Getting It Right With A Second Home

Thanks to architect George Bollis, builder Rick Hope, interior designer Leah Muller and landscape designer Bill Baker, the Alvinos’ second home in the Moorings is as close to perfect as it could ever be.

It wasn’t as though Frank and Bernadette Alvino weren’t happy with their first home in The Moorings; after all, they had been intimately involved in the extensive renovation of their Cutlass Cove residence. It was just that, after living there for a while, Frank began to see a few small things he wished they could change. Even so, the thought of purchasing another place and starting over never entered his mind.
That is, until a friend and local realtor told him about a house that was for sale on Anchor Drive.

The house, built in the ’80s, wasn’t what attracted Frank’s attention, it was the riverfront property. With awe-inspiring views of the water, he immediately knew it was the perfect opportunity to build from the ground up and get everything right. He just had to convince Bernadette.

“She really loved that first house. It must have broken her heart to start over, but she did; she always gave me enough rope,” Frank smiles as he recalls his wife’s initial reaction, followed by reluctance and finally acceptance.

“We bought the property in May 2004 just before the hurricanes, but we didn’t really start building until early 2006. At the time it was hard to get permits because of the hurricanes, so I hired an engineering firm. It was very important to me that our new house didn’t dominate the lot. I even went so far as to introduce myself to the neighbors and show them the plans so they knew what we were doing.”

The couple also had a lot of help from architect George Bollis, Rick Hope of the Hope Co. and interior designer Leah Muller, the trio that had done a fine job transforming their Cutlass Cove house. Now they were back working together, doing what they do best. As George says, “This home reads well because the art Frank and Bernadette have collected really complements the house. Some of what you see in the new house was actually inspired by the first one. It’s always wonderful to have a repeat client, and the Alvinos are great to work with.”

Read the entire article in the February 2008 issue