Blending Old & New to Create

A Truly Unique Home

  Building a custom home is a lot of work for everyone involved, including the buyer who must grapple with a seemingly endless onslaught of important and not so important decisions. It's a process that demands time, energy, and a clear vision of what you want the finished house to be.
  At first glance, a rational person would have to say, "why not just leave all those annoying decisions and risks to the builder?" After all, winter Park has many excellent custom builders who create beautiful spec houses from which to pick and choose. It's and approach that assures immediate gratification. Sure, the house you ultimately select probably won't precisely fit your needs and preferences nor be exactly what you've envisioned, but you can't have everything when you're buying "off the rack." Therein lies the primary difference between those who are happy with "close is good enough" and those who opt to embark on building a house that is uniquely theirs.

  Like most people who choose to build rather than buy an existing house, Polly and Brock Magruder had spent many years living in houses that had originally been built for someone else. This house would accurately reflect who they are, what they hold dear, and how they now live their lives.

  Brock has an appreciation for fine antiques, old woods, and the latest electronic gadgetry. Polly has an excellent sense of design and color coupled with a keen interest in the architecture of the Old South.

  Together, they came up with a preliminary vision of the home they wanted. It would be a traditional American-style house that would have its design roots in the South. The house would also have to be configured for both formal and casual entertaining; incorporate features that would make it very livable for an empty nester couple with very active business and social lives; and, reflect a total commitment to quality workmanship and materials throughout.

The Architecture
  The Magruders selected architect Gary Hancock of Winter Park Design to help translate their vision into a set of working building plans. According to Polly Magruder, “We were initially drawn to the styles of homes typically found in Charleston. We thought the lowland South Carolina architecture was very appealing and would fit well in Winter Park. However, as the design process went forward, we began gravitating toward a style more characteristic of New Orleans rather than Charleston.”
Hancock’s admiration for the work of Hays Town played a major role in the home’s evolution into a truly Louisiana-style house. Town, who is widely regarded as Louisiana’s premier architect, is credited with developing a distinctive Louisiana style that integrates the finest elements of that region’s architectural past, including Acadian porches and shutters, Creole doorways, and Spanish rooflines.
Another long-time fan of Hays Town also helped influence Polly Magruder’s shift toward a more New Orleans-style home. David Chauvin of Millwork International was brought in early in the design process because he would be handling the extensive interior millwork that was planned for the house. Chauvin was born, raised, and developed his woodworking skills in southern Louisiana, so he brought a wealth of hands-on knowledge of and appreciation for the hays town interpretation of Louisiana architectural style.

The Layout
  Working closely with Polly Magruder, Hancock designer the two-story home, featuring a center entry hall flanked by a formal parlor and dining room across the front of the house. Toward the rear, the kitchen and family room flow together to create a rather large combination area, which has a far more casual look than the front portion of the house. The kitchen boasts black granite countertops by Mystic (slab) and Stone Art (fabrication/installation). It’s equipped with Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances from Southeast Steel.
Several sets of French doors open onto a large brick patio that leads into a cabana-style structure with an outdoor fireplace. An outdoor kitchen is tucked away in an alcove adjacent to the house. The entire area was designed to create an ideal venue for outdoor entertaining.
The wide center hall layout is repeated on the second floor. At the front of the house, a large two person home office occupies the space above the first floor dining room. Across the hall, a workout room is located above the parlor. French doors lead from the center hall to a balcony that spans the entire front of the house.
The master bedroom and bathroom suite is located toward the rear. A small balcony adjacent to the bedroom suite overlooks the courtyard-style outdoor entertainment area. A two car garage is located directly behind the house and includes a second-story guest suite.

The Structure
  Built by Bates Driscoll Construction, the house encompasses slightly more than 5,000 square feet living area. Although it certainly doesn’t rival the size of some of the behemoths that are becoming a ubiquitous part of Winter Park’s residential landscape, it packs a great deal of luxury quality appointments and finishes into a relatively small area.
The four-bedroom, four-bath home is an ideal example of excellent workmanship and materials both inside and out. Outside, the slate roof, custom-made copper guttering, and 82 custom-made storm shutters are indicative of the commitment to building quality into every aspect of the house. Inside, the custom millwork and finishes, detailing, and appliances mirror that focus on quality.
According to Tom Bates, “Given the emphasis on custom components and quality workmanship, it took a lot of careful planning and scheduling to get the house completes within the targeted time-frame. With the exception of a brief hiatus due to the three hurricanes, we were able to complete the house in about 12 months. All of our subs (subcontractors) did an excellent job, both in terms of excellent workmanship and timely performance.

The Interior
  Perhaps the most striking aspect of the interior is the millwork. Everywhere you look, your eyes will undoubtedly go to the often understated buy well executed wood finishes. The parlor’s deeply coffered ceilings and dramatic fireplace mantle give the room a decidedly formal look. Across the hall, the dining room also boasts a fireplace with a well-crafted wood mantle. Multi-layered crown molding and trim made of mahogany grace most rooms and every detail from doors to window sills seems to have been carefully planned and executed.
Then, there are the floors. In keeping with the traditional look of a New Orleans style house, the Magruders wanted to use a wood they had seen in several stately old southern homes. With David Chauvin’s help, they identified the wood as Longleaf pine. “Had the home been built in 1905 rather than 2005, the flooring would have almost certainly been Longleaf pine,” says Chauvin.
Longleaf pine is very different from any species of soft pin we are familiar with in today’s market-place. In the early years of this country, forests largely composed of the species once covered millions of acres across the south-eastern United States. Highly prized for its strength, resilience and resistance to decay, Longleaf was the equal of many hardwoods. By the mid-1800s, it became the wood of choice for everything from ship’s masts to telegraph poles and structural timbers. It also made excellent flooring and many homes built in the late 1800s and early 1900s had Longleaf pin floors.
Its popularity led to years of over-logging and large stands of this slow growth species were pretty thoroughly decimated by the mid-1900s. Today, Longleaf pine is hard to locate and even harder to acquire.
Fortunately, Chauvin was able to call on some of his life-long friends in Louisiana to help in the search. Through them, he was able to locate and purchase a sizeable stock of Longleaf pin timbers that had been salvaged from several old warehouses, which were being torn down.
Millwork International re-milled the old timbers into ¾ inch tongue and groove flooring. The company also used some of the timbers to create cabinet fronts and doors for all of the kitchen cabinets. So, after being first harvested in the 19th century, the venerable Longleaf pine lumber is getting a new start as part of a home built in the 21st century.
Florida Cypress is also used throughout the house. Ceiling for the balconies and cabana are of Pecky Cypress and the built-n-paneling and bookcases found in the family room are also made of Cypress.

The Systems Although the house may look like it was built in the late 19th century, that appearance is only skin deep. Behind the traditional surfaces, the home is pure 21st century.
The house is wired from top to bottom with a low voltage structured wiring package that serves a variety of integrated communications applications, including safety and security systems, environmental controls, data and communications systems. Touch panel controllers are sprinkled around the house, which enable the Magruders to control various applications in any part of the house from almost any room.
Other “nice to have” components include an elevator to make going between floors easier, should the need ever arise. There’s also a 40 kW, natural gas powered Guardian generator tucked away behind the garage that can keep all those electronics running in the event of a power outage.
A truly wonderful blend of old and new, the Magruder house on Park Avenue promises to be a very nice addition to the neighborhood for many years to come.

"Blending old & New to Create A Truly Unique Home ", Winter Park Home Summer: 15