The well-appointed kitchen is all about up-to-date convenience. Granite countertops and mosaic, glass-tile backsplashes are low-maintenance surfaces. The mosaics, resembling sea glass found on the beach, restate the color scheme established in the adjoining family and breakfast rooms. Abundant lighting provides excellent ambient and task light throughout. A pair of pendant fixtures with linen drum shades hang over the work island, which has a composite-stone top and a contrasting finish on the cabinet base. The glazed finish on the storage cabinetry complements other wood finishes within the multi-functional area. A long breakfast bar, which separates the kitchen from the family room, comfortably seats four, with room for more when there’s a crowd. The kitchen’s architectural focal point is surely the massive stone hood over the gas range. Adjacent windows are simply, but effectively, treated with bamboo roll-up shades, which have become classic window treatments today because they’re attractive, have a casual elegance, and pleasingly filter light.
The glittering cargo of sunken Spanish galleons sprawled over the reefs and seabed along its shores has given rise to the romantic name synonymous with Florida’s east central coastline—the Treasure Coast. Still lying buried beneath its waves is a vast hoard of silver and gold plundered from Latin America.
Today, there is more easily discovered wealth of a different sort nestled among the Treasure Coast’s sandy dunes, many of which border the beaches of Indian River County. Here are found quite a few of the most outstanding homes in all of Florida. Even so, there is among these splendid latter-day treasures a particularly uncommon one, the lavish seaside estate on Ocean Lane.
Entering from Ocean Lane, the driveway leads between a pair of grand, mahogany doors fitted with metal grills at a gatehouse straddling the entrance to a spacious motor court. The two-story gatehouse encompasses a large guest suite on the second floor, a two-car garage, and ample storage areas, all the while presenting an impressive introduction to a mansion designed in the archetypal style of a Mediterranean villa.
From the motor court, the main entrance to the residence is approached by way of a grand staircase gradually ascending through luxuriant terraced gardens, one of which is walled and gated for privacy, and remarkable for its delightful fountain and serene ambiance. Low-pitched, barrel-tiled roofs surmounting arched windows and doors reveal its Mediterranean lineage and add particular appeal to the restrained approach taken by the architect, Gregory Anderson, in his asymmetrical translation of this timeless style.
Read the entire article in the February 2008 issue
True Tails is a series written by Amy Robinson for Vero Beach’s dog lovers. Ask Amy about your dog’s behavior by clicking below.
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