A closer look at the IMAGES Tour of Homes,
presented by Atlantic Center for the Arts
December 5, 2009; 9 AM to 3 PM
Tour and Boutique Tickets: $20, 386-423-4733
Tuscan-style Italian Country Home on the river … The home of Jeffrey & Paige Gehris
Gehris house
Paige Gehris refers all questions about their fabulous Tuscan-style Italian country home on Conova Drive to her husband Jeffrey, saying, “he is the builder and designer … put it this way, he dreams in COLORS and I dream in black and white! Jeff is a phenomenal designer and ‘sees’ things in a much different light than I do.” The couple owns The Garlic restaurant and PJ’s Sea Shack, both on Third Avenue.
Most of the wood in the home was cut by Jeffrey from the couple’s property in Vermont, then milled by a local Vermonter and shipped to Florida. It took about 18 months for Gehris to construct the two-story home, which was completed in the fall of 2007.
“The design is my interpretation and incorporates a lot of little details of homes I have seen in our travels through Italy and a little bit of Spain,” Gehris said. “There are massive 20-inch by 20-foot beams in the house and it is stucco – old looking stucco.
“After the cement work was done I went around with a sledgehammer and smashed all the edges and corners so it wouldn’t have a smooth look. It is intentionally rough and rustic looking,” Gehris said.
Be sure and check out the handcrafted wooden double front door with authentic 15th century hardware. The door locks with a large skeleton key!
The focal point of the house for Paige is the kitchen, where she prepares fresh homegrown meals with vegetables and herbs grown in the garden she tends. Her husband designed the large kitchen, which is home to a 1928 antique Italian Berkel slicer from Cortona, Italy; as well as an 800-pound marble sink, hand-carved by an artisan in Palermo, Italy; and a cast iron Aga stove from England. The kitchen table is made from a gigantic piece of cypress from a tree found at the bottom of the Mississippi River that was 1,500 years old when it died.
The kitchen looks out over the swimming pool and the “loggia” an outdoor living area that overlooks the Intracoastal Waterway. The glass doors separating the loggia from the living room fold all the way back creating a 24-foot opening that is great for entertaining. The loggia has an outdoor kitchen and Jeffrey said he is planning to cook up some tasty appetizers to sample during the Tour.
“Our home is very colorful inside,” Jeffrey said. “It is a combination of old Italian rustic and some contemporary furniture such as bright red leather couches. It’s our own style and I think it is quite comfy and cozy.”
The home will be decorated for the holidays by Paige Gehris, who has an antique Christmas collection that will be displayed in its full glory. The collection includes many 1890s German ornaments collected by her mother.
A second look around the home will expose many details that may be missed by a quick glance. Marble counters with old American cast iron legs, handmade ceramics from Sicily, an Italian pizza oven on the loggia, large alabaster hanging lamps, hand-painted silk lampshades. All just a few of the special touches that make this special house a home.
Florida Bungalow on Beachside … The home of Melissa Latty
Latty house
Melissa Latty has lovingly restored the early 1900s Florida Bungalow style house on North Peninsula Avenue she purchased in 2006. The house has 10-foot ceilings, bead board walls and wainscoting; special windows designed for maximum airflow, and a wrap around front porch.
“This is a very special, warm, apple-pie kind of house,” Melissa said. “When you walk in the front door you really get the sense that you are home.
“I tried to leave as much of the house as original as possible,” Melissa said, “but restore it to its former beauty. I love the 10-foot ceilings – they are one of the main reasons I bought the house.”
The home, which also houses a branch of her Winter Park business, Grace Realty, has two bedrooms that have their own bathrooms and separate entrances, a “sleeping porch” area that has been enclosed, and two apartments in a separate structure in back of the house (that was originally a garage with a boat house placed on top of it).
There was an attic, but no second floor, in the main house. Melissa wanted to utilize that space, so she had a hole cut into the attic floor after she acquired the staircase from an old house being torn down at the corner of Faulkner and Washington streets. After refinishing it was put in place. “It fit perfectly,” she said, “like it was meant to be there.” The upstairs area is now a playroom for her seven-year-old son Samuel. Melissa’s mother, Gene Latty also lives in the home.
Over the years Melissa has collected wood salvaged from a couple of old homes that were dismantled. She had much of that wood re-milled and used it in the restoration. An old chandelier she got from a friend years ago now hangs in the master bath. When Melissa had the ceiling torn out during the renovations, she discovered the wonderful original beamed and tongue and groove 10-foot ceiling – the perfect place to hang that chandelier.
