A Tropical Retreat in Key Largo
When a family grows and grandchildren come for long visits, a house that’s not quite 20 years old may need enlarging and updating and even revamping.

That was the case with an Ohio couple who have an oceanfront home at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo. An innovative "pod" design created by architect Christ A. Fergis and built in 1985, the house was featured on the cover of Florida Architectures 49th Annual Edition in 1988. One pod contained the living/dining room, kitchen and breakfast nook. Another, the master bedroom suite and the den/office. And one for guests holds two one bedroom apartments complete with kitchen and laundry facilities.
The original color scheme was very 1980s: neutrals, pastels, "washed out colors" so as to not compete with the ocean view, observes interior designer Phyllis Taylor who, with her architect husband William C. Taylor of the Taylor and Taylor Partnership in Miami Beach , enlarged and renovated the house.

Now, even though the owners’ backyard is still the Atlantic Ocean, the color scheme is far from pale. Rather, the wife and interior designer chose colors that are bold and sophisticated, interpreted through a selection of luxurious upholstery and draperies.

" I wanted it to be a totally different concept from what we had before," says the wife, who with her husband has three married children and 10 grandchildren." These are my very favorite colors – orange, adobe brick. A far different change from the former soft pastels."

Phyllis Taylor describes the scheme as "strong, tropical fruit colors – mamey, coral, hot colors from the sea and sun. And when people get older, colors need to be intensified," she adds.

The renovation began when the owners decided to replace the swimming pool. The original pool and deck were four feet below the level of the main house with access from the terrace via a staircase.

They wanted the pool and patio to be on the same level as the living room so their eyes could skim from the living room to the pool to the ocean. Removing the pool, which sat on pilings, was a major project.

During the project, the terrace was expanded as well – so large now that it contains three separate furniture groupings. Two columns on the terrace, which hindered the view of the ocean from the living room, were removed. "Now, as one enters the front door, the view of the ocean is unobstructed," the architect points out. New columns supporting the roof contain screens and storm shutters. Push a button and the entire terrace is screened or shuttered in minutes. There’s no need to move the furniture into the house when a storm threatens.

Once the new infinity edge pool, which appears to flow into the ocean, was built, the homeowners decided to do other projects.

" You know how it goes," laughs the wife. "You remodel the kitchen and then you say, we might as well remodel that room, we might as well do such and such. Soon your former little remodeling project turns into a major one."
" This project became a complete redo," William Taylor says, "with a new copper roof, new doors and windows, and the addition of a family room as well as a new dining room." One of the owners’ wishes was to create a separate dining room because the "great room" concept, housing both dining and living areas, no longer met their needs. William Taylor designed a dining pavilion that juts off the living room and overlooks the pool and the ocean.
The former "great room" was turned into a more comfortable, elegant living room with twin sofas backing a sofa table and the addition of a handsome bar where the original fireplace stood. Also, a new fireplace was installed at the opposite end of the room to replace a large fish tank.

Phyllis Taylor capitalized on the home’s name, Pelican Point, and its seaside location when selecting accessories.

A painting of pelicans hangs above the new fireplace, a big Haitian carving of a pelican graces the terrace, and beautiful seashells and coral are gathered in bowls here and there. Two graceful occasional chairs with a grotto design also reflect the seaside theme and are practical as well. The chairs are light enough for anyone to carry to other areas of the room as conversation groups evolve.

The original pastel color scheme featured light, blond millwork throughout the house. Blond was traded for dark, rich mahogany shades which now give the house the feeling of a plantation in the West Indies.
There is also a hint of a Portuguese Colonial home, thanks to the antique Portuguese rug the designer selected for the living room. It dictated the choice of colors and fabrics – deep rusty orange, damask, velvets and luxurious fringe on the skirt of the twin sofas.

One might think that such fabrics wouldn’t suit a waterfront home, but as the designer points out, "at night it’s very black out there in the ocean so the interior has to stand on its own and be very welcoming."

The original, inadequate breakfast nook off the kitchen was removed and a large family room with a dining area was built. Before this addition, all the rooms faced the ocean view. Now, the family room has a view of the entrance with its cantilevered staircase and wrought iron railings that are lighted so " at night they look as though they are bathed in moonlight," the architect notes.

The family room, decorated in shades of gold, rust and mustard, has cocoa mats on the floor and darkly stained cabinetry across one wall containing a large screen TV and other entertainment equipment. The heavy, lined draperies become black-out curtains when drawn.

A narrow, intimate balcony furnished with two upholstered armchairs also overlooks the entrance, which includes fountains and subtropical landscaping.

Despite the fact that the house now contains around 7,000 square feet, it doesn’t appear or feel huge. That’s because the original pod design is still credible and the rooms tend to ramble from one to another, never overpowering those within them. And, of course, with the vast Atlantic Ocean in your backyard, no house needs to compete with the view.
It’s a tranquil locale with the ocean breeze, the palms rustling in the wind," William Taylor observes. "You don’t see another house, just the sky and water. This house was a structural challenge, a design challenge. It’s such a period piece, very fitting for the location. We didn’t want to change that; we wanted to enhance what was."