlooking the pool and creek.

Wall-to-wall carpet (including red shag) that had seen one too many legendary parties was removed by Richard from all four floors, giving way to durable bamboo, which is not a wood, but actually a type of grass.

There were many “opportunities to excel,” as Rebeccah says, including one morning of going to work in mis-matched shoes. Rebeccah would make her way from camper to car across the grass. She had no sense of the differing heel height until she reached the office one day, when she noticed her shoes were also different colors. The family made it through the long, hot summer interspersed with house-sitting gigs as, slowly, the renovation began. Halloween passed, then Thanksgiving, when the turkey got stuck in the small camper oven. Construction lurched on. A timely trip to visit family in Australia saved Christmas, but their return to the First Coast was met with the legendary floods of January 2011. As soon as it was possible, the family moved into the top floor of the house as building continued. Of course, without a kitchen, they had still to eat outside for a while. Becky’s determined credo—Winston Churchill’s “I am an optimist, it does not seem too much use being anything else”—was tested time and again. Little things, like the first day of air conditioning or the first indoor, hot shower, took on magical pleasure as the house slowly emerged. Richard’s family eventually came to stay for three weeks to help paint the home, drawing this close-knit family even closer. Eventually, the home was 90 percent complete. Twice, it has been featured on the Arlington Mod & More House Tour—the first time, to answer neighborhood curiosity and share their progress; the second, this last November, to celebrate a gloriously archetypal mid-century modern home now almost completely improved and revitalized. Today the house stands gracefully—a landmark in mint condition, peacefully impervious to its torturous journey. The 18-month renovation, replete with missed deadlines, misunderstandings and even some litigation, is a mere chapter of its life. Rebbeccah loves that, “thanks to the open plan, everyone knows where each other is. We don’t have to be in the same room to feel together.”

The pool was renovated immediately, so that the family would have somewhere fun to play and consider all of the red scaffolding. A massive crane allowed the plate glass to be delivered to each level. Home S P R I N G 2 0 1 5

This page, clockwise from left: The low back sectional in a soft, pale blue tucks below the balcony railing to leave unobstructed views; The sunken nook by the fireplace is one of the home’s few remaining built-ins. Ideas for cushioning are most welcome; A Yellow pine slatted ceiling continues into the children’s playroom, offset by plain white cabinetry for storage of toys and game paraphernalia. Opposite from top: The master bedroom, a welcome sanctuary, has views to the North and West of tree tops and open sky; A SchluterKerdi shower system and related Ditra subfloor was installed so as to render the master bathroom a stand-alone floatation tank, with cabinets to replicate the cantilevered look throughout the home.

o matter how you enter, whether through the garage or the front door (which is the home’s only solid exterior door), the first space you see is a two-story library. The concrete floor—typical of the era—is softened by a round rug with a Jetsons’ sofa and chair. Here, you’ll find triangular side tables and a formerly anachronistic brass chandelier, now painted white in a whimsical mod touch. It’s up a couple of stairs to the front door and then up a few more to the main, newly bambooed floor of the kitchen and dining room. One of the home’s two fireplaces separates the two spaces. The double-heighted dining room is lit by three dramatic Foscarini light fixtures dangling like clouds—bright white against a red accent wall, the exact hue of the red corrugated metal cladding outside.

