Studio M Interior Design won the 2023 Florida Design Seaglass Awards for her Fernandina Beach oceanfront home.
This new construction project on Amelia Island in Fernandina Beach presented a unique challenge and opportunity due to its long but narrow lot. The design process was fascinating as we navigated the spatial constraints and crafted innovative solutions. This home, spanning three stories plus a rooftop grilling and observation area, is a testament to our ability to maximize space and create a functional yet aesthetically pleasing environment. The program for this home included a living room, kitchen, wine tasting room, custom wine cooler, rooftop grilling, and observation deck, three guest bedrooms and bathrooms, a main suite with a large closet and adjacent laundry room, powder room, sand room with laundry facilities right off the beach, work out facility, and a four car garage.
The aesthetic of this project is elevated, modern, and clean, focusing on materials and textures that add depth and richness to the design. Our client’s preference for white walls and minimal artwork guided our choice of materials, which were selected to be modern and simple yet provide a sense of texture and richness. We used a combination of smooth and textured large-format porcelain limestone on the interior walls, which continued from the exterior throughout the main spine of the home. The same limestone was used as flooring throughout to create a continuity that makes a modern look successful. We brought in rift cut walnut solids and veneers to create wall paneling and ceiling details, as well as kitchen, wine room cabinetry, and details of the custom wine cooler. Walnut was also used for interior doors and a large pivoting walnut “wall” that serves as the door to the master bedroom on the second floor. Lighting, another critical element, was carefully integrated into the design, with the home featuring a smart system of LED lighting throughout, with different colors and temperatures controlled by an app on our client’s phones.
Furthermore, we worked with ThinkGlass to create a 3” thick custom bar top in the kitchen, adding an excellent feature with an iPad-controlled LED light system. In the evening, when just this feature is lit, it is a stunning sculptural piece that brings focus where we want. When decorative fixtures were used, we considered scale and line, choosing clean looks with simple yet impactful design elements. When we brought in color, we incorporated our client’s signature blue in plaster walls and tiles in the main suite and a custom area rug in the living room. These simple touches add spark and speak to the fun personality of our client. In a modern interior, every little thing must be planned to work with everything else, and it is essential to establish design moves ahead of time to achieve harmony without distraction. We believe this is a beautiful example of that style of design.
