Custom Homes

Sunset Park Isles – Urban Contemporary

“After interviewing several other builders, we knew within the first 10 minutes of our meeting that Sunset would be our builder. We both felt Mark would be the best to guide us through the process, and we continue to be impressed with the people with whom Sunset aligns themselves.”

Project Style: Urban Contemporary
Size: 5 bedrooms; 5.5 bathrooms; 6,331 sq. ft.

Home Story: This family’s previous residences, townhomes and single family, were always new construction within the confines of developer communities. So with a multitude of building experience and a well-honed wish list, they were primed for their first custom home. Who knew the fates would conspire for a year and a half before serving up the perfect mix of location, price and virtues. Sunset was on-site for each contender, advising on the dream/reality balance.

Challenges & Points of Interest: ‘Contemporary with character, open floor plan, and must be great for entertaining’ were the initial criteria from the homeowners. The upside to the lengthy location hunt was a thoroughly-researched initial floor plan provided to the architect by the homeowners.
The resulting cantilevered elevation details,
focal-point central staircase, and 3rd car garage’s entertainment/pool room reflect the flourishing collaboration. The double lot also allowed
for side-loading garages – another wish list
priority fulfilled!

South Tampa, Sunset Park – Waterfront – Modern Farmhouse

Project Style: Modern Farmhouse
Size: 5 bedrooms; 6 full bathrooms + 1 half-bath; 6,200 sq. ft.

Home Story: As longtime residents of South Tampa, these homeowners saw many of Sunset’s projects evolve from foundation through to the stunning finished product – two in particular, on their very same street. Continually impressed, when the homeowners’ family construct shifted to need a new, multi-generational living arrangement, they turned to Sunset.
This 2-story home features a complete primary suite downstairs for the homeowners’ parent, as well as a full primary suite upstairs for their own use. An additional 3 bedrooms, with en suites, plus multiple study, media, and gathering areas, will continue to serve this growing family well into the future. While you are enjoying the photos, see if you can spy the cat!

Challenges & Points of Interest: The beautiful oak trees on the property received special design attention as one side of the home was tiered to preserve the canopy, and the home’s whole footprint was adjusted to accommodate the rest of the oaks.
Code for waterfront living dictates the first floor start at a 12′ level which presents unique architectural challenges for the elevations. Creative design, carefully considered structures, as well as strategic landscaping, ease these transitions.

South Tampa, Palma Ceia – Craftsman

Sunset Properties was high on this family’s list of possible builders for their home.

Project Style: Craftsman
Size: 4 bedrooms; 4 bathrooms + 2 half-baths;
5,000 sq. ft.

Home Story: The homeowners had been watching several of Sunset’s custom homes develop and become reality in their neighborhood. They liked what they saw and chose Sunset after meeting the whole design/build team. The homeowners loved their existing 1940’s bungalow. Their extra-wide lot was nestled on a brick, tree-lined South Tampa street. They’d lived in this home for several years and decided to remodel. After a reality-check meeting with Sunset’s Team, they agreed the “old beauty” was just plain worn out! A new, custom home would better serve the needs of their growing family. The design would be current, but reflect the 40’s bungalow charm throughout. From the crown molding, herringbone wood & reclaimed brick floors, the 8’ wide wavy glass & wood pocket door, to the box-vault and coffered ceilings – the “old beauty” will live on.

Challenges & Points of Interest: In a word – COVID. There’s nothing like breaking ground on a project, and keeping your commitments, during a worldwide pandemic! In the custom home building niche delays and revisions are common place, but the COVID-scale setbacks were unprecedented. Literally every element that goes into a custom home became a challenge to procure. Additionally, the pandemic’s impact on the trades was enormous. Scheduling rose to Beethovenesque levels of orchestration! Words like flexible, work-around, reinvent, pivot, tolerance, became part of the pandemic workflow. Perseverance and patience paid off. The Sunset Team completed this gorgeous project in a timely fashion. Phew!

Culbreath Isles – Waterfront

The art of placement rooted in feng shui and the practical demands of nature both played intricate roles in this home’s design evolution.

Project Style: Contemporary
Size: 5 bedrooms; 5 bathrooms; 2 half baths; Living area – 6,200 sq. ft.; Total under roof – 8,200 sq. ft.

