This should not come as a surprise. Dan Ponton, owner of Club Colette, has four building projects underway simultaneously. “I create backdrops for celebrations for people and we are constantly transforming Club Colette,” he explains. “So my work, which I really love, continues into my private life.”
Current ventures include his new condo at Trump Plaza, a whaling captain’s house in Cape Cod, a mid-century renovation in the Caribbean and a green building project in Rwanda. And in the past 20 years, he’s transformed seven properties in the area. “When I finish a project, I just need to keep recreating,” he says.
This means that his two-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment, No. 2-B in the Dunster House at 360 S. Ocean, with 3,200 square feet inside and out and designed by Geoffrey Bradfield, is currently up for sale through Barrett Wells Property Group for $3.49 million.
“After an illness five years ago, I created a bucket list, and the No. 1 thing on it was to simplify, so I wanted to move from my big house on Golfview to an apartment and I wanted to have Jeffrey Bradfield, a dear friend, design a fanciful, luxurious and intimate environment that was a conglomeration of different cultures centered around the Middle East,” Ponton says.
The end result was a design inspired by Morocco, a multicultural oasis known as the “Land of a Thousand Kasbahs.”
The condo, which he bought in 2007, with its high ceilings and white-with-blue color palette, could be a Kasbah. However, far from being a traditional “citadel” or “stronghold,” this gorgeous condominium with its many windows offers pleasant views and ocean breezes.
“The fun thing about this apartment is that everything was created for it,” Ponton says, referring to, well, everything – the Venetian plaster walls, the custom moldings, hand-painted tile, Stark carpeting, lighting, window coverings and furnishings.
Even the ceiling in the entry is an experience – it’s white gold leaf. And over the white Caesarstone floor is a decorative area rug shaped like a palm of a hand holding fish and eye motifs – it welcomes visitors in, while setting the overall design tone. A contemporary painting of a face is almost entirely blue and appears to blend in with the wall. Opposite is a mirrored alcove.
Door openings to the living room and bedroom wing are ogee-archways.
The ceiling in the living room is edged with a custom molding that mimics the design in the carpet as well as the blue edging on the white chenille chairs.
In the seating area are those chairs, with two white couches and Lucite tables. Artwork includes a reverse image of the entry painting. Glass doors, draped with cream curtains edged in blue, open to the terrace that overlooks the pool.
On the north wall are two mirrors framed in ogee arches that echo openings with blue lattice doors to the dining and media rooms. “The doors are an interlocking lattice in French blue,” Ponton points out, “and the white Caesarstone floors will not scratch.”
The media room, fashioned as a Moroccan salon, features tufted wall panels, a bar in a mirrored alcove and banquettes with ottomans in creamy leather.
“The walls are all acoustically done,” Ponton says. “Behind the leather panels are soundproofing and speakers, so it’s all surround sound and then some.”
In addition to the banquette there are two blue-and-white swivel armchairs and antique Moroccan tables and a table stand holding a large Moroccan tray. Covering the windows are wood sliders with open fretwork. “I don’t like curtains,” Ponton explains. “The sliders diffuse the light, but don’t obscure views.”
The rug is in cream with shades of blue in interlocking-pattern repeats.
The dining room features hand-painted tiles designed by Bradfield as wainscot and frames for mirror insets. Again, at the windows are lattice-like sliding screens. The table and chairs are Lucite, a Bradfield trademark, Ponton says.
The white lacquer cabinets in the kitchen were imported from Venice. Other details here include blue Caesarstone countertops, white tile backsplash and white patent leather walls. The appliances include SubZero refrigerator and freezer drawers, Miele range, Gagganeau stainless oven and two Fisher Paykal dishwashing drawers. The laundry and pantry are off the kitchen.
To the north of the foyer are the powder room and bedroom suite. The sitting room has two built-ins, lattice screens covering the windows, and a blue rug with white trim covered with moon and star motifs. It’s furnished with a sofa and Indian chest of drawers. There are also built-in storage-and-display units and a desk behind closet doors.
The bedroom features a white rug with a central blue moon and star motifs. Decorative columns delineate the sleeping area. Integrated into the bed unit are two side tables and a blue mirror above the headboard adds color and depth.
