Coastal Considerations in Alys Beach Home

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Thanks to an easy 45-minute flight from Nashville, a Tennessee couple has made the quaint seaside community of Alys Beach in northern Florida their family retreat for years. Like all the crisp, white storybook homes dotting this exquisite 30A setting, their previous house featured the congruent forms of Bermudan architecture and courtyard living—with every room opening onto covered breezeways. Their daughter was married in said home in 2018, and since then, she and her husband have added twin girls to the family’s growing tribe. With this new dynamic, the owners realized the house was no longer conducive to family gatherings. So, they decided to build a new residence that would allow them more space to be together for years to come.

“Having worked with them on their previous home, I knew my clients loved a neutral and textural space with African tribal accents,” says Nashville designer Brad Ramsey. “The architecture is a little more traditional than most houses here, so rather than whitewashing everything, we tried to take advantage of the warm oak tones in the stained doors, cabinets, wood flooring, stair railings, and even in the textural grasscloth wallpaper in the powder room.” Ramsey also pulled in collectibles from multiple family vacations and added some one-of-a-kind finds, which he layered into a soft, natural palette with clean, modern lines. “The goal was to create a warm, inviting home that the growing family would feel comfortable in for years to come,” he adds.

The sprawling, 5,157-square-foot dwelling comprises four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, a plunge pool with a lavish outdoor living and grilling area, a covered porch and patio with a second-level pergola, and two garages. The living room, the family’s favorite space, features white coffered ceilings, gleaming plaster walls, and a shellstone fireplace surround, and offers a spacious area with an open flow to the kitchen and foyer. “I was challenged to create plenty of seating and also space for dining,” he notes. “So, I offset a custom curved banquette and a round table to provide dining for six and balanced that with upholstered seating to make it comfortable for everyone to be together while watching TV, enjoying a fire, or sharing a meal.”

In the kitchen, Ramsey decided to paint the cabinets and planked-wood ceiling white to keep it clean and classic, but added a stained island to connect with the oak accents throughout the house. “The pendants were just the perfect touch to add some tribal character to the space while also adding some soft lighting over the island,” says the designer.

Moving upstairs and into more private quarters, we encounter more of Ramsey’s texture tactics. “The primary suite itself is warm, textural, and comfortable,” he says. “The Arteriors chandelier brings an organic texture and feel that is repeated in the rest of the selections throughout the suite.”

Outside, the spectacular view from the pool to the upper pergola exemplifies the beautiful architecture of the home and the intimacy of the exterior courtyard. “We had to petition the architectural review board to allow us to build the pergola,” notes Ramsey, “and it really makes this space more intimate and special. With incredible open sky vistas, this exterior space is sure to become a favorite sunset viewing spot.” With limited space in the private courtyard, he also took advantage of as much of the covered area as possible, working in two large sofas and a dining space by the grill area. To create an element of coziness by the small plunge pool, he opted for two oversized loungers.

“My favorite part of creating this new space was working with long-time clients who trust us to do good work for them,” says Ramsey. “They have wonderful collections, so it was fun to figure out how best to use and display those pieces to integrate them into the new design.”

Story Credits:

Interior Design by Brad Ramsey, Brad Ramsey Interiors, Nashville, TN

Text by Jeanne de Lathouder

Photography by Jack Gardner, Valparaiso, FL

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