Additions/Remodel

South Tampa, Beach Park – Waterfront – Modernized Italian Revival

Project Style: Modernized Italian Revival
Size: 6 bedrooms; 6 full bathrooms + 1 half-bath; 8,000 sq. ft.

Home Story: Throughout this whole-house remodel’s design, as well as construction, many new inspirations were incorporated from the family’s world travels. Elegant appointments such as the primary bath’s heated floors, bookmatched full-sheet quartz shower walls, mirrored trackless closet doors, his and hers water closets, and a 48” linear outdoor fireplace for the primary suite were realized. More influences included lighted marble treads at the base of the main staircase, plus a resourceful garage-to-second floor elevator.
The open concept design aesthetic, as well as the ease of casual indoor/outdoor living and entertainment remained steadfast as the project evolved.
Brick and tabby exterior finishes, along with archways and covered terraces, all reiterate the original Modernized Italian Revival style.

Challenges & Points of Interest: Move the front door…literally! The design called for a two-story addition to the western facade enabling a grand foyer entrance on the first floor and a theatre room above it on the second floor. Engineering feats were numerous, including a custom glass and steel dodecagon staircase leading to the third floor office – which retained its original 360° views. Structural walls between the kitchen and living room had to vanish. Exterior walls were reconfigured to support 24′ floor-to-ceiling fixed glass and slider combinations – all advancing the open concept edict.

South Tampa Palma Ceia Golf & Country Club Georgian

Palma Ceia G&CC – Georgian

The challenge was to seamlessly honor the
1926 heritage, remove the missteps, provide
for the present, and allow for the future.

Project Style: Georgian
Addition Size: 1,000+ sq. ft. new construction; plus remodel multiple existing rooms.

Home Story: The homeowners, veterans of seven custom and remodeled homes in multiple cities, said they had to pause to ‘listen’ to this home’s original spirit when choosing certain design directions. The 1920’s soul that seeped into every room begged to be preserved. The trap door, speak-easy style wine cellar, hand-painted Cuban tiles, leaded-glass fan and side lights all had a voice in the conversation. While paying tribute to the past, this addition and remodel had to address the needs of a very active, tech-savvy family of four incorporating much-needed living, sleeping and storage spaces.
All aspects of this project, new and remodeled, look fresh, yet original – like they were meant to have been there from the start. Well spoken!

Challenges & Points of Interest: A curious
1980’s remodel inserted a floor-to-ceiling glass shower floating smack in the middle of the
master bathroom – facing a bank of four,
floor-to-almost-ceiling, windows. While it afforded
a glorious view of the golf course, it unfortunately exposed a reciprocal view from the links!
A complete gut and clever window-lift resolved
this baring gaffe.

Click here to see the Before & After Journey

South Tampa New Suburb Beautiful Craftsman

New Suburb Beautiful – Craftsman & Cabana

The client said “You know, while we are changing this, we might as well go ahead and change…”
and the project expanded.

Project Style: Craftsman
Size: 5 bedrooms; 4 bathrooms
3,500 sq. ft.

Home Story:
A simple kitchen remodel expanded with
the client’s imagination. Every room of the
house was subsequently remodeled, and then
on out to the detached garage. The resulting
pool cabana/guest quarters completed the setting.

Challenges and Points of Interest:
Zoning restrictions required the need for a
variance to accommodate the client’s request
for a porte cochère.

Belmar Shore – Waterfront

This home had good bones, once you were able
to look past the free-roaming rabbits…inside!

Project Style: Transitional Interior
Size: 5 Bedrooms; 5.5 Bathrooms; 8,700 sq. ft.

Home Story: This family wished to relocate to South Tampa while still maintaining a doable Ocala commute. The search was on, but nothing proved just right. This home was on the list but remained unavailable to view. Finally a date, October 18th, became available but the whole family was out
of town, except for the husband. Donning his ‘visonary optics’, he was able to see past the
90’s decor, the ADA compliant structures, and
the resident free-roaming rabbits and canines to zero in on the stunning potential of this home.
Plus, October 18th had always been this couple’s lucky date – it was meant to be, a deal was struck!

Challenges & Points of Interest: A very satisfied, two-project Sunset Properties’ client recommended the company for this remodel. While the remodel required a relatively small addition and extensive interior reconfiguration, every single room in the house needed some level of attention. A dated
whole-house fire suppression system had to be removed as well as interior wheelchair ramps.
New wood floors were installed throughout
the home along with exotic finishes such as
hand-crafted mosaic tiles from Mexico,
individually hand-installed on the master
bathroom floor. This project was a fast-track turnaround which inevitably attracts foul
weather – Hurricane Irma did its best to
bedevil the timeline. But perseverance
prevailed and deadlines were met.

908 Fremont Front After - Straightened @2000px

Hyde Park – Rescue Mission

Sometimes you have to gather the courage to make a full stop, assess the situation, and move
in a new direction.

Project Style: Traditional
Project Scope: Whole-house remodel
Size: 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms + carriage house with 2 bedroom, 1 bath & full kitchen
3,800 sq.ft. + 900 sq.ft.

