SEAGROVE BEACH, FL 1995
The house is located in Seawatch, a residential development in Seagrove Beach, FL. It is a long and narrow beachfront lot on the Gulf of Mexico, A 30′ high sandy cliff meets with the Gulf shore on the lot’s southern edge. A thick layer of sea grasses protects the dunes that create this cliff, helping to prevent erosion and provide a green platform upon which the house sits.
Two distinct spaces orchestrate the layout of this house. An insular protected courtyard occupies the center of the composition. In contrast, the beach face is comprised of a Living Area, Master Bedroom and Roof Terrace that unfold to the Gulf.
The first floor is accessed by a loggia that runs along side the Courtyard. Two guest bedrooms on the south and east, the Garage to the north and a garden wall to the west line the Courtyard. Entry to the main house is by way of a tight enclosed Entry Hall that opens to the curved wall, which addresses the Gulf. Tall slender slots of glass puncture the massive concrete wall of the Living Area.
The second floor consists of the Master Bedroom and Study. The massive south wall in the bedroom is articulated as a long horizontal slot, contrasting the vertical windows below. A two-level roof terrace, partly in shade, partly in the sun tops the house. It is here on the Roof Terrace that the two worlds of the enclosed Courtyard and the expansive horizon of the Gulf are experienced.
Renovation/Addition by Carey McWhorter and Anthony Vallee, 2016 (images coming soon)
Photos by Jack Gardner
Services
- Design
- Documentation
- Planning
McWhorter Vallee Design, Inc.
37 S 10th Street, Suite 2B
DeFuniak Springs, Florida 32435
+1 850.660.6675