One of the master closets is lined in cedar and in one bathroom, there’s a steam shower with blue-and-white-striped mosaic tiles. The other bathroom has a Jacuzzi tub.
For information, call John Pickett at 301-5266 or KC Pickett at 676-2874.
“Creative Focus,” an exhibit of Melinda Moore’s work, runs through June 15 at the Elsa Kimbell Environmental and Research Center, Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Hobe Sound.
Viewing art in all its forms has been a major influence on Melinda Moore’s work, but, by far, exposure to nature trumps all.
“My creative expression begins through the lens, but with access to the digital world and knowledge of new techniques of texturing and blending photos, I enjoy experimenting with new alternative methods,” said Moore of Palm Beach Gardens.
“The Bride,” 26x32 canvas gallery wrap, float frame, Medium : Photograph, $800
"Sunset on Loxahatchee Preserve," 38X26 canvas gallery wrap float frame, Medium : Photograph $800
"Loggerhead Reef," 25x32 canvas gallery wrap float frame, Photo Collage and digital painting, $800
With or without added elements of manipulation, unadorned photos are the main building blocks and not all of her images are altered.
“Each image speaks to me, sometimes becoming a montage or part of a larger collage or photo-painting.”
“Creative Focus” has grown into a fifty-piece body of work that features birds, animals and landscapes that she sees here in South Florida, plus creatures that she observes in aviaries, preserves and zoos.
“By capturing creatures communicating with each other or having eye contact with the viewer, I hope to raise awareness and instill a spiritual feeling of connectedness to the natural world,” she said.
A portion of the gallery proceeds will benefit The Friends of Jonathan Dickinson State Park. All images can be shipped. They are available in different sizes and printed on various mediums. Contact Moore at Melepix@yahoo.com or call 561 301-9227.
Jonathan Dickinson State Park is at 16450 SE Federal Highway, Hobe Sound. Hours at the center are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Actor George Hamilton’s condo, #1504 at 400 N Flagler Drive in the Waterview Towers, comprises two bedrooms, two bathrooms and 1,797 square feet of interior space. And, for him, it’s the perfect size and in the perfect location.
Bigger is not always better, he says. “I owned Douglas Fairbanks’ and Charlie Chaplin’s homes.”
At one time, Grayhall, a 22,000-square-foot home built in 1909, had been rented by Fairbanks and Chaplin’s 1922-era home comprises 11,000-square feet.
“One house had 39 rooms. If I lost my wallet, it took three days to find it,” he says.
In recent years, he prefers smaller, simpler and less complicated. His other pieds a terre include a condo in the Wilshire Corridor and a hotel suite in Manhattan. The streamlined condo has been called “tony,” he says. “What does that mean? It’s beige-on-beige with chocolate accents and animal skins – a very Art Deco thing.”
And he’s got slipcovers to throw over the hotel furniture. Each is stocked and set up for easy living, as is his West Palm Beach condo.
“I like the unpredictability of my life. Everyplace I‘ve lived has had a sense of freedom,” he says. “I don’t want to fix things and I don’t want to have things. I’ve made ease for my life. You have to, if you’re a bachelor.”
And now his life is especially hectic. He’s on the road playing Georges in La Cage aux Folles, with (at the time of this writing), 19 cities down and 48 more to go by December 2012.
Also, he’s thinking about what his fiancé, Dr. Barbara Sturm, may want in the way of a home, so his condo is offered for sale through Fite Shavell for $925,000, furnished.
“You may not be thinking about it, but the lady you are going with – she’s thinking about it. Every woman wants her own family. I don’t know why my fiancé wants another child, but women think about that. It’s that whole theory that you are only as healthy as you produce and your sexual vitality is measured by that. And it makes a lot of sense that nature is formed that way. With women, ‘if you don’t use it, you lose it,’ and, for men, if you don’t use it, you’ll lose them.”
