A 3,400-square-foot, two-story, white modern-designed home in the traditional neighborhood of McClellan Park is not so much modern as it is a home for modern people.
That means it meets the mandates of buyers who are looking for new, stylish, passive-solar, sustainable, low-maintenance, high-tech design that is light and bright with an open floor plan. It also has a separate guest house above the two-car garage on the other side of the swimming pool, in the rear courtyard.
A pedestrian-friendly front porch with a water feature in the tiny courtyard are part of the charm of a new modern-style home in historic McClellan Park that is on the market for $1,595,000. The four-bedroom home was designed by architects Roberto Gonzalez and Debbie Ahmari, who are the owners. The listing agent is Peter Laughlin. (Staff photo by Nick Adams)
For a young family or for empty-nesters who often entertain out-of-town family and friends, this four-bedroom, four-bath house at 2315 Mietaw Drive seems ideal if you have the asking price of $1,595,000. Designed by architect Roberto Gonzalez and Debbie Ahmari (a married couple) of RGB Architects, the home was completed in December 2014 and is being listed by Peter Laughlin of the Peter G. Laughlin Group. The architects also are the owners; they say they built it together as a project to showcase their combined talents and to demonstrate what an ideal home could be.
“We selected a neighborhood that is desirable for its proximity to good schools, shopping, the beach, the hospital and other location amenities that buyers want,” said Gonzalez, a University of Miami graduate who has been coming to Siesta Key with his family since the age of 8. He and his wife (they met in Miami at college) moved here in 2012 and established their architectural firm. Ahmari collaborated on the Mietaw house and concentrated on the interior design features. She has a degree in architecture, but is not licensed in Florida.
“We designed the house to conform to the lot, which was a challenge,” said Ahmari, “as it is long and narrow. There was a structure on the property that we took down. We designed a modern house with West Indies touches and a welcoming front porch that is pedestrian-friendly.
“This particular street in historic McClellan Park has a lot of traditional homes. It also has many homes undergoing renovation, and there are new-builds, too. Our home is distinctive in design, but the size and shape makes it settle quite nicely into the neighborhood. As it was being built, there was a lot of interest from people who live nearby. We’re glad to report that they’ve had very positive comments about the house.”
Besides being happy with the way the home is being visually received by neighbors and potential buyers, the designer-
The back courtyard includes a pizza oven, as well as an outdoor shower and swimming pool. The courtyard connects the main house to the guest house which is above the two-car garage. (Staff photo by Nick Adams)
owners are especially proud of how the home functions. Some of the sustainability features include bamboo floors, custom LED lighting, spray-foam insulation, solar water heating and passive solar design that uses overhangs to control sunlight and plenty of windows to optimize natural light. Low-emissivity (low-e) glazing minimizes heat gain. Gonzalez is a LEED-AP (accredited professional).
All rainwater runoff from the roof is diverted to the garden, and the architects used reclaimed Chicago bricks for the driveway. The two-car garage is at the back of the property.
The heated swimming pool and hot tub with waterfall feature are not caged. And the house has a feature that every buyer seems to want today — an outdoor shower.
Inside the home, the design allows for cross ventilation, and there are practical built-ins and closed storage areas that mean there isn’t an inch of wasted space. The home is configured for a family, but it’s also an aging-in-place option because there is an elevator, as well as a bedroom and en-suite bathroom on the first floor. Commensurate with home’s price tag are mandatory kitchen luxuries, such as granite counter tops, a large pantry, an island with a six-burner Jenn-Air stove top, Jenn-Air refrigerator, built-in microwave/convection oven and a kitchen that has a view of the outdoor courtyard, pool, garden and outdoor kitchen.
The house itself is 3,400 square feet, but it seems much larger because of the usable terraces and the outdoor entertainment area that is arranged around the pool pavilion and is complete with a pizza oven. There’s also a 1,000-square-foot guest cottage on the property. It is above the garage, which is across the back courtyard from the main house.
The landscaping, by Peter Blake of Home Farm, is meant to be self-sufficient, both for the plants and for the homeowners, who get to enjoy this low-maintenance edible landscape. It has nine tropical fruit trees, including mango, sapodilla and banana. There are edible flowers and an herb garden for the kitchen. A system of mounds and water-retention features economically distribute water; about 75 percent of water is retained on site. Blake calls his installation “the leading edge of sustainable urban agriculture” and says the yard contributes to a truly green environment and a reduced carbon footprint.
But for some young families, it’s the tech features that spark the most interest. This house has a comprehensive, low-voltage prewired infrastructure, including phone, cable, wall-mounted TV locations, Internet and wi-fi. Several rooms feature prewiring for speakers, and the great room includes a 5.1 channel Surround Sound prewire if movie night is a big source of family fun. Four surveillance camera locations have also been prewired; all wiring has been run to a centralized closet in the home to eliminate equipment in each room.
“We designed and built the ideal home for the way people today want to live,” said Gonzalez. “We employed thoughtful, utilitarian design, making this house practical and sustainable, but we added features to make the home comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. We did not scrimp on design features or details, and we both put a lot of thought into how this house would function.
“It is a home we would happily live in.”
But, they’re hoping someone else beats them to it.
