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Location: Jupiter Island, Florida

Interior Designer: Betsy Brown Inc.

Architect/Construction Company: Thomas Melhorn

Photographer: Nicole Franzen

The Jupiter Island Home project is a family beach house on the Atlantic Ocean in Jupiter Island, Florida in concert with Thomas Melhorn. The clients are a couple in their 60’s who have three children and one grandchild. They wanted a beach house on the east coast of Florida that could be a gathering place for multiple generations. The materials would need to be authentic, with the ability to age gracefully and record the wear of generations.

The concept of Wabi Sabi was followed, allowing for beauty to be found in authentic imperfection. The furniture was chosen with a similar goal of creating a collection of vintage and new pieces that could age gracefully. As the house will be used by future generations, pieces were selected that would be as appropriate in one hundred years as they are today. The designers searched for vintage tables and chairs with rustic, original finishes – imperfect pieces that could hold up to a house full of kids and dogs for years to come.

The upholstered pieces were chosen for comfort, simplicity and durability. Deep, comfortable sofas and chairs were requested so the family could happily lounge together. The fabrics echo the colours of the landscape – the blues and grays of the Atlantic Ocean and the beiges of warm, summer sand. The curtains, made of loosely woven white linen, billow in the breeze that blows through the house, as the doors are rarely closed.

Betsy Brown Interiors’ favourite aspects of the project are the use of authentic South Florida materials, such as reclaimed cypress for cabinetry and millwork. The project called for an intense search for vintage pieces in their original finish in order to ensure that the house will age as gracefully as possible.