| Magazines:
Florida Design
(Volume 4 Number 3
Southern
Comfort
TEXT
Diane Benson Harrington
PHOTOGRAPHY Kim Sargent, Juno Beach It
speaks volumes in the softest hush and oozes sophistication
with the simplest of touches. This 12,000 square foot mansion
makes you want to curl up inside and call it home.
It belongs to an Atlanta CEO and his wife, who do double-duty in Boca Raton.
They love their new Georgia home so much, they're having their 10,000-square-foot
Florida home designed with a similar flair.
What's the secret of this sprawling mansion that feels more like a favorite
sitting room at Grandma's?
Creative architecture and classic design.
In a neighborhood of gracious, Georgian-style
columned mansions, this one breaks the stereotype.
It borrows elements from Santa Fé, California
and the Mediterranean for an architectural style
all its own. "It's a very warm and welcoming house, " says
designer Louis Shuster of Fort Lauderdale. "There's
nothing that says, 'Don't sit on me.' There's a
definite lack of formality, and that's intentional."
The tone is set from the first step
inside. Twin stairways rimmed in bleached oak sweep
up to the second level of the home, where the eye
meets arched windows and ceilings. Mexican tile
covers the floor. Only a simple table and two potted
ficuses hold court in the foyer letting the architecture
and the view to the living room command all the
attention.
While
the living area was a challenge to decorate - it
measures about 30 by 30 feet and has little wall
space - it fits together with graceful ease.
"I designed the room like a puzzle," says Shuster, who started with a sectional
sofa grouping in the middle and let the rest of the furnishings emanate from
there.
"It really needed separate seating areas. So the sectionals in the center of
the room are back-to-back," he says. Other chairs allow for a multitude of conversation
groups.
A variety of textures and materials play a huge role in this home. The
creamy sofas are done in an exaggerated fuzzy chenille - piped with copper
welting. The oversize dowel chairs to the left of the fireplace are fitted
with fabric woven of leather and suede. The room features a snakeskin and
lacquer card table, as well as weathered copper end tables on cement bases. "Those
tables are a sort of end to the puzzle They wrap and shape the sofas," Shuster
says.
The
bar chairs tucked under the tiled countertop pick
up the color scheme of the home - coppers, golds,
teals, seafoams. In front of the open kitchen,
the breakfast nook is composed of two leggy love
seats, a couple of matching chairs and a triangular
glass tabletop, all positioned banquette style
in the crook of two window walls.
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| Designing
the living room was like putting a puzzle
together. With 900 square feet, walls of
windows, an enormous fire place and bar
to contend with, the designer created several
conversation groups that emanate from the
center of the room. |
A
vaulted tongue and groove wood ceiling adds more
dimension. Adjacent to the nook, the home sports
a family room/wife's office. Rich clay-colored
leather adorns the sink-into-it sectional. Bleached
wood dowels - the same used for all the kitchen
cabinetry - form a divider between rooms, flowing
into a workspace. A large-screen TV and other entertainment
equipment are situated in full view from the sofa.
Just beyond the family area, fully visible through a wall of windows, the
home has an indoor grilling area. Complete with table and chairs, the room
is a mini-kitchen unto itself. In both big and little kitchens, the granite
countertops and backsplashes are Georgian granite.
"The clients insisted that all the stonework be indigenous to the state," Shuster
says. When
company numbers more than just a few, guests head to the dining room which is
straight from Santa Fé. The enormous dining table is a bleached ash plank
on a weathered iron base with brass fittings. Carved, Southwestern-style chairs
have leather cushions and jumbo tassels for added elegance. The set sits on a
custom-designed area rug that calls upon all the colors of the home. The designer
angled the table and chairs to highlight the rug's pattern.
Working with the architect to alter the clean square of a room, Shuster
designed the buffet area to be built in as part of the house instead of
an accessory to it. Behind the woven-copper doors are customized slots,
shelves and drawers for the couple's many china, crystal and flatware ensembles,
not to mention tablecloths and placemats.
"She has a fabulous eye for table-setting items and loves collecting beautiful
things like that," Shuster remarks. The surface between the two columns is actually
a built-in warming tray, especially convenient for entertaining. Business meets
pleasure in the home's movie theater, where the couple can invite friends for
private screenings - or where the boss can view commercials from his company's
latest advertising campaign.
The
interior of the screening room combines big-screen
enjoyment with home-style comfort. Leather swivel
chairs and ottomans make viewing relaxing. Shuster
designed tri-level tables which swivel out to provide
a surface for each guest. The movie theater is
not alone on the lower level. The house also includes
an indoor putting green for the two avid golfers.
Also down below, garage doors large enough for an industrial park allow
delivery trucks to back right in, emptying themselves of extra tables and
chairs, refrigeration systems, etc., for entertainment forays. From business
to charity to civic affiliations, the couple keeps astoundingly busy.
 |
| Once
slated to be a closet, the built-in entertainment
center became a perfect place to introduce
the softness of wood into the master suite.
The adobe-style fireplace creates additional
warmth, as does the layered-effect rug,
which has tufts of color peeking out from
the squares |
When
the guests go home, a luxurious bedroom suite
awaits. Its plush carpet has a double-layer
effect with tufts of color peeking out from
squares cut in the cream top layer. Taupe
leather furnishings adorn the seating area
next to the adobe-style, floor-to-ceiling
fireplace.
Deco doors open (automatically, via motion-control sensors) to a private
spa with a bridge that spans the indoor, 10-by-50 foot lap pool. The
temperature-controlled area also features a sauna, full exercise area,
cabana bath and sitting room. Deco-colored, gym-room-style lockers house
a big-screen TV, workout tapes and free weights, among other equipment.
Spanning the length of the pool, a domed skylight lets sun shine in to
highlight the custom color in the turquoise tiles. Mosaic tile work adds
another Deco touch.
Such details go beyond the interior of the home. Outside, the owners
wanted a special ambiance. For evenings, down-lighting is used on the
plants instead of up-lighting, so everything looks touched by the Southern
moon.
Florida
Design Travels: The back of this sprawling
Atlanta home puts on a more contemporary
face than the front-door facade. The
entire rear of the home is connected
by a series of wood decking, rambling
patios and terraces with a view of the
Chatahoochee River.
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