One couple decides to forgo demolition and instead remodel and refresh their home with a second-story master suite as well as other smart space to enjoy their spectacular view of Sarasota Bay.
By JUDY STARK, Times Staff Writer
Published March 12, 2005
[Times photo: Lara Cerri]
This is remodeling contractor Joe Angeleri’s favorite feature in the home: the big windows in the breakfast room with an uninterrupted view across Sarasota Bay. He raised the ceiling to 14 feet to match the ceiling in the living room. Visible at left is the second-story master suite, part of a 2,000-square-foot addition. Designer: Joyce Hart, Robb & Stucky Furniture & Interior Design.
The silk plaid pillows in the living room’s split-rattan chairs, right, reflect the sunset colors the homeowner wanted: raspberry, lavender, coral and gold. Camel-colored sofas stand on a handmade rug. Designers: William Tidmore and Robert Henry, Tidmore-Henry & Associates.
SARASOTA - The owners wanted a home full of the colors of the sunset over Sarasota Bay. The designers gave them that.
They wanted more space for a master suite and guest quarters. On a small lot, limited by waterfront construction codes, their architect and remodeling contractor provided that.
What was once a candidate for a teardown is now an updated home with space for family, guests and entertaining that maximizes breathtaking views over Sarasota Bay. It is open through April 3 as a show house presented by local members of the American Society of Interior Designers. (See the box on Page XF for details.)
"At sunset the view just gets fabulous," said William Tidmore, who created the living room with his partner, Robert Henry. They used a palette of rust, rose, coral, pink, purple, green and golden brown, colors that appear throughout the house.
Owners Robert and Cindy Graham wanted more space, and had pulled a demolition permit to tear down the 1948 contemporary-style home and rebuild. But they'd have had to elevate a new structure 14 feet above ground to comply with waterfront construction codes. That would make the house tower over its neighbors, and it would deny them one of the features they liked best: the ability to stroll directly outside to the garden and pool.
Remodeling contractor Joseph Angeleri of Sarasota and architect Terry Osborn solved the problem by creating a second-floor master suite above a covered patio, and building a separate one-car garage with a guest suite/office above it. That added 2,000 square feet.
Angeleri also came up with a plan to remodel and refresh the existing 3,000-square-foot home while complying with federal codes that limit such work to 50 percent of the home's value. That included bringing the house into compliance with the new hurricane codes.
Angeleri, 61, comes from a family of land developers, custom builders and remodelers ("I've been in the business since birth"). A specialist in waterfront projects, he was the 1996 Florida Remodeler of the Year and in 2001 was named one of the nation's top 50 remodelers by Remodeling magazine.
Figuring out how to add square footage was another challenge. Angeleri solved that by creating what he called a "soft vertical connection" between the original home and the master-suite addition, a separate structure from the original house. The two are linked by a door from the living room into an enclosed stairwell. Angeleri credited the City of Sarasota Building Department with developing the concept that would allow him to build the upstairs master suite and remain compliant.
A third challenge was adding the new structure and the one-car garage/guest suite while complying with the city's restrictions on how much of the lot can be covered by buildings.
The home had been remodeled "at least three or four times" during its lifetime, and there were more challenges: low ceilings (7 feet 6 inches in the original master suite), low roof pitches, several layers of floor covering, a roof not structurally up to snuff, decayed plumbing and water lines, moldy air-conditioning ductwork.
Today the home is a Mediterranean-style open space that Angeleri says is transformed by its unique finishing touches: modern pendant lights, top-of-the-line vanities, faux finishes, Brazilian cherry floors. Throughout, the designers offer visitors plenty to look at:
* In the foyer, a bust and a cabinet, both heavily encrusted with seashells, the work of Stacy Caspari of Caspari Studios in Englewood.
* On the dining table, a centerpiece created from stacked clear open boxes filled with water and petals from red and pink silk bougainvilleas and orchids.
* A nontoxic bedroom whose wall coverings, carpet, fabrics and furniture are made with natural, organic materials that reduce or eliminate chemicals, dust mites, mold and bacteria.
* Pebbly riverstone flooring, glass wall tile and a beautifully detailed mosaic-look sink in a guest bath.
* A fabric canopy on a bamboo-look metal frame above two woven split-rattan chairs created by Clearwater architectural metalworker Karl Jewell. Designer Henry pointed to the silk plaid pillows on those chairs in shades of raspberry, lavender, coral and gold. "The whole room revolves around those pillows," he said. Homeowner Cindy Graham "loves Sarasota sunsets and that's what she wanted to see."
Visiting the show house
WHAT: Designer show house sponsored by local chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers.
WHEN: Through April 3. The house is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, including Easter Sunday, March 27. Tickets: $20.
WHERE: 1362 Harbor Drive, Sarasota. From Interstate 75, take Exit 210 and drive west on Fruitville Road (State Road 780) to Orange Avenue. Turn left (south) and follow Orange Avenue about 2 miles through old downtown Sarasota to Prospect Street. Turn right, then bear right at the fork onto Harbor Drive. The house is ahead on the right.
