The Sarasota house that once belonged to my parents is on the market—and it’s a beauty.
By Robert Plunket
Click here to see our Real Estate Junkie discuss his parents' house on TV.
This is where it all started. My very first house in Sarasota. This is where I fell in love with the town – and its real estate. Right here at 2012 N. Huntington Ave. My brother bought it around 1980, then I took it over, then my folks moved in and remodeled it in 1988. (Architect Rick Garfinkel did the design.) They lived here until they moved to the Sarasota Bay Club in 2001. This, more than any place in Sarasota, is Home.
It’s just come on the market again, and let me first emphasize that I have absolutely no financial interest in it. But I do have a great emotional interest. It is first and foremost my mother’s house. It completely expresses her personality and style. She lived all over the world, usually in very grand houses, and when she and my father retired to Sarasota, they – and especially she – knew exactly what they wanted. It’s a very grand house on a very small scale.
It has all the things that she felt were crucial to living well. They include: a very private location – hidden away at the end of a dead-end street, yet close to everything. A bathroom for every bedroom – it has three full baths. Light – that was the most important thing, and the house is full of skylights and windows placed very high that flood the house with natural light, even on cloudy days. An office for the man of the house – particularly if he’s retired. Lots of wall space to hang the paintings she’d collected over the years and lots of built-in shelves to hold her treasures and her vast collection of art books. A window seat in the master bedroom. A guest room that is set apart from – well, apart from her room. Lots of cozy places to sit and read a book. A big bright kitchen but one that doesn’t dominate. She was not a kitchen person but much more at home in her elegant living room, without food and appliances visible in the background.
There’s also a pool, slate and brick floors (my idea) and a beautiful arbor out front, made of solid teak and covered with bougainvillea – my mother’s favorite. The listing agents are Donald Geikie (941-951-6660) and Dana Westmark (941-356-5091.) The price is $299,000. But to me it’s priceless.