So, he says, where a single-family home may not make sense to him, “if I was married, and if that’s what she wanted …”
… he hopes she might choose Palm Beach, a house in the north end, perhaps, but it’s up to her. “I’d consider that, as long as she’s content there. But she looks at Palm Beach as it is. I look at it as it was. When another person is involved, you have to consider what would make her happy.”
In 2008, he bought his West Palm Beach unit to be close to his son, George Thomas, while he was in school at St Ann’s (he’s now at Admiral Farragut Academy).
“I was at a luncheon sitting next to Ivana the day before her wedding and the guy next to me said he lived right across in West Palm Beach.
“My mother said if you lived two blocks from the ocean, you might as well be in Georgia. I laughed.
“But I took a look at a unit in the Waterview Towers, and I thought it had the best view I had ever seen – a view of Palm Beach, The Breakers, the Intracoastal and the ocean, and I thought, that’s interesting. And I was always coming and going and it was ten minutes from the airport. It made sense to me, so I moved in.”
He completely redid the apartment. “I asked Allene Simmons, who has just passed away, for something very Italian modern. She had helped me with other homes.
“It’s a big mistake in any resort to use very heavy decoration. It gets to be a sense of responsibility and I wanted to keep it light with the exterior coming into the interior. The color of the walls is like that of a slightly overcast day.
“It took a year to do and was an enormous undertaking. (With condos) there were rules you have to live by and I thought I was planning the Great Escape, removing one handful of dirt a day.”
The living room is furnished simply with a modern white sofa, upholstered armchair and a deco-style console.
The dining room, with a glass and metal table, is separated from the kitchen by a bar with pull up seating.
Covering the floor are glass tiles. “I didn’t want marble,” he says.
In the kitchen, “I started to realize that all the modern conveniences I like were German or Italian – the coffee maker, the washer an dryer – They’ve put together some interesting stuff. My refrigerator has an area for cooling wine as well,” he adds.
The master bedroom, with an upholstered bed in cocoa with white linens, has glass doors that open to a balcony and offer views of West Palm Beach. The master bathroom has custom tile, a shower with multiple showerheads, an oversized soaking tub and double vanities.
No matter where his next move will be, he’ll always return to Palm Beach, he says. “All my family memories are there. I told somebody recently that while sunbathing on the beach, I woke up and I thought I was 17 years old because things haven’t changed.”
For information, call Doreta Barrett at (561) 632-2621.
The Armory Art Center Partners with Art Rock for a One Day Art Show + Indie Marketplace Event
Art Rock, a cash-and-carry art show + indie marketplace will feature pop-surrealist, outsider, lowbrow, and street art alongside D.I.Y fashion, funky jewelry and home deco items located at the Armory Art Center.
This will be art you will want to buy made by accomplished and up-and-coming South Florida artists.
The event will showcase over 60 artist’s booths packed full of affordable art you can hang on your walls, wear, eat, admire or even sip your coffee from. Showcasing art in all mediums including painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, photography, fabric, edible art and more! Live artist demonstrations, complimentary swag bags are available for the first 100 people. Armory faculty will be doing demonstrations in wheel throwing, drawing and painting and will be conducting a free kids activity. Door prizes, food and drinks will add to the excitement of the day.
Here are some examples:
Fused glass bowl by Camille Perrin
Fused glass by Camille Perrin
Camille Perrin has been a multi-media artist for over 35 years and began working with kiln formed glass in 1989. She holds a BA from the University of South Carolina, and attended the Appalachian School of Craft for advanced kiln formed work. She has had numerous private exhibitions and her work has been acquired for private and corporate collections in the US, the UK and in Europe. Perrin is currently the fused glass instructor at The Armory Art Center.
"Video Poker Smoker" by Dave Berns
"NOFX Gig Poster" by Dave Berns
David Berns is a Cartoonist, Illustrator and Art Director whose latest creative endeavors in Rock Poster Art (hotdamnarts.com) and Sketchbooking (sketchhunter.com). Hot Damn Arts his art publishing imprint, focusing on Gig Posters, Pin-Up Art, Comics and other creative vulgarities. Sketch Hunter is a creative exploration featuring live drawings of people in-the-act of living their lives.
