The house at 235-245 Camelia Lane in Central Beach (it is on a double lot), looks like something straight out of the pages of Sunset Magazine, the bible of stylish California living, or Arts and Architecture, the magazine that sponsored the famous Case Study houses that helped re-invent residential architecture after WWII.
Built in 1952 and extensively renovated in 2008, the 4-bedroom, 3-bath home is rooted in traditional Florida beach cottage architecture that turns out to blend beautifully with the mid-century modern aesthetic embodied in the Case Study houses, Eichler homes and other examples of progressive design created by architects such as Richard Neutra, Charles Eames and Frederick E. Emmons, who opened up and reimagined the American home within and without. Instead of mere mundane shelters, houses became more like domestic temples in which to celebrate the wonder of daily life.
Mid-mod elements in the home on Camelia include its low Frank Lloyd Wrightish profile, canted ceilings in some rooms, extensive use of glass to link the domestic and natural worlds and materials like terrazzo and exposed structural beams.
“It is a powerful visual experience,” says listing broker Christine McLaughlin, owner of Shamrock Real Estate Corp.
She says the owners, who spotted the home on their way to Riverside Theatre and fell in love with it, are both attracted to “modern as opposed to traditional,” a preference hinted at by books on modern art, architecture and design on tabletops and built-in bookshelves in the 2,200-square foot home.
“They were very involved in the home’s design [during the renovation],” McLaughlin says, pointing to the clean uncluttered lines of expanded windows and the color palate used throughout the house as examples of their taste. “The colors you see are the owner’s favorite colors.”
She says the owners were “entranced” by the home’s bucolic Central Beach setting, especially the twisting oak trees that lean over and shade the property, looking like scenery out of “Swiss Family Robinson.”
There are at least four huge old oaks on the 150-wide, south-facing lot, serving as the atmospheric highlights of the beautifully landscaped property. The low-slung home nestles organically into the greenery, again exemplifying the best modern residential architecture, which is always designed to blend with and maximize the value and virtues of a setting.
A semi-circular drive sweeps up to the house, enclosing a U-shaped lawn bordered by a hedge and containing two of the fairytale oak trees. There is a large front terrace that McLaughlin says would be a great place for a fire pit. The front door leads into an expansive lining room with built-ins and fireplace. Nearly the entire front wall is glass, a series of untrimmed windows with dark, bronze-tone frames put in during the 2008 renovation, which was done by well-known island builder Helmet House Construction.
The company was proud of the way the job turned out, evidently, and features pictures of the home on its website.
“There are oversize windows in all the rooms,” says McLaughlin. “The dark color really brings up the terrazzo [which has some brown flecks].”
Terrazzo is a Cadillac of a materiel that is at once archetypically “Florida” and “modern,” seen in many mid-mod houses on both coasts.
The dark metal frames of the thermal, storm-resistant windows also contrasts perfectly with the light-colored woodwork seen throughout the house, making the living room and bedrooms “pop.”
The living room is a serene, almost hypnotic space in which all the elements come together perfectly to great the visitor entering from the front terrace. To the right of the living room down a short hall, are two full baths, very nicely remodeled and modern and two bedrooms.
The front bedroom has a sloped ceiling and more of the oversized south-facing windows, along with another window on the east wall, so that the space in filled with light.
The master bedroom has a separate sitting area and hallway that leads back to a window overlooking the back yard. There is a large walk-in closet on each side of the hallway and a chaise lounge at the end, epitomizing the sense of tranquility the room evokes.
Two more bedrooms, added in 2008 by Helmet House, sit behind the living room, extending into the back yard. One is mostly glass on two walls, “full of light at all times of day,” according to McLaughlin.
The other features a sliding door that opens onto a private patio.
To the left of the living room upon entry is a modern U-shaped kitchen with granite countertops, high-end appliances and Thomasville cabinets that was remodeled two years ago.
Beyond the kitchen is a sunny patio-side dining room that captures the indoor/outdoor ambitions and ambiance so often seen in California contemporary homes and on the pages of Sunset Magazine, creating a sense of living in the midst of nature instead of being cut off from it by a heavy, protective structure.
The outdoors in this case is a screened pool patio with plenty of room for lounging and relaxing behind a wall of greenery that shields the retreat from the street. The roofed part of the patio features light-colored structural wooden beams.
The home has a third full bath off a hallway that leads from the kitchen to the one-car garage.
McLaughlin says plans have been drawn up for a two-car garage and also for a guest house, which would fit on the western part of the property without disturbing any of the magnificent trees.
Aside from its serene setting and entrancing architecture, the home has a near ideal location for anyone who likes art, theater, fine dining, boutique shopping or visiting the beach.
“This house is in central Central Beach,” McLaughlin says.
The gracious home is just two blocks from both the Vero Beach Museum of Art and Riverside Theatre. It is three blocks from Ocean Drive with all and its shops and restaurants and a five minute walk to the beach.
“I love the house,” says McLaughlin. “It is a hidden paradise. I think a lot of buyers have given up looking in Central Beach. There is very little inventory and even less that is move-in ready, but this home is great option.”
