A Florida beach house built in 1919 is still alive, and was lovingly renovated in 2011. You will love the story. Idlewild Cottage in Indian Rocks beach is a great story of how to renovate an old house. Houzz.com has a nice appreciation of some of the improvements, written by Tampa architect Bud Dietrich. Look at these pictures.
The porch is restored with a tongue and groove ceiling, but is unobtrusively updated with electronic roll-down screens for privacy and insect control.
Homeowners in Old Northeast here in St. Petersburg will love this – look at these Before and After pictures. It’s stunning to see how the historic architectural lines have been rigorously maintained, while the material condition of the structure has been completely modernized.
The interior of the home proves once again – as we all know – that you CAN live a contemporary lifestyle in a historic home.
And in case you wondered how hard this was:
“This wasn’t all that easy to do. That beautiful floor is the original wood, but the structure supporting it had to be rebuilt. Builder Steve Perry and his crew pulled up the flooring and rebuilt the structure, then relaid and refinished the flooring.”
Owners of historic homes are often those rare people who spend money they may never get back, in order to keep some of the past alive. But they inhabit homes that are labors of love.
The story at Houzz is here: An Old Florida Bungalow Gets Brand-New Polish
Idlewild Cottage also has its own web site, as lovingly curated as the home itself. Check it out for a wealth of history of Florida days gone by, details on the renovation process, and a treasure trove of photos: www.idlewildcottage.com
Image courtesy of Idlewild Cottage