Melissa describes her décor as “shabby chic contemporary” with some antiques added in. The home, with its sea-inspired colors has the beach bungalow feel to it. There are soft shades of blues, greens, coral and shell pinks, and natural shades of sand. All of these colors create a wonderful palette to live with, and are easy on the eye. Accents include palm tree paintings, assorted sea shells, fish carvings and paintings, reed window shades, and a wonderful hearth for the gas stove fireplace that Melissa created using crushed seashells from the beach, river rock, small aqua tiles, round pieces of colored glass and two small ceramic turtles.
The family Christmas tree will have a “Beach House” color theme and there will be lots of festive garland decorating the wrap-around porch. Front porches are an important element in the bungalow style house, but when Melissa bought the house the columns, balustrades and railings were either non-existent or falling off. The restored porch runs the entire length of the front of the house and wraps around the south side. There are several welcoming and comfortable seating areas and, of course, a porch swing at one end. The porch is under the primary roof of the house and has two stylish dormer windows that provide it with more light.
Unusual for Florida and especially an island home, the house has full basement under it. “I understand why Northerners are really upset that they can’t have basements down here,” Melissa said, “because they are so functional. It is such a great storage area. There is even a laundry chute in my bedroom closet so I can drop the laundry down to the basement where my washer and dryer are.”
Melissa and her contractor spent an entire year of solid 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays working on the restoration, before she could occupy the house, which she says is still a work in progress. She lived out of the apartment above the garage. Every window in the house was removed, scrapped, sanded, re-glazed and re-hung. Melissa also landscaped the entire yard with tropical plants, a brick pathway to the front porch, stepping stone paths set in crushed gravel, a brick patio in the back, stylish fencing and even an outdoor shower with hot and cold running water. The kid’s favorite is a huge hammock strung between two trees in the backyard.
Take a moment to savor the surroundings as you relax in a comfortable rocker or the swing on the front porch, and you will appreciate the hard work and love that has gone into restoring this beachside beauty.
Working artists’ home on Magnolia Street … The home of Christian & Jennifer Kerr-Marsch
Kerr Marsch house
Love of beauty, nature and art are evident at first glance at the Magnolia Street home of artists Christian and Jennifer Kerr-Marsch. The couple moved to New Smyrna Beach after college in 1995, Jennifer with a degree in literature and Christian a degree in photography. Jennifer’s apprenticeship with a local potter in 1996 led to the couple opening their own pottery studio in 1998. They bought the Magnolia Street house in 2001. Originally built in 1946 and only 800 square feet, it had been renovated by its previous owners.
“We loved the old pine floors and that the house was small enough and affordable enough that we would be able to do what we wanted to make it our own. We saw it as an empty palette that had so much potential,” Jennifer said. “The best thing about the property is that it is actually a lot and a half. So we were able to not only build our 800 square-foot pottery studio in 2002, but double the size of the house, which was necessary after we had two children.”
“The kitchen was so closed off and we love to entertain,” Jennifer said. “I used to hate getting stuck in the kitchen. The addition in 2007 added 865 square feet to the house and Christian did a lot of the work. We bumped out a couple of walls to enlarge the kitchen and added a wonderful concrete countertop for me.”
The couple has a large collection of original art works they acquired from around the country during the 10 years they spent on the art show circuit. Their collection includes blown glass, pottery, photography, stained glass, paintings, tapestries, and drums; as well as Jennifer’s ceramics and Christian’s photographs.
“You could definitely describe our décor as eclectic,” Jennifer said. “It’s a modest home and we are relatively conservative with it because it goes along with the idea of sustainability. Most of the furniture is hand-me-downs except for some furniture we had made in Indonesia when we spent five weeks in Bali on our honeymoon.”
Jennifer’s beautiful sculptural ceramic tile work is evident throughout the house. She created the children’s bathtub surround with bubbles, waves and stars based on a favorite children’s story, “Goodnight Sun, Hello Moon.”
The house has a 10’x26’ back porch, and a beautiful kid-friendly yard filled with interesting plants, including a collection of different types of clumping bamboo. Decking leads the way to Jennifer’s workplace – Mosquito Mud Pottery Studio – where she creates serving dishes, bakeware, kitchenware, art tiles and her newer sculptural “bubble” mirror works. Jennifer created two different art tiles specifically for the IMAGES Tour of Homes Boutique.
Tour-goers will enter through a small colorful art gallery filled with creations by Jennifer and other artists, then step through a doorway for a tour of a real working potter’s studio.
