New Yorker Howard Tanney was on a golf trip in South Florida when he called his wife, Jayne, with two pieces of surprising news. First, he won the tournament. And second, he bought a house in the community. “I was in shock,” Jayne recalls with a laugh, noting the couple had been casually looking for a residence in the area. Still, she was on board with the purchase—but refused to set foot inside without contacting their longtime designer and dear friend, Eddie Lee.
Having known Jayne for 25 years, Lee perfectly understood her point of view. She was accustomed to the stately feeling of the couple’s traditional brick home in Old Westbury, New York, so the pink 1990s dwelling with Mediterranean architecture and an open layout leaned out of her comfort zone. “It had thick and ornate details, like heavy moldings and clover-shaped windows,” Jayne remembers. “I like a sleeker, more modern look and wanted to bring New York sophistication to Florida.” To suit that directive, the designer forged a scheme pairing fine, classic furnishings with modern elements against moody yet inviting tones.
Home Details
Architecture:
Lynn McColl, Alfred A. Cilcius, Architect
Interior Design:
Eddie Lee, Eddie Lee Inc.
Home Builder:
Merri Koolik, NMB Custom Homes & Renovations
Lee began by collaborating with architectural designer Lynn McColl and builder Merri Koolik to overhaul the structure, smoothing out angles, arches and Tuscan details. “Cleaning up the lines throughout—including ceiling heights, window elevations, angles and jogs in the floor plan—gave the house the strong start it needed to then be dressed properly,” Koolik says. When reconfiguring the staircase, the team seized an opportunity for artistry. “This space called for something sculptural,” Lee observes. Crafted of white plaster, the curved result conveys a fluid, spiral form that integrates the handrail and gracefully swoops through the double-height atrium. “The clients wanted a work of art,” McColl muses, “and that’s exactly what it looks like.”
Within this framework, the Tanneys desired a welcoming atmosphere that is “organic but glamorous,” Jayne describes. “I didn’t want to walk into a white house with pops of color.” Materials became an important defining component in achieving that balance. To create continuity with the outdoors, for instance, Lee flowed taupe porcelain tile flooring throughout the interiors and around the pool and echoed the exterior’s split-face travertine inside, on walls in the foyer and family area. He also applied wallcoverings in large swaths, including grass cloth across the connected living spaces and a chevron pattern for the neutral-toned primary bedroom. “The textures give a tropical, organic feel without being so literal,” the designer explains. Drama arises in strategic moments—like in the powder room, lined with dynamic black quartzite streaked with gold.
Perhaps the home’s most striking focal point, however, is the living area’s bar lounge. Sleek walnut cabinetry with leather-paneled doors is a gorgeous backdrop for a stone table Lee devised with a single waterfall edge, seemingly floating thanks to a transparent glass support. “A lot of people will generally sit around a kitchen island,” he notes. “We wanted guests to come here instead—and they do.” Six stools offer seating, joining curved furnishings on a circular rug near oversize glass windows with views of the back exterior. “The living area environment draws you in like a force of nature,” Jayne says. “It embraces all your senses.”
A core factor in this engagement is the Tanney’s collection of antiques, which the designer layered across each room. “Bringing our past memories to our present was extremely important in this transition to make our new home feel personal,” Jayne says. These include 18th- and 19th-century chinoiserie items like the artwork above the primary bathroom’s freestanding tub, the clawfoot table in the staircase vortex and the living area’s black cabinet. Lee outfitted the primary bedroom with an existing sofa, coffee table and floor lamps, while a pair of sentimental Baccarat sconces—a gift from Jayne’s parents years ago—illuminates the powder room.
In expressing northern refinement in a Floridian locale, the designer gave his clients a new setting that is unmistakably theirs. “Each room has a personality of its own,” Jayne says. “The house feels tranquil, safe and familiar.”
NMB Custom Homes & Renovations constructed the curved plaster staircase. An Artistic Frame chair partners with an 18th-century chinoiserie table near Henry Curtis Ahl artwork. Benjamin Moore’s Steam on the walls enhances Porcelanosa’s Bottega Caliza floor tiles.
Tour The Home:
A Stark rug grounds the living area, home to the bar lounge. 1050 Commercial Architectural Woodworking crafted the stone-and-glass table—lined with Artistic Frame stools—and the walnut cabinetry. Draperies of Coraggio’s Allure textile flow beside an 18th-century chinoiserie cabinet.
NMB Custom Homes & Renovations constructed the curved plaster staircase. An Artistic Frame chair partners with an 18th-century chinoiserie table near Henry Curtis Ahl artwork. Benjamin Moore’s Steam on the walls enhances Porcelanosa’s Bottega Caliza floor tiles.
Belvedere quartzite from Nature of Marble embellishes the powder room, where a CB2 mirror centers Baccarat sconces. California Faucets’ Tiburon fixture and Kohler’s Kathryn sink are from Millers Elegant Hardware and Plumbing.
Holly Hunt’s Roulette cocktail table and Sumo chairs join a custom sectional in the living area, complemented by a Lawson-Fenning floor lamp and side tables. A Blueprint Lighting chandelier crowns the space, wrapped in Phillip Jeffries grass cloth.
Stacked stonework from Eldorado Stone forms a family area wall. Pollack’s Hide Away material covers the chair and sofa. A coffee table by Richomme Inc. rests on the Patterson Flynn rug. Vaughan’s Hardwick lamp tops Lawson-Fenning’s Bronson side table.
Artistic Frame chairs—surrounding a Sovet Italia table—and stools outfit the dining area and kitchen. Nature of Marble quartzite and Neff cabinetry coordinate with Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances from Fuse Specialty Appliances. Cerno’s Penna pendant illuminates California Faucets’ Corsano model.
Porcelanosa’s Fiori Di Bosco slabs define the primary bathroom. The MTI Baths tub and California Faucets filler are from Millers Elegant Hardware and Plumbing. Kelly Wearstler’s Avant sconce shines above the vanity by Viewpoint Cabinetry. A CB2 stool and Chinese embroidery finish the look.
The primary bedroom is punctuated by Sean Lavin’s Belterra chandelier for Visual Comfort & Co. CB2 armchairs front the custom bed. A sconce from 1stdibs accents the Phillip Jeffries wallcovering. Coraggio draperies backdrop a De Angelis, Ltd. sofa on a Stark rug.
Continuing out to the back exterior, Porcelanosa’s Bottega Caliza tile accentuates the home’s façade, painted Benjamin Moore’s Swiss Coffee. RH’s aluminum Aegean chaises flank the pool.