The sunsets of Seaside

Not only is the town architecturally beautiful, the sunsets seen in Seaside were some of the prettiest I've experienced.Why is it that one notices such things so much more during a vacation then during their daily lives?

The towers of Seaside

One of the architectural features you find throughout the different styles of Seaside are towers. They not only make the house they belong to distinctive, these towers are a great place to catch the sea breezes in the summer, views of the Gulf year round and provide private outdoor space as yards tend to be miniscule.This green house was one of the most charming in town.One of the many modern houses had this interesting tower; notice the curved ceiling within the peaked roof.One of my favorite houses, designed by Charles Warren, was inspired by a Roman villa.This distinctive red shade, in a town full of pastels, makes the house the brightest in Seaside.Many of the houses along 30A are Victorian, a natural style for a tower.What do you think, Yea or Nea? It becomes a bit overwhelming in person as so many houses have towers -how many is too many?

Seaside Beach Pavilions

Unlike some of the other new urbanist beach towns which dot the Florida panhandle, the beaches of Seaside are graciously open to the non-Seaside public.Not only are they free and open but each beach access point is marked with a different architectural folly.Designed by different architects in numerous styles, a common question in Seaside may be which folly is your favorite. The good thing about these is that you can always find your way closest to home on the beach without disturbing the dunes and wildlife.Pensacola Street was the beach access point closest to my cottage, The Angel in the Dunes, about 1 block away.Designed by Tony Atkin, the top of the post modernist folly (seen above) was lit at night so I could find my way home after sunset each evening.The West Ruskin Street Pavilion by Michael McDonough was also in postmodern style and perhaps a bit dated but I loved the playfulness of it.Just another reason I loved Seaside so much, this attention to detail. Who doesn't love an architectural folly?

Angel in the Dunes

While in Seaside, as I mentioned, I stayed in a guest cottage on one of the pedestrian path 'alleys' that was a lesson in small living, the Angel in the Dunes.

Measuring in at a total of under 450 sf spread over two floors, the small house read larger than my apartment in the city which is even slightly larger.I loved the cheerful yellow siding which matched the main house (seen to the left). As you can see, the dense plantings made the exterior hard to photograph!The houses in Seaside are all raised off the ground to allow for venilation to help with natural cooling in the hot summers (don't worry, there was an AC too!).The 2nd floor had a balcony with operable shutters which was a lovely place to have my morning tea.Even though I didn't use it, the grill on the front deck was a nice addition.The bay window in the living room contained a built-in banquette that was comfy and a great use of space. The barley twist dining table with hanging leaves was a good selection for the small room.Opposite the dining nook was the couch and lounge rocker-chair with stools/coffee table with matching barley twist legs. If this was my little beach cottage I would probably add narrow bookcases on this entire wall for storage behind the couch (beach reading material!).Opposite the entry wall was the tv (rather inartfully done as you can see) as well as entry to the kitchen and the stairs to the bedroom above. The kitchen was very smartly and efficiently laid out. The undercounter microwave and small fridge are all you need for such a small house with room for dishes on the open shelves above. You could replicate such a smart kitchen at home with a LG refrigerator.Opposite was tons of storage and a full pantry (doors cut off to the right) along with a side by side washer dryer.Under the stairs was the small mechanical/storage room with a bump out for the back of the washer dryer so they fit neatly under the cabinets. This also provided a shelf for additional storage. Up the stairs was a surprisingly spacious bathroom and large bedroom with vaulted ceiling (which I forgot to photograph!). I highly recommend the Angel in the Dunes for 1 or 2 guests. The main house was much larger and sleeps up to 10 with the option of combining the guest cottage for additional space.

The Chapel at Seaside

No small town is complete without a church. Seaside has an adorable white board-and-batten chapel built in the tradition of such churches but with a modern edge.The non-denominational chapel was designed by Scott Merrill of Merrill and Pastor Architects on land donated by the founders of Seaside, Robert and Daryl Davis.Designed to be the tallest building in town, the chapel is given extra prominence by being the end point of the center line of town; a true focal point.My father being a minister, I have very definite ideas about churches of course, and this one hits the mark on every item. I love the old fashioned pews and the paneled Apse or Altar front. Tall ceilings and fans help in the hot summer weather.Adjacent to the main building is a charming outdoor chapel formed by an allee of trees and breezeway off the front of the church. Read more about the chapel and see some great photos at the blog Life of an Architect.

Big house, small house

In Seaside, town of small houses, there are still variations of scale. Main houses, guest cottages and then....birdhouses?The only thing cuter than a small guest house is an adjacent matching birdhouse!

Seaside, Florida

As I've mentioned, a few weeks ago I visited Seaside, Florida. It had been a longtime dream of mine since reading all of the media buzz in the early 90s and then later studying the master-planned community in architecture school. More recently it was the setting of the fantastic Jim Carrey movie "The Truman Show". Founded by Robert Davis on 80 acres along the Florida panhandle coastline inherited from his grandfather, the town became one of the first of many planned communities designed in "new urbanism" mode and certainly the most famous. The master plan was created by Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk of the Miami firm, Arquitectonica. Meant to evoke the seaside resort towns of the past, Seaside was built to a prescribed scale with a set of strict guidelines to build to for those who bought into the community. And buy they did, the settlement was a successful and spawned a movement that trickled world wide to varying degrees of success and quality.The first part of planning was walkability. One can walk from their cottage to the beach or the commercial center, the pool, tennis courts or church in a matter of minutes. Once you arrive in Seaside, there is no need to move your car. Besides, pedestrians have the right of way and you travel faster by foot, let alone being able to find parking.But the town is not urban but rather a small town of low scale. Houses, no matter their style (although most subscribe to a pseudo-victorian cottage style), must have a front porch and sit a certain distance from the street. Lot sizes are small to allow for walkability and so you are forced at once into this community. Following this, the houses are true cottages and although many of the later ones push this boundary and are larger than the originals, I think it safe to say these are all very small houses. Even the backs of the houses are open to pedestrian alleys between streets. Many of the houses have a guest cottage which face these alleys and so if you stay one in (as I did) this is your way home. Yes, the walkway is sand as we're just a block off the beach here, as is everything. All properties must also be bounded by a white picket fence. According to the guidelines though, no 2 may be alike on the same street. This ensures that the community has variety within the strict guidelines. The houses were built by the lot owner rather than by a single developer and by a number of different architects, so you can imagine the variety that exists architecturally.The town center is still in the works, as buyers build-up their lots, but there are a number of shops and restaurants as well as the usual amenities such as bathrooms, beach changing rooms, chuch, town hall and even a post office seen above (the most photographed building in Seaside). I loved this modern building on the main town square. Like all of the buildings in the center of town, there is commercial space on the ground level with offices or apartments above.Behind the town center is a charter school which makes the resort town feel alive year round. The panhandle, as I found out, is very different than Southern Florida; they have winter! This is a seasonal resort (think late spring through fall) and though the weather was warmer than in DC, lets just say I wasn't spending much time on the beach.Scenic coastal highway 30A separates the town from the beach by a short block which is naturally filled with the most impressive houses.The road sits 2 rows of houses back from the beach with one of the pedestrian alleys between. These houses follow a different planning guideline and because of the additional pedestrian traffic are more private than houses above the highway. Many are designed in a post modern Greek-revival style differing from the houses north of 30A.
I hope you will join me as I explore this town through a series of posts with my many many pictures and that you enjoy it half as much as I did!