Art Rock Creator, Amanda Linton’s reason for bringing the event to the Armory was inspired by the Armory’s strong connection to the art community. “We wanted to create a venue for artists to sell their work, network and meet other artists, galleries and collectors face to face.” Amanda said. “My husband and I are artists and with the success of our sister show STITCH ROCK, we thought a similar marketplace with a focus on fine art was needed. There are plenty of annual art shows with the same art year after year, but we wanted a place to showcase art we would be happy to hang on our own walls.”
Art Rock is on Saturday, May 12, from 12 to 6 p.m. The cost is $5 and free for children 12 and under, accompanied with and adult). Visit www.artrockrocks.com for a complete list of participating artists. The Armory Art Center is at 1700 Parker Avenue, West Palm Beach.
The Armory’s mission is to provide high-quality visual art school and art gallery services that stimulate personal self-discovery and generate knowledge and awareness of art as part of life. For more information on the Armory Art Center, or to sign up for classes, visit www.ArmoryArt.org or call (561) 832-1776.
Answering the call to nature, sometimes you just have to go… but this time, it was the bathroom that needed eliminating. Taking up a place of prominence in this 1920s-era house in Piedmont, the bathroom was situated in the corner of the family room, just steps away from the kitchen, adjacent to the fireplace and blocking up the entire corner view of the lovely garden just waiting to be enjoyed….
Well, of course the homeowners realized it needed to be removed and relocated. They knew it when they bought the house several years ago. But, no surprise, there’s a proper time (and place) to do your business. And that time came recently, when these owners took the plunge…or plunger, if you prefer.
Amazingly, there was even the normal space for a powder room ready and waiting. With a little bit of reconfiguring, it now fits under the stairs off the foyer where it belongs.
In the family room corner (with the bathroom out of the way), arched casement windows were installed, with the breakfast table and banquette nestled beneath them. The old breakfast area (a sort of porch off the kitchen, with doorways to the garage, dining room and deck) is now free of furniture and can be used for what it was meant for – a true place that flows properly for circulation. And because the far wall that space shared with the living room has been opened up, it’s now a sensible connecting room (that even houses an unobtrusive appliance garage / breakfront), and, as such, opens up a magnitude of entertaining and utilitarian options. Now, guests and family in the living room can easily amble over to keep the cook company in the kitchen. Also, it offers added kitchen storage and a bar. It’s also handy for a dining room service area, not to mention a terrific spot to temporarily stack mail or drop the keys.
And speaking about the kitchen, once the owners committed to undertake the bathroom repositioning, they decided to give the kitchen a new look, too.
To put it succinctly, here’s how OXBSTUDIO founder and architect Ted Bonneau summed up his clients’ situation: “They wanted the bathroom out of there, a new island for the kitchen and windows to the yard.
“Clearly, the kitchen, family room and breakfast area was the part of the house they spent all their time in, so making it work and pleasanter was important.”
The couple wanted an Italianate look, so the brick fireplace facade was covered over with Venetian plaster in gray and the floor was refinished with a dark stain.
In the kitchen, attractive well-made prefab cabinetry was chosen in keeping with the budget. “My client has an eclectic style, so some of the cabinets are stained and some are painted. The cherry island has turned legs and an antiqued crema marfil textured marble top — as does the appliance garage / wine cabinet –made to look like furniture.”
Countertops in the kitchen’s perimeter are Pietra Cardosa (a gray slate from Italy) and the backsplash is glass tile.
A new hood was customized so that it could be mounted higher, out of the line of vision, Bonneau said. “Volumetrically it relieved the space, opening up the area and creating volume in the kitchen and island zone.”
In the process, a supporting beam was integrated as an architectural feature. “I think it has a cool effect,” Bonneau said. “It frames the kitchen and nicely plays off the stainless-steel hood. We boxed the beam and extended it past the post, creating a cantilever for balance.”
These owners are savvy. Producers of TV design shows, they love their new space. Downstairs, the house is just the way they’ve always envisioned it and then some….
Next, they will tackle upstairs projects, but for the moment, they are contented and digesting.
