SOUTHERN LIVING
March 1999
“A New State of Mind”

Florida was never on their list of places to live. Carole and Robert Tiemeyer were quite content in Connecticut. But that was before they visited some friends who had recently built a house at Windsor, a new village near Vero Beach that takes its cues from historic districts in Charleston, St. Augustine, and towns in the Caribbean.

“The village plan and architecture are unique,” says Bob. “We were captivated with the place.” It wasn’t long before the couple was heading south (not just for the winter but for good) and setting out to build their own home there.

It’s no accident that they found Windsor to be like an old-fashioned village although it’s less than 10 years old. The village plan is dense with courtyard houses or their garden walls framing narrow streets and landscaped squares. Architectural guidelines mandate colors, materials, proportions, and roof pitches—all derived from historical models and local building tradition.

Carole and Bob turned to architect Lynn Silkworth. He understood the design codes, but more importantly, he recognized that the house needed to respond to the way the Tiemeyers live. One of the first questions Lynn asked in the early planning stages was, “How do you like to greet your guests? It was obvious that we were going to work well together,” says Bob.

When it comes to first impressions, this home, like all the houses in Windsor, presents an unassuming face—and grace—to the outside world. Recalling historic homes of Charleston or New Orleans, a courtyard wall screens unexpected pleasures. The transition from the street is rewarding, whether one steps through the front door into a generous foyer that offers a glimpse of the courtyard or through the back gate that opens directly into the garden.

The house mingles old and new, refined and relaxed. Yet its basic plan is straightforward and utterly livable. The ornamental details on the exterior include deep overhangs, exposed rafters, textured roofing, cantilevered balconies, brackets, and windows with small panes. The house shows that functional and simple features, if care is given to scale and proportion, can be the most refined.

Because the architecture has such character, designer Rod Mickley let it set the tone for the interiors. Throughout the house, the design is restrained and pared down. Shots of soft yellows and greens enliven the neutral-toned interiors, and furnishings bring out the beauty of the home’s elegant proportions.

The living room has an airy spaciousness, but even in this most formal room of the house, Rod relaxes the mood and introduces surprises. “Staggered seating clusters rather than a symmetrical or aligned arrangement loosens up a space and makes it much more inviting,” says Rod. Window treatments are simple. Their height adds drama, but in a casual way—like a long flowing dress on a warm night. “And nothing brings a room down to earth like a seagrass rug,” Rod adds. A painting on one of the living room walls (not pictured) had been in storage for years. “Rod found it in our belongings and said we should hang it in the living room,” says Carole.

The true spirit of the house converges in the kitchen/family room, a large open space with 14-foot ceilings. The details and materials are pretty to look at, and—like the best old-fashioned materials—they promise to stand up to the test of time. The double-beaded, French board vaulted ceiling was crafted with the precision of a fine wooden boat; the countertops are Brazilian granite that looks like the bottom of a mountain stream.

Echoing the architecture of the house, the courtyard garden also reflects a casual and ordered approach. Sensuous curves and delightful “accidents” occur in the landscape, just as they do in nature. “When we realized our garden here would be very different from Connecticut, we relished the possibilities,” says Carole. “We would never try to fight the climate.” Queen palms, waxleaf ligustrum, and fern pofocarpus lend the essence of a natural landscape to the cultivated garden. Textures, fragrances, and forms of the plants are emphasized.

The casual elegance of this home is less about objects and architecture than it is about lifestyle and philosophy. It all comes back to the way Bob and Carole like to greet their guests - graciously.