Seaport Hideaway

Magic happened when this Key West wooden heritage building was redesigned as limited-edition condominiums.A case in point is this 2BR 1.5BA Seaport Hideaway. Masterfully tucked away in the 3-story Seafoam building on Fleming Street, this special residence is ideally located only 2 blocks from the docks of the Key West Historic Seaport.

A Little Bit of History:

The Seafoam building has a remarkable history – standing in testimony to the 1900’s Key West mercantile industry. There is very little written about the building, even though it still houses a landmark shopkeeper for over 50 years, Timmy Tuxedos wedding attire. But this historic wooden building deserves special recognition. In particular because it displays an original atrium Colonial staircase that many Key West history enthusiasts consider to be one of the most stunning on the island.

Hand-crafted in 1906, entirely of now extinct old-growth pine wood, the Seafoam building originally housed some of the first downtown merchants shops. Some locals also tell it was a rooming house at one point, but long before it was renovated to be residences. It’s fun for this writer to imagine what the early merchant shops were like over 120 years ago. Our adventurous seafaring forefathers and mothers bustling about the wooden building. Little did they know what the future had instore.

During 1980, the old Seafoam underwent a magnificent renovation. Long before cement sidewalks, the original front had a shade roof extending the width of the building. This protected the storefront entrances from sun and tropical rains. The enlightened redesign added two wide covered porches above the original sidewalk roof. By adding 2nd and 3rd floor porches, the condominiums gained indoor / outdoor living room porches with a obstructed views of Fleming Street below.

But the unfettered centurion treasure of the old Seafoam is the grand atrium stairwell built at the back of the building to lead to the shop entrances. The stairwell is part of the wow-factor of staying in the Seaport Hideaway condominium.

Dramatic 6-foot wide bare-wood stairwell hallways, open to the roofline, wind in perfect geometric symmetry from the ground floor up to the 3rd floor. Hall doors that once lead to stores, are now entrances to private residences. Thick wood columns and traditional railing spindles are now painted white to accentuate the Colonial design. Skylight windows at the ceiling bounces natural light off the hand-rubbed Dade County pine. It’s thrilling for architectural enthusiasts just to experience this historic space.

The Condo Today:

Our 2BR 1.5 BA Seaport Hideaway, holds a prime spot in the Seafoam building. The innovative redesign joined the ground and 2nd level at the southwest side of the building to create this exotic condo. The result is a spacious 2-story private residence, with private covered porches and garden views.

Location is everything, and the Seaport Hideawaycondominium is situated exactly where many people request to stay in Key West for a month or more. Two streets from the Historic Seaport docks, discover cherished wooden schooners and a wide variety of charter boats. But it’s also a short easy stroll to casual and fine dining, world famous bars, live music, and creative local boutiques. No doubt guests find their way to the Cuban Coffee Queen to charge up, the Half Shell Raw Bar to indulge in oysters, the Schooner Wharf Bar for live music, and Local Color to shop island style.

There are so many waterfront destinations to make favorite spots. And, when it’s time return to this Key West hideaway, there are plenty of reasons to just hang out around the condo and pool-garden and enjoy.

LAYOUT

Curbsides can be camouflagers – masterfully distracting passersby from the dwellings hidden inside.The illusive entrance to Seaport Hideaway keeps it a secret retreat. Truth is, I’ve walked past the Seafoam building for 3 decades and I never knew there were condo residences with a secret pool-garden in the back.

Part of the distraction is what everyone does see from the street. The charming Key West storefront of Timmy Tuxedos – a destination wedding specialist for over 50 years! At first glance the front door of the building appears to be reserved for the formal attire store. But open the doors to be surprised by a prominent Key lime green entrance hall with traditional interior wooden staircase straight ahead. Furthermore, notice that the hallway runs the entire depth of the building to the back door.

EXTERIOR

Pool-Garden and Shared Grounds:

Continuing to the end of the long entrance hallway, the back door leads to the shared grounds and pool-garden. The grounds entrance is paved with aged brick and planted with lush landscaping. Tall fencing and mature tropical and native trees surround the pool-garden grounds making it completely private from the public.

The kidney-shape swimming pool is trimmed with wide concrete coping and light grey wood decking. The deck is set with chaise lounges and garden chairs. Overhead, the pool and deck are wide open to the sky to assure plenty of sunshine.

