A home that was modern in 1971 and expressed features of the Sarasota School of Architecture especially in its integration to the outside living spaces and waterside natural surroundings, has recently undergone a sensitive modernization and is on the market for $2,645,000. It is offered through Realtor Seth Westerberg of Keller Williams on the Water.
The home is located in one of Siesta Key’s most prized neighborhoods, Hidden Harbor, a private enclave of 36 homes sited on the east shore of Siesta Key, on Roberts Bay. Some of the homes date back to the mid-1950s and carry the signature of architects such as Ralph Twitchell (he had his office and home on Siesta Key) and Jack West.
This house was custom designed and built in 1971 for the Marlow family and the current owners bought it from the son in 2020 with the idea of updating the house and grounds for a vacation home in Florida. This Boston couple was not afraid of a whole-house renovation. Over the past few years they have refurbished an 1812 Colonial farmhouse in Pennsylvania, an 1888 Queen Anne-style residence in New Jersey and an 1860 Victorian in Boston.
“My husband, who is a furniture designer, and I just love old houses with character,” said the wife, who is a cardiologist. “We especially like places that need restoration work because we enjoy the process. This house on Siesta Key is probably the newest one we’ve tackled, but it’s still vintage. We bought primarily for the setting on Siesta Key, the deep water canal because we have a boat, and because Hidden Harbor is just so Old Florida beautiful with the brick roads under a canopy of trees.”
The renovation of this property took six months. The husband was the general contractor and the wife did the space planning and interior design. They furnished the home with vintage things they already owned, plus new pieces and some chairs and sofas that the husband reupholstered. The style is casual contemporary with gestures to the 1970s in some of the accessories and light fixtures.
This two-level home at 5303 Hidden Harbor Road sits on a half-acre and has three bedrooms, two baths and is 3,000 square feet. The outdoor living spaces such as large lanai with a slat wood ceiling, fire pit area, and swimming pool patio are part of the view at the back of the property. The house was designed specifically to unite with the natural surroundings and to maximize the views of the spring-fed deep canal.
The property includes a two-car detached garage, 38-foot dock and boat lift. Subtle night lighting and fencing make this property ideal for using the outdoor living spaces both day and night. This house is wood frame with a shingle roof. All the inside and outside spaces have been remodeled, upgraded and furnished. The home is being sold unfurnished, but the furnishings are available for purchase under a separate contract.
The white U-shaped kitchen is understated, relaxed and modern with three walls of white subway tile, white quartz counters, wood floor and new stainless steel appliances. The design features a combination open shelving above the counters and closed cabinetry below. Appliances include double wall ovens and a large French door-style refrigerator. The semi-open kitchen also includes a bar with counter-height seating on the family room side of the space.
The kitchen is light, bright and designed for maximum convenience. A little bling has been added with a modernistic brass starburst chandelier that is suspended from the tray ceiling. The kitchen opens to a family room that features a wall of built-ins with a beverage bar tucked into one end. Sliders open to the pool patio.
The separate dining room, which opens to the outside at one end of the room, retains several of its original custom features such as grasscloth wall covering, two handsome built-in buffets on opposite sides of the room and the dining table which expands to accommodate a crowd. The current owners added the woven dining chairs. In the living room a standout feature is a raised-hearth fireplace. A ’70s chrome standing lamp is a nod to the year the house was built.
The house has new wood flooring throughout, new hurricane-code windows, new sliding glass doors, all new fixtures and appliances. The owners replaced the roof and cedar siding on the outside and redid the swimming pool and dock while replacing the sea wall. New fencing delivers privacy and delineates spaces outside.
“Actually no surface inside or out was left untouched,” said the wife. “And even though the grasscloth on the walls in the dining room is original, it has been meticulously refreshed. Outside we took out dead trees and reshaped the landscaping while keeping the lush vegetation on either side of the new pathways and driveway. The house is virtually new but I think it still has that ’70s beach house vibe that we were so drawn to when we bought it.”
Two of the three bedrooms are downstairs and so is one of the baths, which can also be used as a pool bath since it can be entered from the outside. These rooms have a view of the pool and back gardens. There is also a den on the first floor.
The entire upper floor is the owners’ suite and offers scenic views of the canal and mangrove islands. This bedroom suite includes a large walk-in closet that is fully customized and organized. The spacious spa bath, which has walls of white tile in two complementary patterns, features an extra-large walk-in shower. The floor and shower pad are done in gray tile. A long double-sink floating vanity occupies one wall.
Hidden Harbor is known for its tranquility with most homes on deep water water for boating, fishing and water sports. Upscale in price, the neighborhood is near Siesta Village and Siesta Key Beach. A 15-minute drive over the North Bridge gets you to the Sarasota mainland.
Many homes in Hidden Harbor, like this one at 5303 Hidden Harbor Road, are waterfront properties and include dockage for boats and watercraft. Contemporary is the predominant architectural style, but several custom-built properties have been added over the years giving the neighborhood an eclectic aesthetic.
A mangrove peninsula offers natural protection and is home to abundant and diverse wildlife. This appeals to buyers who want to be in a natural Old Florida setting. The private roads in Hidden Harbor are brick and most of the streets are canopied with old growth oak trees which mingle with palms, wild coffee bushes, huge ferns, bromeliads and vivid tropical flowers. A homeowners association maintains this deed-restricted neighborhood and member fees are $150 per month.
When the current owners bought and renovated this property last year, they intended to keep it as their personal forever vacation home. But, then things changed as a new mindset emerged.
“During the renovation we lived in the house and just fell in love with the Siesta Key lifestyle,” said the wife. “During that time we began to question – like a lot of other COVID-confined people did – whether we had to live year-round in the Northeast to do our jobs. And it turns out we don’t. So we are moving to Florida permanently and becoming residents. But to do that, we need a bigger house. We are in the process of trying to find a large vintage home on water that we could renovate. Ideally, we want the same kind of neighborhood as Hidden Harbor, but that may be hard to duplicate because this place is very special.”