An Oceanfront Home
Combines Classic Georgian Architecture
with the Vibrancy of
Florida
Seaside Living
Written by Peter
Lioubin
Florida Architecture Magazine
On the Ocean’s
Edge
In South Florida, homes along the ocean’s edge are better classified
as estates, with impressive massing and top-grade materials that are
worthy of the premium setting. To build anything less than the best
would be to do an injustice to the location.
That was the philosophy of Mark Timothy Inc., the luxury oceanfront
home builder, when building a spec home on a direct oceanfront site in
Delray Beach. “The house has quality all the way through it,” says
the firm’s founder, Mark Pulte. “Quality design, quality floor
planning and quality finishes.” On a waterfront site such as this, he
notes, “the standards are much higher than they would be off-ocean.”
The commitment to quality began with the architecture. Benjamin
Schreier of Affiniti Architects articulated Pulte’s vision of grandeur
in a classic Georgian house with distinct Florida accents. True to
the Georgian style, the structure is symmetrical and simply massed. A
covered entry is elegantly defined with a set of six columns and sits
beneath a balcony. Oversized windows are decorated with shutters on
the front elevation, or framed with stone molding on the rear.
Understated ornamentation, roof pediments and copper gutters
underscore the traditional Georgian vernacular.
Yet the house is very much at home on the Florida coastline. Instead
of brick, a material typically used in Georgian homes in the North, it
is finished with stucco. Accents on the front elevation are coquina,
a stone native to
Florida.
And the porches and hardscape on the ocean side are reminiscent of
Palm Beach in the Gilded Age.
Inside, the feeling of old
Palm Beach
continues. Though the interior architecture calls for the rich
molding and millwork typical of the Georgian style, the décor has a
“relaxed, almost resort feel,” according to interior design Jeff
Strasser. “The goal was to create a comfortable, beachy residence
that is classic but a little less formal,” he says. “It had to be
fresh, with lots of bright colors.”
That was accomplished by using a color palette of blue, green and
ecru, which bring to mind sky, surf and sand, with accents of sunny
yellow. In the living room, the walls are sky blue, trimmed with crisp
white millwork. “It complements that period of architecture,” says
Schreier. “White millwork, rather than a rustic wood color, is
typical of the Georgian way.”
The furnishings are traditional but not overly formal, because the
living room opens up to a loggia for indoor / outdoor entertaining.
To facilitate a dialogue between the two spaces, Strasser continued
the blue and white palette outdoors, only in more vibrant tones. “The
colors are more intense outside,” he notes,” but the materials are
stone, iron and wood, very much in line with what is used inside.”
In the family room, the ambience relaxes further. “This room adapts
beautifully to the Florida environment,” Schreier says. Lemon yellow
walls provide a cheerful backdrop for British Colonial and Asian-style
furniture and fabrics. The paneled ceiling, with its white applied
molding, green border and raffia insets, provides warmth and alludes
to the home’s tropical setting.
The library, though traditional, is a lighter version of the classic
wood-paneled room found in most Georgian homes. The walls are wrapped
in birch paneling and built-ins, whose washed finish gives the
impression of driftwood.
Traditional furnishings such as leather armchairs with nailhead trim
and a velvet cocktail ottoman add richness to the space, but lines are
otherwise kept spare. The woodwork is detailed but unfussy, and
ornamentation is kept to a minimum. Even the television is hidden
away within the wood panels of the fireplace wall.
The
bright, cheerful kitchen has cream-colored glazed cabinetry and a
glazed tile hood surround. “Behind the glass cabinets on either side
of the range hood are glass windows, so that light filters in through
the cabinets,” Schreier notes.
The kitchen was a nod to Pulte’s predilection for light, bright
spaces. “Behind the glass cabinets on either side of the range hood
are glass windows, so that light filters in through the cabinets,”
Schreier notes. “It’s magnificent for displaying fine pieces of
china, and it floods the space with soft, natural light,” Light also
floods the living areas upstairs.
To capitalize on the eastern exposure and the influx of sunlight,
Strasser designed the master bedroom with a palette of yellow and
white and luxurious silks and velvets. The most dramatic element here
is the angled tray ceiling. “Around the perimeter of the angled part
there is applied molding,” Strasser says. “To define it further, we
used decorative painting inside the panels.”
A luxurious master bath completes the picture. Schreier designed a
recessed, circular ceiling trimmed with molding to echo the circular
medallion on the floor. The ecru-finished, wood-paneled walls, and
freestanding bathtub contribute to the room’s spa-like ambience.
Architect Benjamin
Schreier of Affiniti Architects articulated builder Mark Pulte’s
vision of grandeur in a classic Georgian house with distinct
Florida
accents. True to the Georgian style, the structure is symmetrical and
simply massed. Understated ornamentation, roof pediments and copper
gutters underscore the traditional Georgian vernacular. The
symmetrical structure is organized in three parts, all overlooking the
pool and oceans beyond.
The grounds are equally elegant. Landscape architect Bill “Ike”
Isenhower designed the hardscape and landscape in the manner of old
Palm Beach, with tall palms, trimmed hedges and manicured lawns. Like
the architecture, the landscaping is kept simple. “If you introduce
too many planting materials, you’re not highlighting the structure,”
he says. “And our goal here was to keep it simple, so the
architecture can be showcased.”
Landscape
architect Bill “Ike” Isenhower created a “true estate feel” by
introducing walls and a landscape buffer on the street side and
pristine, rolling lawns on the ocean side. He used Paspalum grass, a
wind and drought resistant hybrid to surround the pool area.
Isenhower’s strategy was to create a “true estate feel” by introducing
walls and a landscape buffer on the street side, and pristine, rolling
lawns on the ocean side. He used Paspalum grass, a new hybrid that is
exceptionally wind- and drought- resistant, to surround the pool
area. The pool itself looks like a jewel, with its cobalt-blue glass
tiles and geometric facets. “The water looks as blue as you’d see in
the Aegean Sea in Greece,” Schreier marvels.
Another of Isenhower’s signature elements is a canvas canopy-covered
lounge area on the north side of the pool. “Clients adore those open,
canopy-covered areas,” Isenhower says. “They always gravitate to
them.”
As for Pulte, he is most pleased with the results. “The house met my
expectations and went beyond,” he says. “The quality that was
achieved is exceptional; considering we built that house, start to
finish, in 11 months. It took a tremendous amount of planning and
foresight.”
-
Photography by
Brantley Photography
-
Benjamin Schreier,
AIA, Affiniti Architects, ARCHITECTURE
-
Jeff Strasser,
Marc-Michaels Interior Design, INTERIOR DESIGNER
-
Bill Isenhower,
Avant Landscape and Golf Course Architects Ltd, LANDSCAPE
ARCHITECTURE
-
Mark Pulte, Mark
Timothy Inc., BUILDER
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