There is a saying in Vero Beach real estate circles that “good taste sells.” If that is true, the tropically elegant 3-bedroom, 4.5-bath home at 204 Coconut Creek Court should go fast at its $1.2-million listing price.
Designed and built in the impeccable British West Indies style Palm Island Plantation is known for, with balconies, verandas, French doors and abundant use of ornate woodwork, the 3,630-square-foot house is architecturally excellent and aesthetically appealing. But it has something more.
This is obviously a home that has been loved and cared for and kept in pristine condition by owner Joan Christie.
“I like the house, period,” Christie says. “I like the layout and all the windows and French doors. It is very private here, in spite of the houses being close together. There is a lengthy swale behind the house that extends to the next street so I don’t have anyone behind me.”
“It is one of the brightest houses in Palm Island Plantation, because it faces south and east,” says listing agent Debbie Bell, a broker associate with Norris & Company Real Estate. “The landscaping is exquisite, and the home comes with a fully-furnished cabana at the beach club.”
“I bought the first cabana at the Beach Club and I picked one close to the ocean with a high ceiling that is sheltered from the north wind in winter,” says Christie, who has always lived near the ocean, in Maine where she grew up, on the Chesapeake Bay and in the Chevy Chase suburb of Washington, DC, where she worked for a number of years in military intelligence.
She traveled with President Eisenhower as a military intelligence aide and got to know Presidents Nixon and Ford. She knew Chuck Yeager and was friends with other top test pilots, including Yeager’s protégé Louis Wellington Schalk Jr., the original chief test pilot for the A-12 Blackbird spy plane built by Lockheed’s secretive “Skunk Works” in 1962. (The Blackbird was the original stealth jet fighter, capable of flying 2,200 miles per hour and reaching an altitude of more than 80,000 feet.)
Located on a quiet cul-de-sac near the subdivision’s front gate, Christie’s home presents a striking vista upon arrival, with a paver driveway and entry courtyard overlooked by a balcony. The landscaping is lush and perfectly kept.
The railed balcony, scrolled rafter ends and the broken roof line, with the lower few feet flipped up slightly, all contribute to the West Indies look.
A mahogany gate set between two masonry columns topped with stone pineapples leads from the driveway into the front courtyard, which provides a genteel touch. Another mahogany door connects the courtyard with the interior.
Entering, a visitor steps into a foyer with a powder room on the left and the formal staircase straight ahead. To the right is the high-ceilinged, 19-foot by 19-foot living room with a marble-trimmed gas fireplace and built-in shelves. A room Christie calls her office, which could be used as a den, library or fourth bedroom, is in front of the living room. It has a walk-in closet and full bath that also serves as the pool bath, with a door that leads onto the veranda.
Going through the living room, a visitor comes to the formal dining room, which has a tray ceiling, chandelier and walled courtyard with a fountain. Next to the dining room is the kitchen with breakfast nook, and a large family room with a tray ceiling, bead board wainscoting and a built-in entertainment center. The kitchen has great-looking white bead board cabinets, a gas cooktop and Kitchen-aid appliances.
Beyond the kitchen/family room area, down a short hallway that lends privacy, is the master bedroom suite with a reverse-hip vaulted ceiling, two walk-in closets and an abundance of windows to let in the Florida sunshine. The master bath has dual vanities, a large jetted tub and walk-in shower.
Upstairs are two en-suite guest or children’s rooms.
Finely detailed woodwork flows through the house, with 5 ½-inch baseboards, 10-inch ceiling moldings in main rooms and bead board wainscoting in the stairwell and a number of rooms – a warm, traditional detail. Floors in public rooms are hardwood or stone tile, while bedrooms feature luxurious Berber carpet.
Elegant and finely finished as the interior is, though, this is a house that is all about outdoor living. It is built around the lushly-landscaped pool courtyard that has an outdoor fireplace and a wonderfully private, secret-garden feel.
The master bedroom, family room, kitchen, living room and den all open into the pool courtyard, forming a U-shaped structure around it. There is a gracious 10-foot by 35-foot covered veranda off of the living room and den with a similar-sized balcony above that both guest bedrooms enjoy. There is also a second upstairs balcony, the one that overlooks the driveway, a lanai off of the family room and three courtyards. A brochure produced by the builder states, “This two-story home is ideal for outdoor living, offering a tropical entertaining area around an outdoor fireplace located in the courtyard [which provides] an intimate setting for al fresco dining and socializing.”
The home has a large laundry room with a walk-in closet for storage, and Christie says the house was designed so that an elevator can be installed without any major structural changes.
Palm Island Plantation has an exceptional array of amenities for an intimate community that will have only 136 homes at build-out.
“The amenity package is highlighted by the exclusive beach club overlooking the Atlantic with attendant cabanas, Olympic-sized pool and hot tub, indoor and outdoor bar area, lounge and cooking/dining area,” says Westmark President David Bauer, who developed the community. “There is a community center with pool, hot tub and planned saunas, and an up-to-date fitness center. A riverside marina with 12 deep-water docks, two of which remain available for purchase, rounds out the amenities.
“The exterior of each home, including landscaping and pool, are maintained by the Palm Island Plantation Property Owners’ Association as part of the Association assessments which makes for worry-free living.”