HOMES OF THE TREASURE COAST
Imaginative house design
reveals the fanciful spirit
29
of St. Lucie Estates
BY JESSICA ARMSTRONG
PHOTOS BY ROB DOWNEY
Houses built during the early years of St. Lucie
Estates were designed to evoke fantasy and
whimsy for home buyers looking for an unconventional
aesthetic — out of the ordinary
and playfully humorous in an enchanting way. The
home of Dan and Janice Thomas on Southeast Pelican
Drive is such a place.
The house is a classic example of the storybook style
from the 1920s to the 1930s, a type of architecture similar
to the Tudor Revival of the 19th century that brings
to mind the illustrations in Hansel and Gretel or a Hans
Christian Andersen fairy tale.
Built in 1932, this house and others like it were architectural
comfort food for the Depression era. It retains
its original Tudor Revival characteristics, such as steep- >>
The brick fireplace is a focal
point of the living room and
provides a cozy setting for
family functions. The neutral
colors in the living room
and adjoining family room
harmonize with the details
of the historic home.
An example of the Storybook style of the 1920s and 1930s, this St. Lucie
Estates house features a steeply-pitched gabled roof, archways and other
characteristics common to this style of architecture.