This lakeside manor has it all: a pool with a cabana, a dock, a private putting green, a bar, and easy access to Worth Avenue.
Located just south of Worth Avenue in the heart of Palm Beach Island, the Estate Section of Palm Beach has long been the grandest enclave of luxury housing in all of South Florida. Inspired by the palaces of Europe, some of the manicured estates that went up in the 1920s stretched all the way from the Atlantic Ocean to the Intracoastal Waterway, where their owners built separate pool cabanas and boat houses for their yachts.
This jewel in the crown of the Estate Section, at 854 S. County Road, offers casually elegant lakeside living on two-plus acres that are utterly private and loaded with resort-style amenities.
The 1936 house on the Intracoastal Waterway was designed by the architect Howard Major, who was known for his grand New York and New Jersey country houses before he moved to Palm Beach in 1925. He went on to become Palm Beach’s leading advocate for an American-based classical building style instead of the Spanish and Italian reproductions that were in vogue then. He became known for his British Colonial-West Indies motifs that included louvered shutters and white-tiled roofs.
The 11,443-square-foot house has nine bedrooms, eight full bathrooms, and three partial bathrooms. The many amenities include a lap pool with a cabana, a two-story guesthouse, a private putting green, a dock, a gazebo, expansive terraces, and manicured grounds with majestic mature trees and flat expansive lawns for croquet and other games. Add a tennis court with a pavilion? Sure, plenty of room for that.
With those terraces as well as formal living and dining rooms, a bar, a well-stocked butler’s pantry, and a large game/media room that’s right out of Old Hollywood, this house is meant for entertaining. Or it works wonderfully as a staycation retreat for just family and a friend or two.
Many of the ground-floor public rooms feature dreamy water and sunset views. The formal dining room, clad in fun yellow wallpaper, offers easy access to the adjacent butler’s pantry and then the remodeled eat-in kitchen. Here, the heart of the house features a large island with stools along with bar seating at a nearby counter. And the kitchen flows seamlessly into the bright and airy family room. Swing open the multiple sets of French doors to bring in ocean breezes and enjoy the awning-covered terrace just outside the family room.
Other architectural details include hardwood floors, high ceilings, columns, floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors, crown moldings, chandeliers, arched doorways, and a ground-floor bedroom suite. The upstairs primary suite features a walk-in closet/dressing area, and a private rooftop terrace.
Should you ever tire of the many amenities and the home’s easygoing lifestyle, the beach as well as the luxury shops, galleries, and restaurants of Worth Avenue are close at hand.