The 26th Annual Student Exhibition, April 10 through May 4, is a showcase of artwork created by Palm Beach State College art students. The variety of work reflects the many art disciplines instructed at Eissey Campus: ceramic, digital and traditional photography, drawing, life drawing, applied and digital design, and painting.
The student work will also be available for purchase.
Paul Theodoris
Paul Theodoris of Riviera Beach, approaches art in a way that ensures that a journey is made by the viewer.
“The idea of entertaining the eye with line and color is thrilling and brings out the beauty that resides in an artistic moment,” he said.
"Perles Roses (Pink Beads)," by Paul Theodoris. Acrylic on Wood, 48 by 60 inches, priced at $550.
“I want to push the borders of conventional beauty and find the shapes and colors that I find within figures. Within art, I am fascinated by subtlety: Lines are my motivators; shapes are my focus; and color is my passion.”
Rebecca Foreman
For West Palm Beach resident Rebecca Foreman, ceramics has increasingly become a big part of her life. “Through my instructors and fellow students at PBSC, I have increased the quality of my work exponentially,” she said.
“I have great respect for everyone who has shaped me into the artist I am today.
Antique Ceramic Pre-Columbian Replica by Rebecca Foreman, 8 by 6 by 3 inches, priced at $200.
“I have fallen head over heels in love with this form of expression and plan to keep it in my life forever. I someday wish to build a ceramics studio of my own where I can create pieces to sell to the local community.”
Rosa Boutros
For Rosa Boutros of Palm Beach Gardens, photography breaks the cycle of time and allows her to capture fleeting moments.
“Within these quick seconds is an intricate story, a subtext of emotions hidden in a physicality that dances with light, color, and mundane beauty,” she said.
An opening reception is on Tuesday, April 10, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Gallery Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Exhibitions are free and open to the public. Palm Beach State College is at 3160 PGA Boulevard, Palm Beach Gardens. The art gallery is located in the BB Building. For further information contact 561-207-501.
"Transient" by Rosa Boutros, digital photography print, 12 by 8 inches. Priced at $150.
Same good news as this time last year (here’s the story), some real estate statistics, where “falling” and “low” are good news – Jupiter, Tequesta, Palm Beach Gardens and North Palm Beach apartment vacancy rates are at 3.7 percent (5 percent this time last year), with 128 vacancies out of 3,485 units, according to a November 2011 through February 2012 survey compiled by L. Keith White, president of Reinhold P. Wolff Economic Research, Inc. in Ft. Lauderdale. The survey covered multi-unit apartment complexes.
Palm Beach County overall has improved,” White said. “Rents went up 4.6 percent over last year.” And according to his report, vacancy rates are now at 5 percent – they were at 6 percent this time last year, and generally 5 percent is considered normal.
Last year’s numbers were more dramatic, he notes, because competition from low-priced condos and single-family homes coming onto the market due to foreclosure has settled down. “That’s been an important factor,” he said, “but the biggest factor that has caused vacancy rates to decline and rental rates to increase is the lack of new construction and we will be seeing new construction in the next year or so.”
White also forecasts that over the next two or three years, rental rates increases will be back to normal 4 percent or 4 percent.
According to White’s survey, average monthly rental rates for apartments in Jupiter/Tequesta/Palm Beach Gardens/North Palm Beach have increased 1.9 percent. This year, rates are at $1,032 for a one-bedroom units, $1,257 for a two-bedroom units, and $1,467 for three-bedroom units. Last year, rates were $1,035 for a one-bedroom units, $1,235 for a two-bedroom units, and $1,457 for three-bedroom units.
This home, listed by Virginia Gallopo and located in Tequesta Cay, has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 1,954 square feet.
The kitchen in the Tequesta Cay home has been updated and has granite countertops. The rent is $1,500 a month.
This home in the Hamptons in Jupiter, listed by Shir-Lee Rosenberg, has three bedrooms and more than 2,000 square feet. The price is $2,100 per month.
Two recent studies note that Florida places second with nine markets on the top 33 list for Best 100 U.S. Markets to Invest in Rental Property authored by Local Market Monitor, Inc. This is based on the expected investment return in each market as compared with the national average expected investment return of 5.2 percent.
