HOMES OF THE TREASURE COAST
The elegant honey onyx porcelain
flooring opens up throughout the
main living areas. Modern art pieces
from the Boyles’ collection were
given prime display space.
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with a love of boating and being on the water, the owners
gave Holmes a mandate: maximize the views.
Transformed over the course of a two-year rebuild, “We
took it down to the concrete floors and gutted the space,”
says Holmes. In its former style, according to owner Debbie
Boyle, “It kind of looked like a hunting lodge, with large
built-in cabinets.”
STARTING FROM SCRATCH
Taking care to match the palette to the elements, and capitalize
on the proximity to water, Holmes combined modern
and traditional components and came up with a design that
is as bold as it is authentic. Now filled with color and modern
art, the space underwent a major conversion.
Originally, a walled-off kitchen obscured the ocean view.
But a dubious Emmett Boyle wasn’t sure the wall could come
down to open up the space.
“I’m an engineer,” he says. “And I didn’t think so, but
Allen took that wall out and now any place you stand in the
front you can see blue ocean. It was done through Allen’s
tenacity and talent.”
The kitchen cabinetry by Irpinia, a luxury Canadian brand,
was sourced through a local dealer in North Palm Beach.
Built-in garage-door style cubbies allow an easily clean and
orderly kitchen. The stack of wall appliances utilizes every
requisite component: warming drawer, oven, microwave and
a built-in TV on top to form a
complete panel.
A ceiling-flush hood over
the center-island cooktop also
encases the lighting. Both are
operated by remote control.
The complete unobtrusive,
clean look is capped off by
sleek linear air conditioning
vents.
One of the most compelling
aspects of the home is the flow
of the principal space, which
is easily described as smooth.
Perhaps because Holmes and
the Boyles chose flooring that
telegraphs the feel of a stretch
of pristine, sandy beach. The
Italian-made material, an elegant,
highly polished porcelain,
is called honey onyx.
With tiles roughly 30 inches
square, the tawny and cream
colored floor looks exactly like
stone. Five by 10-foot, quarterinch
porcelain sheets are cut
into squares to “get the highest
yield out of the slabs,” Holmes
says. “Real onyx would be 10 times the price. And porcelain
is not porous, so it’s more durable and practical.”
BOYLE FAMILY
Emmett and Debbie Boyle were willing to take design risks.
Two chandeliers, existing features retained in the newly renovated space,
were designed for the Boyles in Ohio and reflect the colors of the ocean.