Alys Beach

Hi everybody! Hope you are all had a great weekend. I keep hoping for a week full of warm weather, don’t you? Well those of you who are as ready for Spring as I am are going to love this post by guest blogger Kellum Smith. Kellum is an agent here at Beacham & Company, and wants to tell you all a little more about Alys Beach.
-Blayne

An Alys Beach Experience
By: Kellum Smith

Architecture and interior design are my passion, so I appreciate good design wherever I can find it. So often as a real estate agent and design consultant I see so much that does not come under the category of good design, in my (not so) humble opinion. It is always so refreshing to come across something really special. Something that combines great architectural design with thoughtfully chosen interior finishes that complete the vision the architects were trying to achieve. So many times you have to search to try to find any relationship between an architectural exterior design and the home’s interior design and finishes…as if the two creators never spoke with each other. What a shame, I would think, for an architect to see his or her vision stunted in its growth by an interior designer who fully ignores and/or chooses to remain ignorant of the inspirations for the design the architect had in mind when creating the space.

I feel that true architectural success is when you find a project that has cohesive design throughout. A combined synergy that moves from developer to architect to builder to interior designer to landscape architect, so that it is fully apparent that one vision, one mission was shared by all. When you see such a success, it is the feel of the place that takes over. As you move from one refreshing moment to the next it evolves and exposes itself to you detail by detail until the whole vision is revealed. Much like standing at length before an intricate and beautiful painting and following the brush strokes of the artist as his or her work reveals itself to you. And like a compelling work of art, every time you stand before it, you see something you haven’t seen before. Viewed from another angle, seen at a certain time of day in a shaft of soft light…and the feeling continues to unfold. Architecture is, after all, one of the oldest and greatest forms of art and if done well, it is timeless and ages gracefully.

On a recent trip to assist a valued client and friend in purchasing a beach property, I found an example of this rare and beautiful combination of architectural synergy along the pristine Gulf Coast beaches of the Florida panhandle. These white sand beaches were voted one of the 2010 Top 10 Destinations in the World by Frommers. Also known as the Emerald Coast, the beach is so clean and well preserved that it has been certified as a Blue Wave Beach by the country’s only environmental certification program for beaches. It was the only destination in the US that made the Frommers list, and it is a mere 5-6 hour drive from Atlanta. This beach was the perfect canvas on which to create Alys Beach…a Gulf Coast village, with architectural inspirations from Bermuda and Antigua, Guatemala.

Duany, Plater-Zyberk, the architectural firm that helped create Seaside, Florida and Rosemary Beach, Florida, have helped to create a third masterpiece on the Emerald Coast. Third time is the charm, and in this case the charm is Alys Beach…their most impressive addition to the area. It is unsurpassed both from an urban design and sensitive sustainable development perspective, and in aesthetic value.
“Alys Beach may well be the most truly innovative community under construction in the U.S today, and it will eventually be imitated everywhere.” — Andres Duany of DPZ, Designer of 300 towns around the world.

As you drive down Scenic Hwy 30A the view is fairly typical of a lovely beach road. But when you look ahead in the distance and see the tall white pyramid shaped Butteries reaching toward a cerulean blue sky connected by two rows of Medgool Palms along either side of the road, you know you have arrived some place special. Your first impulse is to slow down to take in the full view. I always imagine a brief image from an old movie of a glamorous star in a pastel blue convertible with her scarf blowing in the breeze driving into Beverly Hills through a row of palms….but I digress. Whatever your reaction, I can assure you the effect of entering Alys Beach will make you slow down and take notice. For just a moment, you question where you are. As you enter past the first spire you see a white pristine village that marries so beautifully with the sky and sea that your first impulse may be to give an audible sigh of relief. (Mine was.) Ahhhhhh, now here is what I have been looking for.

Alys Beach was the vision of Town Founder Jason Comer; one that he named after his late grandmother. Today, Comer is also building his personal residence in Alys Beach, and family is clearly an important part of his vision.

“As we build our town, we’re pushing the envelope in every conceivable way. It’s not just about building economic value, but about creating spiritual and social value as well. Alys Beach’s external beauty is self-evident, but by exploring our town, visitors better understand our town’s inner beauty too.”- Jason Comer, Founder and Developer

That vision has been protected and enhanced by Jason and the Alys Beach town architects, Marieanne Khoury-Vogt and Erik Vogt, to the extent that as one passes through the seaside village to the homes and into the magnificent interiors….the architectural details flow easily from one to the other without any interruption in design or nuance so that once you enter Alys Beach, you are transported to another place altogether.

“The vision for Alys Beach has its roots in the architectural style of Bermuda as characterized by simple volumes of whitewashed masonry and stucco as well as the typology of the courtyard or ‘patio’ house of Antigua, Guatemala.”-Marieanne Khoury-Vogt -email hidden; JavaScript is required

As we approached the first courtyard home, the entrance alone took my breath away as the tall wooden doors swung wide open to reveal an open air interior courtyard with intricate tile and stone work and a dipping pool all completely private to the outside world. Built to the edges of the lot, the courtyard homes are organized around a private central courtyard, with outdoor galleries, terraces, gardens, fountains and pools arrayed in a myriad of ways designed to enhance the outdoor living experience. Each courtyard, with its own secrets and treasures, is open to the sky above, allowing for the movement of air and sunshine.

As we entered the home the first thing I felt was the continuity of design. Not only were the architectural interiors flawless and in keeping with the overall feel of the Alys Beach exteriors, but the Dominican shell stone and limestone, the natural woods and the unpainted Venetian plaster finishes managed to bring the outside elements into the home.

Walking from the beach, through the village, into the courtyard and into the home was one long smooth transition. I felt as much a part of Alys Beach while biking through the village, enjoying Caliza Pool, dining at George’s, or taking a sunset stroll on the gulf as I did retiring inside the master suite with creamy white Venetian plaster walls, a floor to ceiling Dominican shell stone fireplace and glass doors opening on to the private courtyard. From the time I arrived between the Butteries, until the time I begrudgingly left them at the end of my stay, I was enjoying what I have come to call the Alys Beach experience.

Alys Beach will undoubtedly be a destination for those who already frequent the Scenic Hwy 30A area from Atlanta, Alabama and beyond…but I believe it will also be a destination for the world traveler who seeks peace, serenity and grace along one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

To hear more about my Alys Beach experience, or to hear how you can have your own, feel free to email me atemail hidden; JavaScript is required"> email hidden; JavaScript is required

Kellum Smith
Connecting People and Places
Beacham & Company, REALTORS®
3284 Northside Parkway, NW
Suite 100
Atlanta, GA 30327
404-867-5355 Cell
404-261-6300 Office
404-806-9281 Fax