Also, a new Zillow report released in March, the January Zillow Rent Index (ZRI), showed year-over-year rent gains in 69.2 percent of metropolitan areas, compared to home price gains in only 7.3 percent of the metro areas.
Nationwide, median rents rose an average 3 percent January 2011 to January 2012, but home values continued to fall, declining 4.6 percent during that period.
Turning the focus to single-family home rentals, they are in demand and prices are increasing, noted Virginia Gallopo of Exit Realty Oceanside. “I have clients who buy properties and turn them back over to me to rent,” she said. “They are taking advantage of the low prices of the real estate market and low interest rates. In my 27 years in real estate, this is the first time I’ve seen both so low.
“I just sold a unit for $68,000, and considering that mortgage payments are low, you can see a major return on your investment. And then, eventually home values will go up,” she said.
In Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens, rents depend on the area.
“I just sold a client’s house and she’s looking for a one-bedroom in Palm Beach Gardens, and I’m seeing them at $950 to $1,000, but it depends on where you are looking. On the beach in Jupiter, rents could go $3,000 to $4,000.” (Gallopo’s phone number is 561-346-8423.)
Shir-Lee Rosenberg, a realtor with 624home.com, said she also sees rental rates going up, with a big demand for single-family homes. In Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens, prices for three bedrooms plus rental homes range from $1,500 to $2,500 a month, but she sees that there’s also a big demand for homes less that $1,500 a month, and “We don’t have them,” she said.
She attributes the demand for rental properties to the foreclosures and short sales. “People who’ve lost their homes can’t buy for a few years, and people who rented homes that went into foreclosure also needed to find a new place to live.”
She, too, see investors recognizing this demand and buying rental properties. (Her phone number is 561-543-1181.)
It can’t be helped. When you own an historic house, it comes with history. This Palm Beach oceanfront home, Il Sogno, a 10-bedroom, 10-bath and three-half-bath Mediterranean-style home with 11,627 square feet inside and out that sits on 1.4 acres, is owned by Catherine and Fred Adler. Franklyn Smith commissioned Marion Sims Wyeth to build the home in 1924. “He put in the iron doors in the living room, sun room and elevator door,” Adler says.
“He owned an ironworks company in Chicago.”
Then Heart Mitchell and her daughter Ann Anderson owned it. “They brought over the sculpture of the Greek gods that’s at the north end of the pool. It had been at their home on Via Bellaria, which was later sold to Enid Haupt. Ann and her mother also owned a home in Greenwich, the Castle, which was directly across from Eagle Hill – quite a magnificent place – and they had a home in the south of France. They were well traveled,” Adler says.
After Heart died, Ann and her husband Gordon inherited the house, and then they sold it to the Monks family.
Adler knows all this because Ann was a close friend. “She visited quite frequently until she died a few years ago,” Alder says. “I’ve a photo of her on the piano.”
Following the Monks family, Ralph Levitz bought the house, and, shortly after, he married his decorator, Jackie, Adler recalls. “He had a couple of strokes and didn’t fare well at all and then they sold to us in 1991.
“Jackie vanished after Ralph died. She moved to Mississippi, where they found her red nails and strands of her hair. Thus her disappearance took on deeper meaning. We had a helicopter flying overhead when the news broke. They never found her.”
However colorful the home’s previous history, the time the Alder family has lived there has been happy with many fond memories. “It’s been a wonderful family home,” Adler says.
“The minute I stepped onto the west loggia and saw the levels of gardens, my heart went boom, boom, boom. I was thrilled.
“You could see the ocean and the lake from the living room. I marvel at that.
“It’s a true mar a lago, with sunrises and sunsets and so much light.”
The Adlers’ sons Freddy and Christopher were babies when she and Fred bought the house.
“There’s a service path south of the property, and the kids had a fire truck they could sit in, and they’d roar down the alley way. It was so much fun.
“We had a train set for the boys in the secret garden. You can get lost on this property. There’s a little area outside the sunrooms that has had many incarnations.”
Actually, the Adlers have made lots of changes. They put in three bedrooms, built a back staircase and connected the two wings of the house.
