In Harmony With The Ocean

As every Realtor knows, there are houses and then there are Houses. The home shown on these pages is, without question, a House with a capital H. Constructed on an oceanfront lot at the southern end of Vero’s Orchid Island, the residence, built by Water’s Edge Estates in 2005, offers an unusually subtle combination of elegance, comfort and informality.

Start with the location. The house lies on a cul-de-sac at the end of a small, private road. A dune crossover leads directly from the pool area to 150 feet of private beach.

“By any standards, it’s an exceptionally attractive lot,” says architect John Dean. “First of all, it has the advantage of being on a beach that is accreting, not eroding. And its ocean views are exceptional, even for Vero Beach.”
Those views did not occur by chance, Dean explains. “We raised part of the lot so that the house would have a more extensive panorama of the beach and ocean. It also helped us meet the local code restrictions.”

Visitors quickly realize they have arrived somewhere special when they step onto the driveway, with its picturesque arrangement of date palms and tumbled stone pavers, and enter the front door. “To make sure they know they’re at the ocean the moment they enter the house,” Dean designed an entryway that provides a stunning glimpse of the Atlantic through the first-floor living room. This entry not only serves as an impressive introduction to the house but is, as designer Luis Lapitz points out, large enough to accommodate a full-sized sofa.

 Read the entire article in the January 2007 issue