Home Story: The inspiration for many of the design elements in this waterfront residence came from years of travel by the homeowner. Tucking away wide-ranging ideas – a hotel lobby’s suspended fireplace, a restaurant’s pivoting front door, a serene reflecting pool – that fused together seamlessly in a meticulous, well-thought-out manner. This home accommodates a large, very active family while serving as a backdrop for elegant art as well as nature’s show-stopping displays.

Challenges & Points of Interest: Potential for high waves and wind dictated specific aspects of this home’s design. Careful planning avoided the need and expense of driving 30-foot deep piles. Suspending a 6′ wide, 1,200-pound marble fireplace proved a gravity-defying engineering challenge. The tons of behind-the-scene steel and framing allow the fireplace effortlessly float as the home’s centerpiece. The stunning, 900-pound sapele wood, custom front door opens with a finger touch thanks to its unique pivot design. Linear-patterned waterfall granite, ceiling-supplied water for tub bathing, Murphy bed, cantilevered 4-foot stair treads with stainless steel airline-cabled railing, 4-sided infinity-edge hot tub, living wall, zen garden and an intimate reflection pool with stepping stones are a few more of the design inspirations-turned reality in this highly-efficient Smart home.

Sunset Park – Waterfront

Water should be the only thing between this home and the setting sun.

Project Style: Coastal Contemporary
Size: 5 bedrooms; 5 bathrooms; 2 half baths 4,725 sq. ft. Living area 7,311 sq. ft. Total under roof

Home Story: To enjoy waterfront sunsets every evening after work…that was our client’s desire and directive. Our design/build team assisted in assessing prospective lots, designing a sophisticated customized home, and meeting the challenges of waterfront construction.

Challenges & Points of Interest: Since you can’t depend on Old Tampa Bay staying in the bay, knock-out walls, elevated crawl spaces and high impact windows become necessities. With safety in place, move on to the beautiful details. More than 54 windows, a 20′ expanse of collapsible NanaWall doors, parquet-patterned 3/4″ ipe wood decks and floors,10′ custom Sapele wood front door (all woods sourced from sustainable areas), 20′ custom spiral staircase with ipe treads, Lutron smart home system, retractable Phantom deck screen system, two docks with boat and kayak lifts, negative-edge swimming pool, plus an inexhaustible supply of sunsets.

Parkland Estates – Craftsman

The perfect lot is not always the first one you see.
It may not even be the 10th or the 30th. But it is out there, and we were determined to help this client find their’s.

Project Style: Craftsman
Size: 5 bedrooms; 5.5 bathrooms; 5,100 sq. ft.

Home Story:
It took a full six months of searching and analyzing every available property. But the final choice was well worth the effort. The lot had the mature trees
necessary to allow this exquisite craftsman to settle into the neighborhood as if it had always been there. This thoughtful attention to detail carried on
throughout the entire design and building process.

Challenges & Points of Interest:
Equal to this home’s charm is its technology.
From the whole-house Icynene insulation,
high-efficiency windows and doors, integrated “smart” home program, to the automated, environmentally-safe mosquito repellent misting system, this home has it all.

Beach Park – Waterfront

After a previous build and now having four young children – this family knew exactly what they wanted when it came to the room sizes
and space relations in their new custom home.

Project Style: Contemporary
Size: 6 bedrooms; 6.5 bathrooms; Over 8,000 sq. ft

Home Story: The homeowners sought to combine their love of contemporary style and open water with the practical needs of their growing family. Referred by a Sunset Properties’ client, and after securing the perfect property, this family was in
go-mode. Working with Sunset’s architect,
every buildable inch of this corner waterfront lot was maximized.

