The Roost: Daring Dwellings
These luxury properties aren’t for the faint of heart. They feature bold, over-the-top new designs from builders who push style limits.
PONTE VEDRA
Up in the northeast corner of the state, a Jacksonville-based custom home builder takes inspiration from the oldest city in the United States, nearby St. Augustine, to create grand homes with Old World charm and modern amenities. The architectural aesthetic of the Pineapple Corporation includes influences ranging from the West Indies—homes with broad porches, deep eaves, and Bermuda shutters—to rustic Tuscany and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie Style. But its specialization is a Spanish architectural aesthetic that’s almost as old as Florida is.
Pineapple builds custom homes and semi-custom homes for developments by companies including The PARC Group. The group’s latest development, The Vista at Twenty Mile, is a gated community in Ponte Vedra, just north of St. Augustine. Baronial Mediterranean Revival houses, complete with courtyards, barrel tile roofs, vaulted ceilings and rich architectural details, fill The Vista at Twenty Mile.
229 Wilderness Ridge Drive, Ponte Vedra
$1,439,500
WINTER PARK
Builders with a strong emphasis on statement-making design are unusual anywhere, but particularly in Central Florida, where Z Properties has its headquarters in Winter Park. Many Z Properties homes give a bold, contemporary twist to traditional architectural designs through their flamboyant details. The designing and building firm is able to focus on the aesthetics of a property by bringing the process in-house. Picture one of its completed spec houses currently on sale: two stories on a standard suburban lot, white on the inside and out, but immediately noticeable by its arched gables and tall windows—not to mention the plethora of awnings, gates, accent walls and furnishings in saturated, bold colors. Z’s projects include new construction and renovations, from apartments and modest starter homes to generously scaled family houses.
1160 Mayfield Ave., Winter Park
$1,800,000
SARASOTA
Tucked within the waterfront neighborhood of Spice Bay at the southern end of Siesta Key, this London Bay Homes property melds together West Indies architecture and a coastal feel. London Bay Homes embraces the undemanding and relaxed style of high-end living associated with Sarasota while exclusively building properties priced at $1 million and higher. Although only a few hours away, Sarasota’s little seaside towns are worlds apart from Miami, and London Bay designs their houses accordingly. One of their newest and most expensive offerings is this waterfront number on Sharswood Lane. Outside, the house’s design is multi-tiered and elaborate with massive archways and grand entryways. But go inside and it’s minimalist and contemporary all the way, with sweeping, open-plan interiors, high ceilings, clean lines and panoramic views of the water.
