Villa En Vogue

A marriage of traditional Key West ‘conch house’ with island cosmopolitan has found the harmonious sweet spot between casual elegance and laid-back Caribbean. By incorporating a mixture of Euro and retro-mod furnishings with exotic artifacts, antiques, and original art, the gingerbread home carries a romantic sophisticated ambience. Situated in the Tennessee Williams - White Street gallery neighborhood, just a couple of streets from the home of former playwright Tennessee Williams, the designer/owner of this historic home created an inspired artistic retreat.

Completely renovated and stylishly furnished, this home has all the creature comforts you could want and still enjoy the ambiance of staying in an historic property. Encompassing the entire first floor of a Classic 2-story wooden conch house, plus an attached one story pool-side bedroom, this island home provides approximately 1600 square feet of first-floor interior living space and offers 3 artistically furnished bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.* The open living-room / kitchen/ dining area, with French doors leading to the free form swimming pool and curvaceous pool deck, create an exotic outdoor living room making the home feel even larger.

Interior Main House Layout:

Entrance to the inside is through a charming Key West front porch entrance adorned with traditional carved gingerbread balustrades. Decorated with sculptures by the artist/owner, potted palm trees, and an old school porch swing, the welcoming front porch is a perfect place to pause or sit and relax. The front door opens to a luxuriously wide tiled hallway that runs from the front door to the back of the house, a unique characteristic of the historic “shotgun” style home. This wide hallway creates a room in-and-of-itself and has been set by the owner as an informal art gallery.

The two bedrooms in the main house are both off the hallway to the right as you stand at the front door.  The first bedroom, considered the guest bedroom, is located at the first door on the right as you enter the front of the house. This is a smaller bedroom, but tastefully set with a comfortable queen size bed. It is artistically decorated and has lots of natural light and feels fresh and airy.

The next door down the hallway is the master suite, complete with en-suite bathroom, lounging sofa, and his/hers cedar lined closets. The romantic décor hosts a gorgeous mural by locally famous Key West artist, Rick Worth, depicting an 'Island Version' of Van Gogh's "Starry Night," setting the tone for a perfectly peaceful sleep. With a guaranteed good nights sleep in mind, the owner added an exceptional feature to this larger bedroom. It is entirely soundproofed and designed so you can achieve total darkness for daytime sleeping.

Toward the back of the house we find the great room comprising the kitchen/living room/dining area, plus a second full bathroom and laundry room. The fully equipped kitchen is appointed with stainless appliances and a commercial blender.  A cooking island is poised near the French doors that lead to the pool deck for easy indoor/outdoor entertaining.

Poolside Cottage Suite:

Once on the pool deck, the attached poolside cottage is just steps away from the main house off the kitchen, and is accessed through private double French doors off the deck. This beautiful cottage room serves as a second master suite complete with en-suite bathroom and spacious closet. Layers and shades of black and white, modern and retro furnishings set a romantic cosmopolitan tone.  This completely private cottage bedroom provides a queen size bed, a large flat screen TV, plenty of sitting space to lounge or set up a computer to privately catch up on some work.

Grounds:

On a Key West morning enjoy pouring a cup of Cuban coffee and swing open the French doors that lead from the kitchen to the spacious back deck with nice sized free-form swimming pool. At 6.5 feet deep at one end, it is considered ‘big’ compared to many Key West pools. A sculptured deck, designed by the owner, envelopes the pool on the end near the kitchen and is punctuated with real coral rocks. It has a built in ‘cocktail seat’ for in-pool lounging and enjoys partial shade from a protected species of Royal Poinciana tree. The whole setting creates a lovely outdoor poolside living room that can also be accessed at the back of the house via a charming brick walkway made private with palm trees.

A variety of tropical and palm trees and some flowering plants surround the yard. In a traditional Key West fashion, the front of the house is set fairly close to the street, but there is a parking area in front that provides some setback. The back of the house and the pool courtyard are fenced for privacy. There is plenty of room to park one or two cars in front of the house, but parking is not really an issue, a real plus in this neighborhood.

The set-up of this home is well suited for six people maximum with two persons sleeping in each bedroom.  The home is not suitable for staging loud gatherings.  Children are welcome only if well behaved.  This is a private home with very nice furnishings and exceptional art work - so only conscientious guests are welcome.  The house is not child-proof. There is no smoking permitted in the home.

*Note: Rental of this property does not include the upstairs of the main house.

Bedding Summary:

• Master Suite in Main House – Queen size bed plus Queen size Sleeper sofa
• Guest Bedroom in Main Suite – Queen size bed
• Poolside Cottage Suite – Queen size bed
• Living room - Futon

Amenities: Free form swimming pool and deck. Adjoining cottage with all the amenities and creature comforts one could want. Beautiful furnishings, original art work, fully equipped kitchen, a/c, cable TV, wireless internet, water purifier on-tap, DVD player, 'SqueezeBox' Radio, MagicJack Phone Service, laundry room with washer / dryer. BBQ grill. Linens and towels are provided. Catering can be arranged. Maid service can be scheduled. beautiful furnishings, large back deck for dining, luxury bathrooms.

Activities: Pool side lounging, shopping, fine dining, swimming, tennis, boating, museums, art galleries, diving. All Old Town Key West features are close. Great space to set up "home office."

Area: Located in the White Street Gallery – Tennessee Williams neighborhood, this home is close to White Street, referred to by many as "The Local's Duval" since it offers a culturally diverse assortment of locally favorite businesses including grocery stores, restaurants, bakeries, Cuban Coffee Shops, consignment shops, tile stores, small grocery stores, and art galleries. A variety of art galleries now deems it the "White Street Gallery District", and because the former home of Tennessee Williams is in this neighborhood this district is also his namesake. The architecture presents an eclectic variety of mid 1900's to mid 20th century architecture to create an authentic Key West neighborhood ambience. While it is mostly the home of full time residents, it's central yet "off-the-beaten-path" location has made it a favorite of seasonal rental location. From here you can walk to Upper Duval Street in 15 to 20 minutes. Close to Higgs Beach and not far from all Old Town Key West attractions. Close to Bayview Park with tennis courts, and lots of green for relaxing. The ideal transportation when you rent this home is a bicycle... which is one of the best ways to experience the ambience of Key West.

Pets: The owner may consider a pet UNDER TEN POUNDS  with an additional pet fee and pet security deposit.

Restrictions: Smoke Free House and Outdoors. No smoking permitted.