Polly Earl Award honors owner for renovation of 1930 Fatio house

Homeowner Lynn Foster doesnt search for words when describing the renovation-and-restoration project that on Wednesday won her a Polly Earl Award from the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach.

Its about a love affair rather than just a home. I fell in love with this house, Foster said about the top-to-bottom project at her landmarked Mediterranean-style house at 424 Brazilian Ave.

The lake-block house was designed in 1930 by noted society architect Maurice Fatio and christened Tradewinds, the name it bears today.

Foster accepted the award during a private ceremony that was held in conjunction with a meeting of the foundations trustees at the nonprofits headquarters.

The Polly Earl Award, established in 2005, honors small-scale, historically sensitive renovation projects. It complements the foundations Robert I. Ballinger Award, a similar award that honors projects carried out at large estates.

With a home in New York City, Foster, a retired investments executive, bought the house to use as her primary residence in 2011. She then worked closely with her two grown sons to hone ideas for the renovation. One son, John Claflin of Los Angles, is a screenwriter with professional experience designing homes. The other, Richard Claflin of New York, also is a screenwriter.

They turned to architect Patrick W. Segraves of SKA Architect + Planner, who had worked at the property 25 years ago.

We wanted to make the house 21st-century livable while keeping its integrity and charm, said Segraves, who pointed out original features such as the saltbox-style, the pecky-cypress ceiling in the two-story-tall living room and the Cuban-tile floors.

His plan included a 348-square-foot addition at the rear of the main residence that provided enough space on the ground floor for an en-suite third bedroom, which Foster uses as a sitting room, and a larger master bedroom above. Both rooms have views of the pool.

Completed in 2012, the yearlong renovation increased the size of the house to nearly 4,000 square feet of living space, inside and out. Overseen by contractor Benno Chip Janssen III and project superintendent Dave Elhage of Janssen Construction, the renovation replaced every window and door with mahogany-framed, impact-resistant versions.

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Polly Earl Award honors owner for renovation of 1930 Fatio house