There is a shared laundry cottage conveniently set at the back of the pool deck. To find it, identify the small cottage with 2 French doors to the right of the swimming pool. This is a shared laundry room. Open only to the other residents of the building.

INTERIORS AND COVERED PORCHES

The unique 2-story layout of the Seaport Hideaway provides multiple ways to move between the floors. There are two separate entrance doors for the condo, one on each floor. The main door, leading to the great room, connects with the ground level interior hallway of the building. An additional entrance, leading to the upstairs bedroom hall, adjoins the grand the atrium hallway on the 2nd floor.

While it’s nice to have options, it’s not necessary to the atrium entrance to get between the floors. A natural wood and black metal spiral staircase winds up to the bedroom hall on the 2nd floor. Prominently based in the great room the spiral design enhances the eclectic interior.

Furnishings throughout the Seaport Hideawaycondo provide a stylish blend of modern, classical, and ethnic exotic. There is attention to detail with interesting artwork in every room, but at the same time spaces are not overdone.

12-foot dark wood ceilings on both floors, are uplifting and make the historic rooms feel grand. Some of the heart pinewood walls are stripped bare to show the ancient wood grain. But most of the walls on both floors, are painted sunshine yellow. Each room feels upbeat, filled with light, welcoming, and genuinely authentic.

First Floor

We begin our tour at the ground level, where the main entrance leads to the spacious living room. The living room is beautifully furnished. A sophisticated white curved-back sofa and matching armless chairs are set on a bold flower print area rug. A large teak wood carved mirror from India and a mango wood and glass coffee table and add a tropical exotic touch. For entertainment, a large flat-screen TV mounted on the wall opposite the sofa. A counter height wooden dining table is placed so as to create a natural transition to the kitchen.

The kitchen is U-shape kitchen and open on one side to the living room. Bright white upper and lower kitchen cabinets with dark gray-green countertops run along two walls. Basic white appliances include a gas range with oven and refrigerator with top freezer. Hand woven ethnic baskets decorate the top of the upper cabinets.

In addition to the kitchen and living room, the 1st floor provides a half-bath or powder room. It’s conveniently located between the front door and spiral staircase. The pretty powder room offers a free-standing sink, round mirror and vanity lights, as well as the commode.

Porch with Courtyard Garden – Returning to the living room, our tour now steps outside to one of the favorite features of this property. Nearly the entire south wall of the great room is set with tall French doors topped with transom windows. Beyond streaming in the natural light, the doors lead to a covered porch and courtyard garden. Tall fencing and mature tropical landscaping provide maximum privacy.

The downstairs porch and garden is set as a tropical living room with art-deco rattan lounge furniture and an adorable cocktail bar that matches. This is the perfect place for morning coffee and setting up the bar for evening cocktails.

A carved leaf ceiling fan keeps the porch breezy while enjoying the indoor / outdoor Key West lifestyle. When you’re ready to take a dip in the pool, a gate in this private courtyard leads to the shared grounds and pool-garden. Returning to the great room, our tour now leads us to the upstairs interior and covered porch.

Second Floor

Interior – The 2nd floor of Historic Hideaway provides the sleeping and bathing quarters, plus a wide covered sitting porch spanning the width of the condo.The spiral staircase is the most direct route upstairs. AT the top of the stairs the landing points to the bedroom hall. Along the hall, doors connect with the two bedrooms, one full bathroom, and a shared clothes closet.

Also, please take note of the door in the bedroom hall that opens to the 2nd floor atrium stairwell. If you choose to avoid the spiral staircase that joins the two floors, this is the alternative. It’s also a good excuse to experience the historic beauty of the stairwell.

Bathroom – Returning to the top of the spiral staircase, the full bathroom is situated off the hall to the right. A timeless design, traditional white tiles are set from the floor to eight feet up the wall. There is a standard bathtub with in-tub shower with shower curtain.

The exterior wall is left bare to show off the heart pinewood. A free-standing sink and mirror with vanity lights is set next to a sash window, assuring plenty of natural daylight. A custom built-in vanity unit on the wall opposite the sink, provides ample room for storing personal care items and toiletries.

Bedrooms and Covered Porch:

The two bedrooms at the Historic Hideaway are both upstairs. They are situated around the corner from each other to maximize privacy. Both bedrooms provide a queen size bed. Each bedroom was fashionably decorated by a professional interior designer.

A unique and practical feature is the shared clothes closet built in the bedroom hallway. This design maintains floor space in each of the individual bedrooms.

