Sometimes we start a new build with a blank page and develop a story that helps us focus our design decisions. But in the case of this home on a barrier island on Florida’s east coast, our client came to us with a brief rich with references to architecture and design in a variety of tropical and exotic locales. The goal was a residence that would prioritize views, light, and outdoor living.

Looking to nearby St. Augustine, home to some of the earliest houses in America, we were inspired by the British colonists who built wooden additions atop earlier Spanish masonry structures. In those buildings, the new construction was dedicated to living areas situated above the noise of the street while functions of lesser importance filled the ground floor. We used that same organizing idea here, placing the main living spaces, including the kitchen and the primary bedroom, on the clapboard-clad second floor, a decision that allowed for dramatic volumes under open rafters, and large window openings and French doors oriented to capture views and ocean breezes. The stucco first story, meanwhile, is dedicated to bedrooms for the owners’ adult children with direct access to the garden, covered patios, and the pool, while a shared lounge is meant to evoke a Brazilian surf shack, albeit with a little more polish.

Throughout, the diverse sources of inspiration our client brought to the table are woven into details like the living room fireplace’s Moorish arch, which we delineated with handcrafted blue-green tiles, the limed-washed pecky cypress ceilings, and the Mexican tiles that adorn bathroom floors as well as stair risers as you enter off the Spanish hacienda-style gated breezeway.

The result is an indoor-outdoor home that beautifully reflects its setting with an array of influences that come together to make a harmonious whole.

Interior Design: Ashley Waddell and Courtney Harris, Olivia O’Bryan