Dr. Bharat and Urvi Upadhyay moved to Vero Beach so their four children could attend Saint Edward’s School. The couple had something simple in mind … until Urvi saw a house in the Moorings.
“I was dropping off one of the children at a party when I saw the house. It was stunning, and I fell in love with it,” recalls Urvi. “I did a lot of research, and that’s how I found the architect Joseph Hafner out of Tampa. He’s amazing.”
And with that, the Upadhyays’ house grew and grew into a grand French chateau with a tower-like entry and vine covered walls.
The 6-bedroom, 6,800-square-foot, ocean-view, three-story home at 1975 Ocean Ridge Circle is reminiscent of a 16th-century French mansion.
Walking up the pathway, through the pillared gates, one is greeted by a terraced lawn with ivy-covered walls adding warmth to the imposing structure.
Much like its ancient predecessors, the construction is considered to be a maison-forte or fortified-house. “When Croom Construction built the house they used 60 pilings. The house feels solid,” shares Michele Ritchie, Realtor with Alex MacWilliam, Inc. Real Estate.
Stepping through the solid-wood front door beneath an ornately carved pediment, a visitor encounters a sweeping, spiral staircase that draws the eye to the domed ceiling, which is adorned with celestial imagery that lights up at night.
Houseguests need go no further, as the first floor offers four bedrooms and three baths with a fully functioning kitchenette. An exercise room and nook provide plenty of spots to curl up after a day at the beach.
The bunk room with four curtained built-in beds holds special memories for Urvi. “When all the kids and their friends are over, it’s their headquarters. With the kitchenette and patio, they would all pile into the room and have their own special place. Someone could live down there, and I would never know it.”
Instead of backtracking to the rotunda, an elevator makes trips upstairs, laden with groceries, much easier. The second floor is the heart of the house, with the formal living room with fireplace, dining, family and powder rooms, and the gourmet chef’s kitchen.
“The kitchen was very important to me,” says Urvi. “I’ve been cooking since I was very young; it’s one of my passions.”
This area of the house was designed for entertaining, which Urvi does frequently. First, as a haven for her children and their friends and later to host her popular Indian Vegetarian cooking classes and Supper Club.
The kitchen has everything a cook could want and more, with a granite-topped, oversize island, prep sink with foot pedal, farmer’s sink, Wolf range, breakfast bar, two dishwashers, Sub-Zero refrigerator and butler’s pantry.
Large gatherings are a breeze in the generous dining room with enough space for a long chef’s table. Guests can spill out onto the terrace to take in the view of the ocean or cook something in the summer kitchen.
“While the kitchen is my favorite room in the house, my husband’s is the wine cellar,” says Urvi. The 700-bottle, refrigerated wine cellar is a work of art. An ornate, vault-like door leads into the floor-to-ceiling room that would thrill even the most discerning oenophile.
There are subtle touches throughout the house that make one stop and ponder. The wine cellar chandelier is a cluster of grapes. A dragonfly, ladybug, lizard and alligator add a bit of whimsy to the bathrooms. The tray and coffered ceilings are adorned with scrollwork. Even the elevator has faux features.
“You have to have fun with your décor to really make it a home,” laughs Urvi.
Many of the features are both practical and decorative. There is natural stone flooring throughout the entire house, the bathrooms have bowl sinks and rainfall showerheads, and there are laundry rooms on both the first and third floors.
“This house is very detailed with a lot of millwork trim and a very high level of finishes,” says Croom Construction Vice President David Lyons.
What really sets the house apart is the use of a mansard roof on the third floor. Always one to share a history lesson, Urvi explains, “In France, in the olden days, the palace was the biggest and tallest building in Paris. You could not build anything higher. To show off, people would use mansard roofs with dormer windows so when the king and his procession passed by he wouldn’t realize how tall the house really was.”
The third floor of this French manor house offers plenty of privacy for the master suite, a paneled wood office and a sixth bedroom. A crawlway encircles the top floor providing extra storage or a “secret” hiding space for children and grandchildren to explore.
The master suite offers his and her closets, fireplace, a spa-like bath featuring onyx counter tops, a stand-alone soaking tub and water closet with bidet. To top the house off literally and metaphorically, behind a hidden panel lays a sitting room for quiet contemplation. The master balcony is situated for unfettered views of the sunrise over the ocean and sunset over the river.
Somehow the Upadhyays were able to blend the opulence of a French chateau with that of family-friendly beachside living, with plenty space for everyone without losing any of the warmth of hearth and home.
Ocean Ridge is a small, gated oceanfront community conveniently located across from Saint Edward’s School and just two miles south of the 17th Street Bridge. The proximity of the quiet neighborhood to beachside venues and easy access to the mainland make it convenient to the charming shopping and dining district on the island’s Ocean Drive and Vero proper.