One of the nicest features of the bedrooms, is the deep covered porch that connects with both of them. Each bedroom has a double set of French doors leading to the porch, creating an upstairs indoor / outdoor living experience. The porch is spacious – spanning the width of the condo. It provides an unobstructed tree-scaped view of the pool-garden below. Louvered walls on the sides and tall tropical trees make it a private outdoor retreat.

Bedroom one – The first bedroom is slightly larger than bedroom two and could be considered the master bedroom. Also, it is located directly across the hall from the shared bathroom.

Modern minimalist island décor makes bedroom one elegant and uplifting. The designer queen size bed has a silver metal headboard that reflects patterns of ocean waves. Glass top bedside tables hold bright orange ceramic lamps reminiscent of the sunset. Calming sepia tone tropical botanical prints hang on the wall above the colorful lamps. A full-length dressing mirror is positioned on the wall opposite the bed.

Bedroom Two – The second bedroom is around the corner from bedroom one. The shared bathroom is just few steps bedroom door. It can be considered the guest bedroom since it is slightly smaller than bedroom one.

Bedroom two is minimally decorated eclectic style. The queen size platform bed is placed near the center of the room. The interior designer features two completely different carved furniture pieces. A tall dark wood headboard frames large golden swirling patterns that look elegant placed against the yellow wall. On the outside wall of the bedroom, a hand carved Indian highboy cabinet displays a completely different style of hand-carved detail on the doors. Both carved pieces harmonize beautifully and look stunning with the yellow walls and dark wood ceiling.

Bedding Summary:

Bedroom One (Master) – Queen size bed

Bedroom Two – Queen size bed

Amenities:Decorated by interior designer with eclectic furnishings. Shared swimming pool with sun deck.Privacy fences. Private garden courtyard. Mature tropical lanadscaping. Private 1st and 2nd floor outdoor porches. Well equipped kitchen, but no dishwasher. Splilt a/c units (individually climate controlled) in every room Large flat screen TV in living room. 42 inch flat screem TV in master bedroom. Shared coin operated washer / dryer in free-standing laundry cottage near the pool-garden. Linens and towels are provided. Catering can be arranged. Maid service can be scheduled.

Parking: There is no off-street parking for this property, but from this location you can walk or ride a bike everywhere. Key West is only 2 X4 miles and this part of the island was built before there were cars. Streets are narrow and many are one-way. Street parking in Old Town Key West is reserved for full-time residents. If you bring a car we recommend purchasing a monthly parking permit in the City of Key West Old Town Parking Garage on 300 Grinnell St. (corner of Caroline St.). A permit can be purchased online. The garage is less than a block from this condo..

Activities:Heart of Key West’s designated Historic Seaport District. Walk to all old town features, no need for a car. Just 3 1/2 streets to Duval St., close to KeyWestMallory Square Sunset Celebration, and a few short streets from Historic Seaport and retailers (remember it takes 3 to 4 Key West streets to equal the distance of a typical city block). Sailing, boating, diving, museums, nightlife. Conveniently located to gourmet grocery shopping with excellent wine selection, sushi deli, and butcher. Close to shopping, art galleries, and a variety of national and international restaurants, coffee shops. Close to Simonton Beach. You’ll be right across the street from Date and Thyme, Key West’s acclaimed organic market and cafe…get healthy!

Area:Fleming Street is one of the original sttreets in the Historic Seaport Neighborhood. It is located on the Gulf of Mexico side of Key West and encompasses the original lower Duval Street area. This tiny disctrict is where the founding fathers and mothers of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s built the first shipping docks and warehouses, restaurants and grand homes, ship chandleries and mercantile buildings, including this one. Today the historic woodn buildings made of now extinct heart pinewood, stand as one of the largest and most impressive collection of turn-of-the-century architecture in the U.S. Today this district includes famous waterfront restaurants and bars, retail stores, museums, fishing and sailing charters, a large variety of historic homes, and Mallory Square.

Restrictions: Smoke Free property including no smoking on patio or by pool. No pets please. We do not accept guests less than 25 years of age unless accompanied by a family group or guardian.

Notes:This property is ideal for 2 to 4 people who want to stay in Key West for a month or more.This property can be rented for a maximum of 6 months.This property is ideal for professionals and executives who have discerning tastes looking for a spacious and luxurious accommodation that is truly exoytic and authentic.