The gracious, roomy home at 881 River Trail in the resort-like Indian Trails community blends Old Florida and Low Country architecture in a pleasing combination that includes lap siding, railed verandas and a mix of gables and hip roof sections that add to a sense of historical style.
The home’s most striking feature is a two-story octagonal living room with a 25-foot-high ceiling that is flooded with light from a dozen or more windows and wrapped on the outside with a veranda perfect for rocking chairs and mint juleps.
The soaring space gains added interest and some drama from a balcony at the top of the main spiral staircase that overlooks the room, linking it to the less formal second-floor living area. It is the kind of spot kids might look down from when a party was going on, peering between the balustrades and hoping not to be seen and ordered to bed.
The floating spiral staircase is another great architectural feature. With stained hardwood treads and railing and white-painted balustrades and skirt boards, it is has the classical elegance one would expect from this grand home, but the way it curves upward through empty space creates more drama and goes with the bold sense of design evidenced by the magnificent living room.
Entering the home from the stone-trimmed front porch, a visitor steps into a spacious, two-story foyer. The living room is to the left, down two steps, a large formal dining room to the right.
Straight ahead, past the base of the spiral staircase, is 16-foot by 18-foot family room with a massive fieldstone fireplace, built-in entertainment center and three sets of French doors leading out onto the back patio, where there is a blue-tiled pool with a Jacuzzi overlooking the Indian River Lagoon.
Most rooms on the first and second floor have great water views. That includes the lavish master suite occupying the south wing of the home, a second en suite bedroom and the remodeled kitchen and breakfast room.
Rooms are large and well designed. The master bedroom is 16-foot by 20-foot, with a cathedral ceiling and French doors that open onto the patio in such proximity to the pool that a one could take a single step from the doorway and then dive into the sparkling blue.
The guest bedroom is 14-foot by 14-foot and has French doors connecting it to the great outdoors.
“The house has a nice floor plan,” says Sherry Brown, a realtor with Norris & Company Real Estate, who listed the house for $1,399,500. “It presents some good options. It would make a great family home, obviously, but it is also good for a retired couple who could live on the first floor and only use the second floor for overflow during family visits. With the first-floor master and second bedroom, there is plenty of living space on the first floor.”
A second finished staircase goes up to the second floor from the kitchen, adding substantially to the home’s convenience and functionality. Both staircases lead to a huge second family room with sweeping river views. Three bedrooms and a bonus room with a bath that could be used as an office, den or exercise room, occupy the rest of the second floor.
Two bedrooms share a remodeled Jack and Jill bath and covered veranda overlooking the Indian River. The third bedroom connects to the same bathroom as the bonus room, which is currently equipped as a workout area.
That bathroom features a sauna, a steam shower and a deep, therapeutic whirlpool bath.
“I believe a previous owner was a trainer and used it for therapy for clients,” Brown says.
Regardless of where it came from, it is an amazing feature any homeowner would love, especially combined with the sauna and steam room.
The home is located on the Historic Jungle Trail, a quiet scenic route perfect for walking, jogging or biking that runs right along the shore of an unspoiled stretch of the lagoon.
It comes with a deep-water slip at the community marina, which also has community slips for owners with boats who do not have a slip of their own. The slip is a $40,000 asset, according to Brown.
Besides the marina, the community has an upscale tennis club, with lighted Har-Tru courts, men’s and women’s leagues and a tennis pro. The clubhouse and grounds include recently remodeled and upgraded exercise facilities, a community pool, social space and a full kitchen for catered parties.
Across A1A is the community beach club, a handsome wooden clubhouse with lots of outdoor veranda-style seating, cooking facilities and men’s and women’s changing rooms, all remodeled and improved in 2012. It sits up high above an uncrowded beach that runs for miles in both directions.
“It is a resort-like ocean-to-river community,” says Brown, who has lived in Indian Trails with her husband and sons since 2002. “Most communities don’t have everything we have here.”
That everything includes winding picturesque streets overhung with 200-year-old live oaks, a wildlife refuge, nature trails and a lake with three waterfalls.
It also includes a May 1-Oct. 31 reciprocal agreement with The Village of Sea Oaks, Vero Beach Country Club and Vero Beach Yacht Club that gives residents of River Trials 100 or so homes access to a wide array of golf, tennis, dining and beach facilities and activities during the off-season.
And all the benefits come at a reasonable price.
Quarterly HOA fees are only $1,100 per household for all the community amenities, a guarded gate, upkeep of common landscape and roadways, and all reciprocal privileges.
“It is a very friendly community,” Brown says. “People don’t just wave as they go by – they stop and talk. There is a wonderful mix of people, from families with young children, to teenagers to retirees and everyone gets along great.”
Vital Statistics
881 River Trail
Subdivision: Indian Trails
Home built: 1993
Lot size: Half an acre
Home size: 5,000 square feet under air
Style: Old Florida/Low Country
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 5
Garage: 3-car attached garage
Additional features: Deep-water boat slip at community marina, swimming pool with spa, water views, remodeled kitchen and bathrooms, hardwood floors, extensive woodwork, including crown molding, wainscoting and 6-inch baseboards, exercise room with sauna, steam shower and whirlpool
Listing agency: Norris & Company Real Estate
Listing agent: Sherry Brown
Listing price: $1,399,500