Sarasota home goes from showing its age to a glam makeover

House hunters often are faced with the same compromise Wisconsin residents Patti Ann and Christopher Curtin considered when scouting Longboat Key for their ideal winter vacation home.

Two years ago, they discovered the neighborhood they loved, but an available villa in that neighborhood of Winding Oaks was far from a favorite. And yet, they bought the 2,700-square foot, three-bedroom, three-bath place without much hesitation, realizing that what was fixed (the location) trumped what could be altered with time and money.

Although they werent thrilled about committing to a major renovation project, they knew it was the sensible compromise.

The neighborhood is lovely, quiet and gated, said Patti Ann, so that we could lock and leave the house without worry. The villa style is more like a home to us than a high-rise, and this one came with a garage. The living space is on one level and the three bedrooms mean that our three adult sons and daughter-in-law can come and visit often. The exteriors of the homes in this neighborhood have a contemporary Cape Cod feel that appeals to us a lot. Everything about the outside of the place said home to us right away.

But then came the inside assessment of this 1991 villa. The entrance foyer was huge and just a major waste of space, continued Patti Ann. And the kitchen had a dysfunctional U-shape that I hated. The place was carpeted, and there was no color anywhere except for white and beige. The three bathrooms needed updating, and the all the lighting was insufficient. The fireplace in the living room wasnt our style, but the worst feature of the house was an atrium off the foyer that was nothing but a gloomy dungeon as far as I was concerned. On the good side, the place had been well maintained and it was in great shape.

The Curtins wisely decided to live in the house as it was last winter while compiling a list of plan changes and upgrades.

During this time they researched Sarasota designers online and ultimately hired Mark Dalton of Chic on the Cheap. He brought in designer Jessica Napoli and also Jeff Francola, owner of J&K Building and Remodeling, for a project that took six months. For all of that time, the Curtins were back in Wisconsin and communicated with the two designers by phone, photos and texts. They shared online sources and did some shopping that way. Patti Ann Curtin made two trips to Sarasota to select furniture, area carpets, tile patterns, and lighting with the designers at Robb & Stucky, Rugs as Art, Franklin Lighting and Ikea.

The biggest change we made was to take out three walls in the kitchen area, add a big center island and reconfigure the space so that now its open to the living area, has expansive views and functions for a family, explained Dalton. Its big, open, airy and white, with stainless appliances and vivid yellow walls. Since the house had very little color and the Curtins were eager to add some, we kept the Hawthorne Yellow, by Benjamin Moore, as the major wall color throughout the public places of the villa. Then the designers did a daring thing that Dalton is pretty sure no one else in the neighborhood has tried.

We took that long and wide, useless foyer and converted it into a roomy contemporary dining space, with a glass-and-chrome chandelier over a long wood-and-chrome table paired with Plexiglass chairs, continued the designer. The six sculptural chairs were the most expensive accessories the Curtins chose for the place, but the impact is worth it. And the chairs are quite comfortable.

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Sarasota home goes from showing its age to a glam makeover