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Fall 2021
ADDING TO HISTORY A BEAUTIFUL NEW BUILD IN AVONDALE, SARASOTA’S MOST HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD
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The year was 1914 and US 41 was only a dirt road, but things were stirring in Sarasota. Residents at the time Oscar and Alice Burton, in partnership with future mayor Arthur B. Edwards, sold the land south of Hudson Bayou to the optimistically named Sarasota Improvement Company. Their big idea was to create the area’s first affordable housing. So, they named the development Avondale Heights, charged $250 per lot, offered bungalows at $1,500, and used both as prizes in local raffles. Not many buyers took them up on the offer until the 1920s when the first Florida land boom struck, and a trio of businessmen bought all the remaining lots, dropped the word Heights from the name, and aimed for the stars. They dredged the bayou for boat use, widened the streets, and enlarged the lots. Most importantly, they added deed restrictions stating no house could be built that cost less than the princely sum of $5,000. u
Front Elevation: This 4,573-square-foot home with its modern take on West Indies architectural style has three bedrooms, a den, and four baths, cleverly tucked on one of the sought-after lots in Sarasota’s Avondale neighborhood. A poured concrete sidewalk leads directly into the front yard, which features capped piers and an organic podocarpus hedge and foxtail ferns separating the yard from the street. Tremron pavers lead to the entry and three-car garage while cat palms flank the front door. Dark soffits, fascia, and brackets add contrast to the painted downspouts which blend into the Sherwin-Williams Origami White paint, in line with the home’s architectural theme.
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Creating the look and feel of real wood, but offering a low-maintenance option, the entry doors used on this east-facing orientation are by Therma-Tru. The fiberglass doors are factory finished in New Earth with a wood grain texture. “The doors open right into the expansive living room and then guide one’s gaze directly out to the pool deck,” says Shumway. “It is true Florida living inside and out.”
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The expansive dining room and kitchen area boasts Euro Accents Oak Troulouse wood floors by Designer Marble & Granite and are seen elsewhere throughout this vast home. The stepped ceiling is boxed with painted beams and inset with Synergy Wood tongue-and-groove cypress pre-finished panels in auburn. LED lighting accents the crown moulding following the perimeter of the dining room and delineating the outdoor cabana. Motorized screens protect the covered lanai and the whole-home automation system controls the audio and visual features of the home with a single touch. homeanddesign.net
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Next came a prominent Chicago architect named Thomas Reed Martin, who built 500 homes in the area. The walled estate mansion he built for $30,000 made it into the National Register of Historic Places. Avondale is now an enclave with a delightful mélange of historic and charming homes, where the residences are shaded by mature oaks and sidewalks border both sides of the wide streets, inviting walks in the evenings. Yet, close by is downtown Sarasota, with all its shops, restaurants, and nightlife only a short distance away. It was this mix of old and new, rural and urban, that attracted an out-of-town couple to build here. California natives, the couple had often vacationed in Sarasota, so when they retired, they were ready to make their own mark on history by building their easy-to-maintain home on a lot previously occupied by a home from the 1930s. u
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Kitchen: Design-Craft Cabinets creates the Shaker box style cabinetry with full-overlay doors that house built-in Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Bosch appliances, a Miele coffee system, and a U-Line wine cooler. The perimeter counter is Caesarstone quartz backed by undulating porcelain tiles with a cabinet-faced, custom range hood above. Bianco Macaubas quartzite tops the island, where guests can sit on nailhead accented stools underneath a trio of clear glass Edison pendants. The entire space opens to the outdoors, masterfully blurring the line between interior and exterior living areas. Living Room: The living room’s voluminous stepped ceiling helps keep the room cooler in the summer months.Together with Trim Solutions, Talon created deluxe custom columns to separate the foyer from the living room, and just beyond the niched entertainment center are the master and guest rooms. The pocket sliding glass doors disappear and the room opens to the outdoors, combining the living space.
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With the help of land developer partner, David Lehrman, the couple hired Talon Home Builders to carry out the project, who, in turn, engaged a veritable who’s who of the finest tradespeople in the area. “We wanted nothing but the best for our clients,” explains Sarasota native Jennie Shumway, vice president of Talon Home Builders, who — alongside her husband, Tom — runs the business. The couple has built dozens of homes in their past and current careers. “My background was in purchasing and Tom was a field superintendent, so we know how important each little detail is to the creation of a home,” Shares Shumway. u
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Master Bedroom: Subtle drama is introduced in the backlit tongue-and-groove stepped ceiling in the master bedroom. All trim work in the home was hand-applied by Trim Solutions, and subtly contrasts the neutral carpeting and the Sherwin-Williams Crushed Ice paint on the walls. Color and texture are introduced via the warm wood furnishings and the quiet sheen of the luxe bedding and accessories. Master Bathroom: A 24” x 24” porcelain tile enlivens the shower walls and continues behind the Victoria + Albert bathtub. A large, expertly placed marble niche holds shower accessories and small hexagonal tiles in several shades and provide complementary contrast underfoot. Gorman’s Gallery provided the dazzling Kohler Artifacts floor-mounted tub filler and shower fixtures. Design-Craft Cabinets white Shaker cabinets in White Icing are topped with Ocean Blue natural stone.
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Guest Bedroom: Driftwood art adorns the walls above the guest beds and add a pop of color to this guest oasis. Variations of the blue hues in the aquatic scenes are mirrored in the custom throw pillows and bolsters on the suede-wrapped single beds. Between them is an organic stone lamp atop a burnished wood nightstand with an extra-large drawer for storage. The stepped ceiling and windows are hand trimmed for depth and interest. Guest Bathroom: The large mirror in this guest bath is downlit by rod lights that illuminate twin under-mount sinks set in the Viatera Rococo quartz countertop. Brizo polished nickel fixtures are supplied by Gorman’s Gallery. “We love working with Gorman’s. Their work is impeccable,” says Shumway. “We accompany our clients to visit their showroom and meet Jennifer Fontaine, who knows all things plumbing, whenever we can.”
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They hit the mark with this residence. “I love the flow of this house. It is an open and inviting space, just begging you to kick back and relax,” says Shumway, who is happy to report that the owners are very pleased with how the project turned out. “Not everybody in their lifetime gets to build a home,” says Shumway. “So, each home is special, just as each owner is special and we treat them as such. Being able to take a project from dirt to dream is a privilege.” n
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Outdoor Living: The contrasting cypress tongue-and-groove ceiling overlooks this majestic outdoor living area with a gas-burning fireplace surrounded by rustic, neutral brick inlay. Boral drystack ledgestone faces the bump-out and natural shellstone, cut in a French pattern, and is used on the lanai and decking. The pool and spa with built-in waterfall add a bit of shimmer to this outdoor oasis, as does the glass pool tile from AquaBlu Mosaics in Java, while a bevy of mature areca palms form a natural privacy screen around the pool.
Written by Kitt Walsh Photography by Pix 360 Luxury Home Builder Talon Home Builders 2300 Bee Ridge Road, Suite 302 Sarasota, FL 34239 941.320.8485 talonhomebuilders.com
Resources: Gorman’s Gallery 6101 Sawyer Loop Road Sarasota, FL 34238 941.927.8511 gormansgallery.com Designer Marble & Granite 1227 Mango Avenue Sarasota, FL 34237 941.365.4209 designermarbleandgranite.com
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D&D Garage Doors 1177 Cattlemen Road Sarasota, FL 34232 941.371.7242 danddgaragedoors.com