Jennifer and Christian love get something different as a Christmas “tree” each year – one that will end up growing in their lush yard after the holidays. It’s how their bamboo collection started. “It’s not too traditional, but hopefully it will become more of a tradition as we all face issues of sustainability.” Jennifer said. “When we decorate we use what we’ve been given from Christian’s grandmother Wa. We love lights, so hopefully we will have tons of lights this year.”
This charming, artistic home and working potter’s studio is sure to captivate tour-goers.
Elegant traditional home on Arts Center Avenue … The home of Ed & Nora Pankonin
Decorated by Pink Flamingo at Petals
Pankonin house
New Smyrna Beach captured the hearts of Ed and Nora Pankonin when they came to Florida as snowbirds the winter of 2006-07. They were instantly drawn to the white two-story house in the middle of a large grassy lot on Art Center Avenue the first time they saw it. Nora says it gave her a feeling of an old European house with its many windows, niches, unique ceilings, and its large kitchen. They bought the house in October 2007.
Ed and Nora, who have traveled extensively through Italy, have shared their love of cooking with their children, friends and neighbors for more than 40 years and the exquisite kitchen in their home has become a focal point in the lives of the retired nurse and financial planner. Ed’s “Simple & Fresh Italian Cookbook,” a tribute to his family, who came to America from Italy in the late 1800s, was published in April. Ed and Nora have recreated the treasured DeRose-Fusco family recipes with definitive measurements for all to enjoy.
The large and airy kitchen is a work of art as well as a working space. The stove is centered in a large niche surrounded by navy blue and white tiles in a diamond pattern. The diamond pattern is repeated in leaded glass doors crafted by a local artisan on a nearby cabinet. A large tiled island in the center of the room provides a wonderful preparation and teaching area for the couple when they offer unique cooking classes in their kitchen. Their cooking school is fashioned after Italian schools where students come to the villa and set up next to the teacher for a truly hands-on experience.
With a plethora of windows in all sizes and shapes and lots of glass doors, the home is airy and bright with lush views of Florida greenery visible from every room. Just inside the front door is a beautifully restored 1907 Fisher grand piano. The living room, as well as the dining room and kitchen have soaring 8 to 10-foot tray ceilings and the comfortable home is decorated in a traditional style with pieces that have been handed down in both families over the years.
The front of the house has a unique bay window-cupola structure, part of the original “mother-in-law suite.” It is actually a stunning bathroom with a whirlpool tub set into the bay window and the suite is now a friendly and inviting family room.
Special pieces of art abound on walls and in niches, including a painting of Positano, Italy that Ed fell in love with as he watched the artist working on it. He bought the unfinished work and the artist shipped it to him about three months later. It now hangs in the couple’s bedroom.
Pink Flamingo at Petals will decorate the home with festive traditional wreaths and arrangements incorporating cedar, pinecones, holly berries and other botanicals. There will be two decorated Christmas trees, and Ed’s collection of “Nutcrackers” will also be on display.
Wonderful aromas emanating from the home will greet visitors, as Ed and Nora plan to cook up some traditional Italian bread and sauce for tour-goers to sample in the kitchen. Benvenuti! (Welcome!) to the Pankonin’s friendly and inviting home.
Traditional home on Turnbull Bay … The home of Russ & Marcine Wheatley
Decorated by New Smyrna Beach Florist
Wheatley house
“The perfect retirement home,” is how Marcine Wheatley describes the Osprey Cove Drive home she shares with her husband Russ. “We just love it here and couldn’t be happier. We are so glad we moved up here from Miami. This home fits our needs perfectly.”
After Russ suffered a stroke, the couple retired early from their jobs as Dade County school administrators and decided to move to New Smyrna Beach to be closer to family. Marcine’s cousin is local builder Jim Jones and he agreed to build a home for them in the new Osprey Cove division near Turnbull Bay Golf Course.
The Weatleys fell in love with a beautifully treed lot on Turnbull Bay that reminded them of the Everglades they loved so much. The idea of moving to a small town to a quiet and tranquil area with little traffic was very appealing. They planned to downsize and have a small house built on the lot. But their daughters loved the location too, and wanted to have their own rooms when they visited.
So, Jones built a comfortable, expansive one-and-a-half story, four-bedroom, four-bath home, with an open floor plan and a large screened-in patio. The house was completed in October 2002 and Russ and Marcine happily took up residence and started making lots of friends.
