Modern Lines Meet Natural Elements in Alys Beach Home

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One of the positive things to come out of the pandemic is that it reminded most of us of how healing connecting to nature is. When it all got to be too much and no electronic screen could assuage us, it was a stroll in the park, a walk on the beach, or a hike through the mountains that helped millions maintain their sanity. For homeowners with means, it was a time to seriously consider the location of a second home, and that right-outside-the-door commune with nature became a most appealing selling point. That was exactly the case with a Nashville couple who were determined to purchase a property in Florida that they could escape to easily. They found their place in the sun in the form of a 4,000-square-foot house that fit all their criteria in Alys Beach, the New Urbanist community in the Florida Panhandle known for white sand dunes, blue waters, and green infrastructure everywhere you look. 

When it was time to hire professional design help, they enlisted Ray Booth, a fellow Nashville resident who’s nationally renowned, and with whom they had worked before. “The family is as lovely as they could possibly be,” says the architect/designer. “I’ve had a long-standing relationship with them, and they’re kind, gracious people, just the quintessential Southern family.” Booth, who recently released his first book, Evocative Interiors, with Rizzoli, knew from previous experience that whatever he created would have to be defined by a fun, contemporary edge, so he set about conjuring up a joyful home for them by fusing modern lines with wood, stone, and other natural elements. In spirit with Alys Beach’s manifesto, the outside would be brought in, and the inside would spill out.

All of Booth’s projects start with asking what the end result should look like. From there, he finds objects that fulfill that answer, and inform future decisions along the way. This one was no different. “[The design process] is never about things having to look a certain way,” he says. “We have a general feel for what we need to accomplish. When you follow that feeling, the decisions become easy.”

Because the home is on the beach, Booth didn’t want the furnishings to be too precious. He sought comfortable pieces that the family could pile onto without worrying about stains or spills. “We knew the house was not just a beach house,” says Booth. “It’s temperate on the Panhandle, and we knew they would be going there year-round. For us, that led to using palettes that were not beachy, but that transcended the seasons, and offered warmth and comfort all year.” In came grays and gray-greens instead of cliché summery whites, and accessories that added layered complexity.

Although most of the house is saturated in interesting neutrals, Booth used the bedrooms as an opportunity to get playful with color, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the master suite and its lavender palette. “If you think about the inside of a seashell, you have this soft pearlescent color that became the inspiration for this room,” says Booth. “It’s quiet, calm, and ethereal, and has a real visual interest to it.”

The nine-month project went relatively smoothly despite some of the COVID-related delivery delays. In terms of furniture, some of the pieces were sourced online, while others were custom creations using the firm’s upholstery shops and woodworkers. Free rein from the homeowners meant there were no holdups due to differing opinions, and a successful end result, just as Booth had envisioned.  

As for the family’s reaction after the big reveal? “They just love it,” says Booth. “They’re happy as clams.” 

Story Credits:

Interior Design by Ray Booth and Perrin Mayne, McAlpine, Nashville, TN   

Architecture by Savoie Architects, Miramar Beach, FL

Builder Alys Beach Construction, Alys Beach, FL

Landscape Architecture by Horton Land Works, Freeport, FL

Text by Paige Bowers

Photography by Lisa Romerein, Santa Monica, CA

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