Challenges & Points of Interest:
This contemporary design is uniquely enhanced by eight, 10’x4′ Corten steel panels secured to the front façade. The steel’s natural oxidizing process will function as an ongoing art installation for years to come. A five-foot wide, pivoting, front entry door leads to the spacious foyer’s stunning, all-glass wine room. 320 bottles, kept at 50°, sparkle from ceiling to floor suspended by an almost invisible, intricate cable system. Across the foyer pre-cast concrete treads, adhered to a steel backbone, form the main staircase. The staircase is framed with stainless steel cable railings, capped in Ipe wood, that continue throughout the second floor walkway.
Getting hungry? Move to the kitchen where two quartz-topped islands serve indoor needs while an entirely retractable bi-fold window wall opens the kitchen peninsula to the outside patio. Cantilevered, puck-lit shelves provide display areas along the white, counter-to-ceiling, herringbone-tiled walls. The living room features a 60″ linear, in-wall fireplace surrounded with chiseled black slate followed by Brazilian walnut to the ceiling. Glass retractable Euro-walls in the living room as well as the office continue to encourage indoor/outdoor festivities. The master bedroom’s accent wall is entirely clad in Brazilian walnut highlighted by integrated, floating nightstands and headboard. The en suite has a free-standing contemporary tub and faucet as well as an infinity-drain, curbless shower plus waterproof TV. A custom quartz countertop with twin infinity-drain sinks top the floating master bath’s cabinetry.
Outside – The contemporary grid design in the driveway is formed by 4″ wide channels of artificial grass, making an excellent surface for impromptu T-ball games and light saber battles. Precast concrete makes another appearance surrounding the pool and as the bridge steps between
the spa and pool.

Carrollwood – Lakefront

Living up close to the construction site
can prove quite interesting.

Project Style: Coastal
Size: 4 bedrooms; 4.5 bathrooms
3,800 sq. ft.

Home Story:
When a friend went on and on about how pleased she was with everything about Sunset Properties, these homeowners knew they had found their contractor. While living for years in their small ranch house on the lake, they’d collected many photos of the style of home they dreamed of building. Sunset’s designer captured their vision and partner, Mark Jordan, found a way to make it happen within the homeowners’ budget.

Let the building begin…literally within a few feet of the existing residence, in which the family lived up until the final moments of construction! The two structures were so close that the old back porch soffit had to be shaved off as the new home rose up behind it. Now that’s close quarters!

Challenges & Points of Interest:
The soil boring for the foundation looked good, clean fill. That is until the black muck and peat soil was revealed at the start of foundation prep. Many, many truckloads later, the site was finally ready to receive this beautiful home.

Culbreath Bayou – Contemporary

Homeowner’s desire: To create a home
that will grow with us.

Project Style: Contemporary
Size: 5 bedrooms; 4.5 bathrooms; 4,000 sq. ft.

Home Story: The homeowners found the perfect family-oriented neighborhood to build their dream home. Sunset Properties proved to be the perfect design/build professionals to make that dream become a reality. With Sunset on board early in the process, Mark and Peter were able to share their years of knowledge about the area neighborhoods. Sunset’s guidance helped with securing the final lot choice. This collaborative process continued throughout the project resulting in a custom home that meets the owners current needs, but also fully allows for the future growth of their family.

Challenges & Points of Interest: Design AND Build. That means the homeowner has complete confidence in selecting the one company, one point of contact, to navigate their journey from a dream with a bunch of wish lists to the final keys-in-hand, head-on-the-pillow, turn-out-the-lights finale. Open communication and realistic expectations are key components in a successful design/build and are the absolute bedrock of all Sunset projects. These tenets pave the way for another hallmark of Sunset’s projects – on time and within budget. This project was no exception!

A few exterior features to note: Natural stone detail on columns and raised beds; Custom 4′ x 8′ sapelli wood front door; Smooth stone river rock island
dividing driveway.
Interior features to catch: Hand-scraped dark wood floors throughout; Sealed copper range hood; Hammered copper farm sink; Barn-style sliding pantry doors; Twin faucet trough sink and
copper-colored porcelain floor tile in Master Bath; Herringbone pattern tile on fireplace wall;
Stainless steel cable railing with sapelli wood handrail in stairwell.

Beach Park – Coastal

Through all their travels this client’s heart was captivated by the beach homes of Savannah
and Charleston.

Project Style: Coastal Size: 5 bedrooms;
5.5 bathrooms; 5,100 sq. ft.

Home Story: Many trips with friends to South Carolina beach communities and local Clearwater haunts provided the inspiration for this family’s coastal style dream home. True to its roots, this home is a masterpiece of livable comfort and understated elegance.

Challenges & Points of Interest: To say that the trees influenced this home’s layout would be an understatement. The perfect lot for this home came with a zigzag of majestic oaks demanding respect in setbacks from their roots as well as attention to their various limb heights. A true collaborative effort between the architect, builder and client was necessary to preserve the design, tend to the trees, stay on schedule and remain within budget.