Home Story: The owner, an experienced interior designer and home remodeler, acquired this home and got to work with a local contractor. The plan was for a full-gut and remodel. As it turned out, in the middle of the gut, this project proved to be way beyond the expertise of the contractor. Everything ground to a disturbingly silent, screeching halt. Sunset Properties was highly recommended to
the owner and the project was back on track with renewed enthusiasm and confidence.

Challenges & Points of Interest: Remodels always come with unforeseen challenges, but fixing someone else’s errors compounds the task. Sunset’s partners, Mark Jordan and Peter Kieffer, were able fix all that had gone wrong, improve on many areas, and complete the project in a timely fashion allowing the owner to sell this beautiful Hyde Park home and move on to the next adventure.

Click here to see the Before & After Journey

South Tampa Culbreath Isles Outdoor Living Addition

Culbreath Isles – Addition & Outdoor Living

Take the roof off of the garage to create
much-needed living space.

Project Style: Georgian Addition Size: Master Suite, Playroom, 2 Bathrooms, 2 Laundries, Wine Room, Outdoor Kitchen & Living Area – 800 sq. ft.

Home Story: This family desired an updated master bedroom and master bath. With no room
to expand on the ground floor, the only place to go was up. So off came the garage roof making way for the luxurious master getaway and new playroom. The project also called for remodeling the existing second floor bedrooms and bathrooms. A full outdoor kitchen and living space completed the pool area remodeling.

Challenges & Points of Interest: Retractable screens were employed in the outdoor living space providing a critter-free environment when desired. Invisible when not in use, these screens make no imprint on the architecture or interior design.
2′ x 2′ travertine flooring was installed in several areas of the home requiring skilled craftsmen
with patience and exacting eyes.

Palma Ceia G&CC – Kitchen & More

Recompose the existing space – much better design to serve a young family.

Project Style: Traditional
Project Size: Kitchen, Family Room,
Playroom & Laundry

Home Story: This historic 1939 home has the great bones of yesteryear. They’ve been tweaked along the way, but needed a more functional approach to the everyday living spaces for this growing family.

Challenges & Points of Interest: The formal dining room gave way to an open-concept kitchen and family room. The home’s footprint was not enlarged, but that did not prevent the need for a 15′ metal beam to span the newly-opened spaces.

Sunset Park – Waterfront

FEMA’s 50% rule threatened all facets of the homeowners’ wish list.

Project Style: Coastal
Size: 5 bedrooms; 4 bathrooms
4,500 sq. ft.

Home Story: This family needed a bit more separation for the adults’ and kids’ recreation, so
an above-the-garage game room was the answer. Then an additional family room and fireplace seemed a natural, along with a bar area. As the wish list grew so did the confines of FEMA’s flood zone regulations, the bane of waterfront remodeling. Great design prevailed thanks to Tampa designer, Alan Dobbs’ creative vision, ingenuity and perseverance. This family not only got their initial wish list, but also private sun rooms & balconies, dormers with window seats, and an incredible outdoor living space, complete with a fireplace. FEMA was happy too!

Challenges & Points of Interest: Living in a construction zone is never easy. Given that the transformation of this ubiquitous ’70’s neocolonial into a full two-story, elaborate coastal could be considered an extreme makeover, suffice it to say communication was paramount. Our team’s extra layers of forethought and consideration provided the family with a daily semblance of normalcy.

Click here to see the Before & After Journey

Culbreath Isles – Kitchen & More

Time to open up & lighten up…

Project Style: Transitional
Project Size: Kitchen, Family Room,
Outdoor Living Room & Pool Bathroom

Home Story: They all had their moment, but it was time to bid farewell to closed-off rooms, hunt-club dark wood paneling, and a faux French Country kitchen. The new homeowners wanted to open their doors to the outside, as well as introduce the inside rooms to each other. The result is an unobstructed family room and breakfast area that seamlessly flow into a sleek kitchen space. All this is complimented by a newly constructed, 500 sq. ft. outdoor living space adjacent to the pool.

Challenges & Points of Interest: Phantom Screens – these custom-built, motorized, retractable screens are a game-changer for outdoor living rooms. Unwanted critters are instantly uninvited.

The omnipresent paneling was high quality but so very, very dark. Meticulous curation with a light, neutral color gave new life to the wood and visually expanded the room. The trompe l’oeil marble tile fireplace surround created the new focal point.

New Suburb Beautiful – Traditional

The perfect neighborhood and the perfect house, what more could you want?

Project Style: Traditional – Outdoor Living
Size: Screened porch + Covered walkway
+ Open-air living space + Pool

Well, as the kids got bigger, so did their stuff!
The family’s traditional two-story home could not accommodate the needs of this growing brood. When the small, single-story home next door became available, a plan was hatched. The one-story became the new game/media/play/guest room. A covered outdoor living space was added, complete with fireplace and grill, plus pool fit for relaxing as well as cannonballs! The original house gained a screened sunporch and both dwellings became connected by a breezeway.
Everybody remains close – but not too close. Happiness!