LUX LIFE 2019

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LUX LIFE SARASOTA AND THE BARRIER ISLANDS | LUXURY HOMES + LIVING

GRANDEUR

DEFYING GRAVITY VISION

CHARLES AND MARGERY BARANCIK SERENITY

HAUS COUTURE

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LUXLIFE GULF COAST LUXURY HOMES + LIVING 2019

LISL LIANG

PRESIDENT/CEO, EDITOR IN CHIEF

WES ROBERTS

VICE PRESIDENT, EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER

ASHLEY GRANT

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

ASHLEY RYAN CANNON ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

SUZANNE MUNROE

SALES AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE

JULIE MAYER MAGNIFICO

SALES AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE

ASHLEY JIMENEZ

CLIENT SERVICES AND MARKETING MANAGER

PHIL LEDERER SENIOR EDITOR

WYATT KOSTYGAN

ART DIRECTOR | PHOTOGRAPHER

JACOB OGLES

CONTRIBUTING SENIOR EDITOR

KIRA FORGASH

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER, EVENTS AND PROGRAMS

BRITTANY MATTIE

STAFF WRITER | SPECIAL PROJECTS

ABOUT THE MAGAZINE LUXLIFE: Gulf Coast Luxury Homes+Living serves as the definitive guide to living and enjoying “la dolce vita,” the sweet life, on the west coast of Florida. The pristine content provided in this publication emphasizes the richness of a “choice” experience. LUXLIFE features an editorial blend that explores the beauty and excitement of the world beyond, highlighting the unique and idyllic experiences that abound in Sarasota, Bradenton Area, Lakewood Ranch and the Barrier Keys from architecture to philanthropy. Inducted into SRQ MEDIA’s portfolio in 2007, LUXLIFE is annually distributed to homes in ultra-luxury neighborhoods and communities from Longboat Key to the water-view properties of Downtown Sarasota and Casey Key. Volume 13 Copyright © 2019 SRQ MEDIA. Executive publishing, editorial, advertising and customer service office: 331 South Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota, Florida, 34236, phone 941-365-7702; fax 941365-0853. IMPORTANT NOTICE: The entire contents of LUX magazine are copyrighted by TRAFALGER COMMUNICATIONS. Column and department names are property of TRAFALGER COMMUNICATIONS and may not be used or reproduced without express written permission of the publisher.

LUX LIFE MAGAZINE IS PRODUCED BY THE PUBLISHERS OF SRQ MAGAZINE

(941) 365-7702 | SRQME.COM

Advertising Sales (941) 365-7702 ext 211 Magazine Orders (941) 365-7702 ext 221

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Sotheby’ sVice Presidentand Jewelry Senior Specialist Alexander Eblen.

2019 ANNUAL EDITION

CONTENTS The W hite Haus,a Siesta Key m arvelof m odern design.

The philanthropistsbehind the Charlesand Margery Barancik Foundation sit down fora rare exclusive.

This spread, left to right: Defying Gravity: DSDG Architects, Voigt Brothers Construction and Borden Landscape Design.

Conveyances: Lamborghini Urus. Haus Couture: Solstice Planning & Architecture and NC Ferguson Construction. Charles and Margery Barancik, photo by Wyatt Kostygan. Cover: Harbor Acres Home by DSDG Architects, Voigt Brothers Construction and Borden Landscape Design.

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CHUCK MARGIE The philanthropistsbehind the Charlesand Margery Barancik Foundation sitdown fora rare exclusive.

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he names “Charles anD Margery Barancik” appear

on philanthropic literature in a fancy, serif font, but anyone introduced to the Longboat Key couple behind the logo simply meets Chuck and Margie. Chuck speaks with a gruff voice but a jovial tone, Margie with an almost sing-song boisterousness to her words, each with a chipper welcome that says their three grandchildren probably count them as the fun grandparents to visit on holidays. But the Baranciks also happen to be two of the biggest players on the Gulf Coast in the world of charitable giving. The titular heads of the most active foundation in the region—named for benefactors who started writing the big checks while they were still alive to see the good produced in the world—the couple’s nicknames and pleasantness, in an odd way, mask the depth of generosity and the reach of their philanthropic achievements, while instantly revealing the warm sentiment driving the work.

