If you are moving to Longboat Key (or any of Sarasota’s gorgeous barrier Keys), chances are excellent that you love the beach.
When building a custom beach home, there are many features you may be looking for – and some you may not have considered. Residents of coastal areas understand that living in proximity to sand and salt air is absolutely amazing, but may also necessarily affect your home design choices. Here are some of our favorite custom beach home features – both practical and beautiful.
Custom Beach Home Design
Like any house we build, a custom beach home should be filled with features that are personal and unique to your tastes. Whether you are building a retirement cottage, a vacation home, or a beach rental property, playing on the natural surroundings is a beautiful way to go.
- Views, Views, Views: If you live on the beach on Longboat Key, it is likely the views that sold you. From natural, windswept dunes to spectacular nightly sunsets over the Gulf, your best life is right outside those patio doors. And while you will spend many hours with your feet in the sand, your home can also be designed to showcase those views even when cooking dinner or working on the computer. Consider as many windows as possible, and elevate living spaces to the second or third floor to capture the best scenic vistas.
- Create a Private Spa: Construct your home with a flat roof – or partial flat roof – to take advantage of the sun and sea breeze. Add a small outdoor kitchen (don’t forget the blender), a hot tub, lounge chairs, potted palms, zen fountains, or a firepit. Whatever your dream patio, build it on the roof for views and privacy.
- Emulate Nature’s Palette: Its just our opinion, but some of the most striking beach house designs use muted blues, greens and tans to draw the color scheme of the outdoors into your home. It need not be “beachy” or “kitschy”, in fact some of the best designs create a flow from the natural views into the interior, while still creating a sophisticated or contemporary aura.
- Private Beach Oasis: Depending which Sarasota beach you reside on, the water can be a decent hike from your back doors. If you want sand in your toes but don’t need your feet in the water, you can create your own beach resort in your backyard. Add lounge chairs, cabanas, an outdoor shower, a mini fridge and grill, beach umbrellas, misters – the possibilities are endless. IF you entertain frequently, a tiki bar on the beach is a popular design choice.
- Practical Choices: At some point, we do have to recommend some of the more practical ways to keep your home beautiful. Our famous sand is gorgeous, but can also end up all over the house. Many Longboat Key residents choose wood or tile floors which can be quickly swept up on a daily basis, and berber or bamboo type floor coverings in neutral tones so the sand disappears. You may also choose to have a foot washing station at any entrance which comes in off the beach.
- Hurricane Shutters and Shelters: For both insurance purposes, and to protect your investment, electronic roll down hurricane shutters are a great feature. With the flick of a switch, you can cover every door and window as a storm rolls in. You may also wish to build a reinforced “bunker” to quickly stow chairs, umbrellas, or grills without having to pull them into your house. One great way to do this is to have shutters installed to roll down around a portion of your patio.
Living at the beach is a luxury you’ve earned – if you are looking to build a custom beach home, call the experts at Lindahl Construction. We know Longboat Key, and have decades of experience building on the Florida Gulf Coast.