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Simple white cabinets and smooth white countertops set up the big picture windows facing Little Pottsburg Creek (one of many creeks off the St. Johns River). Here, one can watch nutria, ospreys and even the occasional manatee as one washes dishes or prepares a meal. An enviable walk-in pantry the full length of the kitchen, which sits behind the appliance wall, enables the kitchen to be kept appropriately spare. Behind the pantry is the playroom, with a modest TV (a lot of Wii is played here), a growing trophy collection and the children’s desks. A red ottoman inspires creativity but can easily be moved to one side to make way for puzzles on the floor. Up a few steps to the third floor, visitors will find another double-height ceiling, this time the 20-by-20-foot living room. The windows are massive 20-by-12-foot panels of low-emission glass. A sunken seating area around the home’s second fireplace is left faithfully roughhewn, as Le Corbusier preferred “material crudely unfinished, inside and out, the marks of wooden formwork plainly visible.” The master suite sits behind closed doors, next to a linen closet that once housed stereo speakers—it was the late ’60s after all. Large walk-in closets open to the Euro-style bathroom, which features floating cabinets made from wood left over from construction. The look is modern, clean and simple—Rebeccah and Richard’s preference (naturally, Richard works for the similarly minimalist tech company Apple). The fourth floor houses the children’s bedrooms, a bathroom and a lovely, expansive terrace. The couple’s son Ethan wakes up to views of the river, while daughter Kate to leaves, branches and sky, as if in a tree house. The number “four” is a recurring theme in the house. It’s a cube (four sides) with four floors and four towers, and the address even consists of factors and multiples of four. It was built 48 years ago, and the Beller-Wolfe family of four have been living in it for four years now. Said Le Corbusier, “Space and light and order. Those are things that men need just as much as they need bread and sleep.” It seems that the blood, sweat and tears on which the house was renovated gave way to Le Corbusier’s mantra and the Hatcher House stands proudly once more. Survival badges to all. z The Arlington Mod & More House Tour is an annual event celebrating the neighborhood’s delightfully varied array of mid-century modern architecture. The 2014 tour even included a former silent movie studio and a nuclear fall-out shelter. The Hatcher House sits on Empire Point, which might not normally be considered Arlington but is technically a part of Old Arlington, as defined by the neighborhood’s rich history along the St. Johns River. Plans are currently underway for the 2015 tour, to be held in November.

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NEUTRAL

Territory z

Ponte Vedra Beach couple creates a spacious, family-focused retreat that marries clean lines with modern sensibility words by Juliet Johnson // images by Agnes Lopez

WELL, THEY’RE CANADIANS. French Canadians. So it’s no wonder that the home Bonnie and Ben Pineau had custombuilt is massive, open, airy, sophisticated and take-your-breath-away gorgeous. It is a big house, to be sure—vast might be a better word, almost civic in scale, with enormous amounts of light pouring in and beautiful views. It’s a fun house to view in person— which, coincidentally, many were able to do during the Legacy Trust Ponte Vedra Beach Home and Art Tour in March which benefited the Ponte Vedra Cultural Center. The house sits on a quirky, angular lot on the right-hand side of a peninsula into the Ponte Vedra Beach marshes. Facing north and west, the panoramic views of the Guana River and surrounding preserve dazzle every time the light hits. Architecturally, the house is based on West Indies traditions.

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“The slope of the roof, the organization of the windows, the stucco and the detached nature are all timeless elements of Caribbean building custom,” says Joe Cronk of Cronk Duch Architects. But it differs from the prevailing Florida-Caribbean fare, thanks to the contemporary twist of simple, clean lines. “The Pineaus wanted classic elements but taken in a more contemporary direction than our usual kinds of houses,” says Cronk’s partner, Cliff Duch. “It becomes transitional style, and was very successful with Bonnie’s interior design.” Bonnie and Ben met the architects while working on their last house in St. Augustine’s Palencia neighborhood. When they found a lot in Ponte Vedra, with mad angles thanks to the waterline’s edge, they reached out to Cronk Duch as partners in creating a timeless, individual family home. Ben is the kind of doctor who gets up at 4:30 AM and returns home around 8 PM to catch up

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with the family and then review case files before he heads to bed. Bonnie is the chauffeuring, car-pooling mom, juggling dance class and sports schedules with a deep passion and flair for interior and landscape design. She studied art and design in Canada and landscape design in North Carolina and California. The couple’s heritage, family and lifestyle guided the home’s structure and floor plan; Bonnie’s creative sway continually evolves in the interiors. Tucked beneath tall trees, a shared driveway leads to a substantial twostory house with tall windows, metal roof and a roof line with a grand gable that extends over the main entrance and split garages. On approach, you get no sense of the interior’s rambling spaces; it seems more like a nice, tall house with lovely water views. The back door’s being larger than the front might surprise you, but it’s a great clue into how the Pineau family prefers to live.

Honed marble is featured throughout the home. “We’re not shiny people, all the marble is honed here,” says Bonnie. Home S P R I N G 2 0 1 5

modest glass door with contemporary numbers above leads into a foyer with a skylit staircase. Not that visitors would notice. Your eye is drawn first to the achingly chic dining room open on the right. Straight ahead, across various family rooms, a white marble kitchen, patios and a pool with a raised infinity edge, lies the view of the marsh. Light drenches the rooms, catching white linen sheers that soften stalwart columns. It’s an overwhelming flood of visual stimulation, from the soar to the drape and the textures. Undeterred by color “pops,” this monochromatic palette is modern organic design at its finest. “I wanted something airy and unusual,” says Bonnie of the delicate wire and crystal chandelier, which was found in France. “Each one is hand designed. No two are alike.”