“We love the patio,” Marcine said. “It’s where we live. We never tire of watching the birds and creatures. It is beautiful and endlessly fascinating. We entertain a lot and it’s wonderful. We have made so many friends here and we all take care of each other.”
The patio opens to a deck and a dock that weaves in and out of the trees to the water of Turnbull Bay, because the Weatleys didn’t want to have to cut down any of the trees in the back of the house.
Marcine, who refers to herself at the “Queen of Clutter,” said, ”I brought everything I had in Miami – everything that I had saved, every gift I ever received and every treasure I found at estate sales and art shows over the years. I brought the artwork from Miami right off our walls because I collected Vinikoff Everglades paintings, and I figured what could be more appropriate? I guess you could call this a traditional house with a lot of collectibles.”
The home contains family treasures passed down through the generations, comfortable overstuffed sofas and chairs, wicker and wrought iron furniture, as well as unique pieces that Marcine has collected from estate sales over the years – crystal and china, an old wooden bar with stools, an old radio cabinet that a previous owner had converted into a wine cellar – everywhere one looks, another treasure can be found.
The home will be festively decorated for the holidays by New Smyrna Beach Florist with traditional arrangements as well as some designed especially to go with the beautiful natural setting.
Take a minute to savor the peaceful quiet surroundings, spend a few moments on the patio and the dock and you’ll know why Russ and Marcine are so happy in their own private Everglades.
Island comfort on Donlon Drive … The home of Palmer & Diane Wilson
Donlon house
When Palmer and Diane Wilson decided to move to New Smyrna Beach from up north they had a clear idea of what they wanted in a house. They looked for three years without finding one that met their criteria.
Then Diane walked in the front door of a 1980s house on Donlon Drive. It wasn’t exactly what they were looking for, but Diane, an interior designer and decorator, saw lots of potential. Her husband, Palmer, walked in the front door and turned around and walked out, asking, “Have you lost your mind?” He changed his mind when he found out that a boat slip came with the house and that Diane had a clear vision of how to turn the house into the home they desired.
They bought the house in 2004 and Diane started a total remodel. The house was gutted. The roof, siding, windows, and even some walls were removed and rebuilt. Two years ago they added the sunroom and put in a pool.
“It’s like we have the best of both worlds here,” Diane said. “We are close to downtown, but we are on a cul-de-sac so there is little traffic. We are on the river, but close to the beach, and we can ride our bikes or walk just about anywhere.”
Diane designed the house with large French doors in the master bedroom, living room and sun room, allowing access to the back patio and pool from those rooms.
“The thing I love about the house most is the fact that we can get to our outside living area from just about any room in the house,” Diane said. “It is all open, so that no matter what room you are in, you can see out. That’s what I love about this house – the sense of space and openness.”
Diane has decorated the house in a traditional manner, but with a “Key West” island flair. The bright comfortable indoor/outdoor furniture in the sunroom is waterproof against five grandchildren coming in wet from the pool. The family friendly room also has an old-fashioned popcorn machine in the corner and a unique and fantastic boat-shaped bar.
Diane recently joined the team at Coastal Interiors in Edgewater, as one of the interior decorators. DKW Services, LLC (owner Diane Wilson) is a management and leadership consulting firm and Palmer Wilson is senior consultant.
Just about every room has a computer and Palmer built the wireless server and system that is hardwired into the house. The “brains” of the operation is housed in a small temperature-controlled room off the Wilson’s very neat and organized garage.
The couple just finished installing a fantastic U-shaped outdoor “kitchen” area on the patio by the pool with a stainless steel barbecue, bar and sink, making family and friend get-togethers even more fun.
Diane has an incredible collection of antique toys and dolls, which she will display in groupings around the house for the holidays, especially her extensive collection of handmade Byer’s Choice Carolers dolls. The one-of-a-kind dolls will bring special warmth to her Christmas décor that also includes two large decorated Christmas trees and the Wilson’s collection of holiday dinnerware.
Take a moment to savor the surroundings in this beautifully designed home with its access to the outdoors and its comfort within.
The IMAGES Tour of Homes will also feature the popular IMAGES Boutique at ACA’s Whatmore Commons, 1414 Art Center Ave.; and the Little Theatre of New Smyrna Beach, 726 Third Ave., both in New Smyrna Beach. IMAGES would like to thank Island Life Magazine for being sponsors of the Tour of Homes. Tickets for the Saturday Tour and Boutique, held from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. are $20 each. For ticket information, phone 386-423-4733 or e-mail images@imagesartfestival.org. Tickets will also be available the day of the event at the Boutique.
