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GOOD
BONES DOWNSIZING DOESN’T HAVE TO MEAN LOWERING ONE’S STANDARDS WORDS BY JULIET JOHNSON // IMAGES BY WALLY SEARS
GARY AND REBECCA BONE WEREN’T READY to retire, but they had found themselves at a point at which they could live pretty much anywhere. Gary wanted to return to Queens Harbor in Jacksonville for the tennis, the golf, the fishing, the boating... “It’s a giant playground, let’s move there now and create a home we can live in for the next two chapters of our life,” Gary recalls. He was sold on the Northeast Florida lifestyle; however, finding the right house was a challenge. Many were too big, or on property with no view. Suddenly, a home on the fresh water lagoon was listed and Rebecca rushed down from Atlanta to see it. It was a pokey little ’90s thing, but she saw the potential.
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friend suggested she call Katrina Hosea of BeeTree Homes. On a hot Saturday afternoon, the two women measured, ideated and bonded. Together, they agreed the house could be made a home. During the design and feasibility phase, Rebecca paced about her 5,000-square-foot Atlanta home on the market, all the while worrying how the couple would make the transition to the Queens Harbour home, which was 2,300 square feet. Fortunately, Hosea was willing to help. “The way to make a small house special is to give it architecture,” says Hosea. That meant lovely chunky molding, trim around the windows and doors, varying ceiling heights and up lighting where possible—all principles of “The Not So Big House,” a movement away from “starter castles” (aka McMansions) led by Sarah Susanka to reimagine spaces that satisfy real needs. Susanka’s ideas and philosophy informed many of the choices as the renovation progressed. The spaces might be small(ish), but each is beautifully finished and visually expansive. A simple stack of stone covering the mantel from floor to ceiling commands attention and provides a strong anchor for the harbor view. Rich wood cabinets, reaching 12 feet on either side, provide both symmetry and storage. Opening up the kitchen to the dining room meant removing a wall which, as luck would have it, turned out to be a shear wall (put in place as a hurricane precaution and incredibly difficult to remove). Though some might have panicked, Hosea remained unfazed. “When you have the right team in place, a problem requires little more than a phone call. It’s merely an opportunity to find a good solution.” A solution was found in a pair of stylish wing walls which now frame a large opening to the kitchen (and double as added space on which to hang art). In addition to redoing all the original molding and installing E3 windows (which allow for more light and less heat), the floors throughout the home were replaced with bamboo.
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n the kitchen, traditional Georgian details take center stage. Huge corbels hold up an elegantly framed hood, intricately crafted table legs corner a massive granite island. There’s also one enviable, high-tech detail too unique not to mention: An electronic dog door that keys off the dog’s collar. “Rudy was always on the wrong side of the door; I got tired of getting up all the time,” laughs Rebecca. A set of glass-backed cabinets are situated around a window so that the chef can watch the boats while cooking. The additional glass makes the kitchen a light and airy hub. That the former kitchen’s cabinets are now classing up the laundry room is another inspired touch. The old mantel is there too, repurposed as a hook rack. And then there’s the home office. Most offices are placed above the garage, or down a hallway, practically hidden from view. Gary Bone’s office is in the thick of it all. Located just off the family room, in fact, so that he can enjoy the views, too (thanks in large part to a pair of 8-foot-tall glass French doors).
This page, clockwise from top right: Textures take center stage in the master bedroom with a dramatic four-poster bed with Anglo-Indian turned posts, an antique nightstand and bedding from Restoration Hardware; Gary’s office houses a collection of cherished mementos, including a South African wall hanging, a curious horn lamp and a large stone desk; the tiles in the master bathroom are travertine, a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs. A soaking tub remains from the original home.
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he Bones’ previous homes had all been renovated prior to purchase. The Queens Harbour expanse would be their own. Hosea calls it “a totally different emotional investment.” Rebecca wanted it all to be as close to their ideal as she could get it. “I could not have done this without a designer,” she says. “I would have been blown away by so many choices.” Case in point—the granite countertops. Rebecca went to Ace-Granite to find the
perfect one, but it didn’t prove to be an easy decision. After considering slab after slab, she settled on a piece with a lot of fissures—“a gorgeous, exotic piece,” she says—and eagerly anticipated the install. The 10-foot slab made it through fabrication and then (as she held her breath) through transportation. Six movers hauled it carefully into the house. Two inches away from its final resting place, a fissure gave way and the slab split in two. Hosea found Rebecca, who was out running an errand at the time, to break the news. Devastated and exhausted,
Rebecca remembers only one phrase offered in comfort: “God made a lotta stone.” Indeed, a new piece was found. It’s so lovely that the Bones’ kitchen has won design awards. With Hosea’s words ringing in her ears, Rebecca went on to hire Doug McGregor of Earthworks, who deployed 1,700 square feet of stone to nearly double the size of the home’s living space. The additions included a fire pit, dining area, summer kitchen and gardening area (“with raised beds so Rudy can’t mess them up,” of course). AUGUST 2014
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