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A long coffee table showcases a selection of books, fresh flowers and accessories. “I like to have little pieces of great things,” says Bonnie; Many of the furniture found throughout the home is slipcovered in white linen—fitting for the home’s upscale but beachy vibe.

An enormous dining room table hails from the coupleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home in North Carolina, where they lived while Ben was teaching at Wake Forest Medical School; The kitchenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marble island contains a built-in chopping board built in at one end, and a repurposed wheel for serving cheeses at the other end.

This page: The master bathroom is sunken—surprising, considering the couple’s propensity for tall ceilings. “Just an element of change, for interest,” says Bonnie. While a Calista soaking tub may tempt, the bathroom also contains a steam shower with an enviable amount of body sprays.

Nor are any two of the zinc dining room tables, purchased from ABC Carpet & Home in New York City. The base of the table is a tree root, which varies in nature. Chairs are slipcovered in smooth, white linen. Tall white birch branches frame the windows looking back toward the wooded driveway. The floor is limestone, in giant 36inch squares with a rectified edge, which require no grout. (They may have taken longer to install, but they are easier to maintain.) The other open wall is part of a columned transitional space leading to the main family room. The columnsheer combination recalls a high-design boutique hotel. Drapery can be drawn for greater intimacy on either side; but when the Pee-Wee Sharks football team comes over, the sheers have to be kept open and tucked neatly. “People always hang out in the kitchen, so why not just make it the center of the house?” says Bonnie. A 13-foot island of honed white and gray Calcutta marble looks chunky and solid, a fitting companion for the floating stainless steel shelves of matching thickness. All the horizontal surfaces have been raised by three inches, per the couple’s specifications (Bonnie is just over 5’10” and Ben 6’+). A pantry is built into the back staircase. Among the usual items is a first-rate water color painting on the top shelf. Bonnie has owned this little colorful piece by a Canadian artist since her single days, when she was more a fan of color. In the main family room, the seating is casual and slipcovered in gray. During the summer months, the slipcov-

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ers are changed over to white, so the interior is seasonal, adapting to complement the seasons unfolding outside. A dramatically long coffee table (which is actually a repurposed factory shutter designed by Cisco Brothers) anchors the room with an enchanting collection of Chinese calligraphy brushes on an antique silver serving tray, along with vibrant coffee table books and other curios. To the west of the kitchen is an open den with a slipcovered sectional and a large French armoire to house the TV. When the sun’s out, you can’t actually see the television—which is just how the family likes it. Video games are allowed only on the weekends; Ben is a runner, Sophie dances, Sam surfs, plays football and runs marathons with Dad.

An adjoining laundry room feels enormous, partially due to the tall ceiling and stacked washer and driver, and partly thanks to the open back staircase. “I’m a bit claustrophobic, so we don’t have any closed-in spaces,” says Bonnie. The master bedroom suite sits in the home’s southwest wing, accessed via a long passageway running alongside the salt-water pool. With the pool so close to the house, it feels almost like one could walk on water. A tall tufted headboard was made by Bonnie (because no one else made one high enough), and the 12-foot tall ceilings are, like all of the bedrooms in the house, vaulted. Bedside tables are a deliberately mismatched set and were originally painted a rich cherry, but repainted white by Bonnie. Both of the children’s bedrooms contain a loft playroom (which sit above the bathrooms). To get to Sam’s, you have to tackle a climbing wall. It is a great play space, with six-foot ceilings, but not so easy to get down from at night (a fire pole for sliding will be installed shortly). Sophie’s loft playroom is accessible via ladder and features pale lavender walls with a darker shade in the bathroom called “Swanky Gray.” “Swanky” might just be the best adjective to describe the Pineau’s striking home. In shades of gray and white, it simmers with an elegant simplicity and style. The 7,800 square-foot residence also includes double and single bedrooms for guests, as well as an upstairs theater room. Altogether, it’s a house built to welcome, nurture and nourish. z

This page: The wooden boards seen on walls throughout the home are a nod to what Bonnie calls “classic coastal.” Both of the children’s rooms contain loft playrooms, accessible by ladder or climbing wall.

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