“We gutted the living room and put in a special steel beam to support the new construction upstairs, and we brought over the ceiling from Italy.”
Small rooms to the south of the living room were made into a large library, she says. “We raised the ceiling, bowed the room and put French doors and a terrace out there, where we eat lunch when it’s windy out back.
“We redid everything – the powder rooms, kitchen, laundry and the bowing of the library allowed us to put a terrace above it. We put French doors everywhere. When the doors are open, you feel like you are outside.”
They made lots of changes outside, too. “Prior to us, people didn’t use the yard. We put in the dining terrace, tennis court and a new seawall.”
Its exterior is stucco with a tower and barrel-tile roof. Two sets of stairs lead to the front terrace and the front door, which opens to the foyer and dramatic stairway. Here the floor is marble and the ceiling is vaulted. On the south side of the stair hall is a step down to the sitting room, which has a domed ceiling, built-in display cabinets and French doors with wrought iron grill work.
Off the foyer are an elevator and powder room.
Architectural features in the living room include French doors with wrought iron grills to the east and west, a marble mantel and a decorative ceiling. Off of the living room, a bar connects to the kitchen, breakfast room and the wine cellar. The dining room has decorative crown molding, wainscot, marble floors and French doors to the west and the south that open to the terraces.
Off of the living room, going south is the library and a bedrooms suite.
On the second floor, the master suite features a tray ceiling and the French doors open to balconies that overlook the garden and the ocean. The walls are covered in a silk moray and the floor is hardwood. The master suite includes closets, marble bathrooms, a library and office.
In the north wing are two bedroom suites and a guest apartment with a sun deck. On the south wing are three bedroom suites with terraces.
Outside, behind the dining terrace are the four-car garage, laundry and gym.
On the grounds are a pool, an orchid house, hidden gardens, formal gardens, fountains, a tennis court and putting green.
The tower can be accessed only by way of the elevator. “When my sons were little boys they didn’t know we had an elevator because I kept it locked. They thought that you got to the tower by ‘helivator.’”
This home is offered for sale through the Corcoran Group for $27 million.
The exhibit, “Endangered Florida Species,” held on March 16 from 6 to 10 p.m., is hosted by Anthony and Trina Burks and Paul Fisher. The showcase highlights environmental sanctuaries and aims to bring awareness to the state’s endangered species.
Viewers will have two more opportunities to see this exhibit while it’s up at Fisher Gallery when the space is open to the public without an appointment. The first is Wednesday, March 28 when they may see the show and hear a lecture on the severely endangered scrub jay at 6 p.m.. The other time the gallery is open to the public without calling first is 6 p.m. on Friday, March 30 when there will be a lecture on recent threats to the already endangered Florida state animal, the Florida panther.
Part of the proceeds of Anthony Burks’ renderings of wildlife will go to three charities that focus on Florida’s environment. Part of the sales of the works by Greg Matthews, Durga Garcia and Ursula Fernandez will be split between Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, Arthur R. Marshall Foundation and Loggerhead Marina.
The Paul Fisher Gallery is at The Flamingo Building, 433 Flamingo Drive, West Palm Beach. For information, call Trina Slade-Burks at (561) 842-5724.
Ursula Fernandez: "My inspirations are reflected from my Tropical roots, which are rich in color, texture and warmth."
"Hexalectris Spicata," Fernandez, oil painting, 14 by 14 inches, $350.
"Crested Caracara," by Burks. 30 by 40 inches, mixed media,$3800.
Anthony Burks: "All of the visual art that I do comes from my mind and my heart. It is a gift from God that I love and cherish immensely."
"Wood Stork," by Matthews, 20 by 30 inches, photography,$675.
Greg Matthews: "I often get asked how long did you have to wait to get that shot, but there's a lot more involved especially when going after a specific nature subjects."
"The Everglades" by Garcia, 14 by 17 inches, sepia on heavy cotton rag papers, $350.
Durga Garcia: "My unique personal history is evident in my work."
Half way through… this morning around 9. Last year, it felt like it was all about ladies. This year, I’m struck by the portraits. They are engaging and seem to be speaking right to the viewer. So, for fun, here are first impressions.