No area of philanthropy wins the Barancik Foundation more acclaim than the field of education, an area where the couple made headlines before ever getting their names into the newspaper. Some of the earliest philanthropic giving by the couple in the region came through major grants at the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, originally made anonymously, that launched the use of TechActive and STEMsmart classrooms in middle schools throughout the county. The Baranciks funded a program establishing high-tech science and math labs on one campus, and it quickly grew to modernizing STEM facilities at every middle school in Sarasota County. Eventually, English and social studies teachers enjoyed upgrades in classroom technology as well.

The work in Sarasota County drew the attention of national partners like Microsoft and Penguin Random House, test scores rocketed upward and the innovative approach has been held up as a national model. But how did a retired couple from Chicago with no children in the local school system come to be the benefactors? The Baranciks always had an interest in education; Margie holds a master’s degree in special education and taught for years in Illinois. But trying to enact change in a major metropolitan school district proved daunting.

“We can’t make a difference in Chicago,” Margie says.

“We’re not big enough,” Chuck says.

“But here, we can,” Margie continues. “We can visit these programs and get to know the people involved. We can fall in love with the children. It just does it.” She dismisses the idea that not having her own grandchildren attend school here denies any personal reward for the educational advances. Good work done in Sarasota, of course, may pave the way for a brighter future everywhere. But just helping the children coming through local schools pays back dividends emotionally. “With the students, all they have to do is come up and give you a hug and you’re hooked,” Margie says.

Outside of education, the Barancik Foundation also works in a number of humanitarian and cultural arenas. The one bit of medical work involves grants to improve treatment of multiple sclerosis, a special cause because of a family member afflicted with the condition.

But while the work in medicine remains limited, Chuck boasts the Barancik Prize for MS Research in less than five years has become a coveted award in the field. The foundation now receives applications from scientists around the globe. “It’s just gone international,” he says.

“It’s become the renowned prize, so that’s been very gratifying.”

Written by Jacob Ogles | Photography by Wyatt Kostygan The couple also funds financial empowerment programs that seek to improve the lives of Sarasota’s poor working class, whether through transitional housing support or professional development. One way or another, the foundation provides services to 900 homeless families in the region each year. The organization also issues grants in numerous family enrichment and social wellness efforts, from after-school programs at Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County to filling knapsacks with food through the Mitzvah Backpack Program. A website for the foundation itemizes millions of dollars sent out in the short four and a half years since the foundation launched.

The first time the Baranciks visited Sarasota came roughly 45 years ago. A family friend recommended a tennis resort in Florida, and the family ended up spending spring break on Longboat Key at the original Colony. “That was our first exposure,” Chuck says. “But the Sarasota then, almost 50 years ago, isn’t the Sarasota of today.” He recalls the absence of hardly any development on Longboat Key. Besides the Colony, still run by Herb Field before a major upgrade in the 1970s, and Club Longboat, a small tourist spot on the north key not to be confused with the mega-resort now dominating the island’s south end, the area felt a great beach destination. It became an annual tradition for the Chicago couple to bring their sons to the islands for the next five or six years. But then the boys outgrew the trip. It would be another 15 years or so before the couple revisited the region.

Tired of Chicago winters and with children now out of the house, the Baranciks shopped for a winter home. They put a bid on a condo in Palm Beach but lost out. They checked out Palm Springs, California, but quickly decided the desert was not for them. Then Margie recalled those family vacations playing tennis on Longboat. “I wondered if we’d like it as well without the kids,” she says. Turns out they did.

The couple has kept a winter place—they are now on their third Longboat condo—ever since. Turns out the adults would never weary of the beach life. The intervening decades involved many afternoons on the tennis courts and evenings enjoying Downtown Sarasota’s live performance venues. “We haven’t grown up yet,” Margie says.

But while the love of Longboat winters and sunny recreation brought the Baranciks to the Gulf Coast, the couple’s commitments to humanitarian causes ultimately defined their legacy in the region.

“We took advantage of the culture, but we also found something else,” Chuck says. Like many high-wealth retirees in the region, the Baranciks found causes worthy of investment.

The Barancik Foundation operates from

an office enclave in One Sarasota Tower. Guests in the small lobby resting in plush chairs can glance through windows at the expanse of Sarasota Bay, but for those connected to the region’s nonprofit world, it’s the ever-present personalities that inspire the most awe.

Teri Hansen, previously president of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, now leads this organization as CEO. She shares an office with John Annis, today the senior vice president for Collaboration and Impact here but until recently an executive at the Community Foundation of Sarasota. The staff is rounded out with Kelly Romanoff and Jessica Bailey Polk, both veterans of Gulf Coast, and by recent addition Murray Devine, an alum of the Community Foundation. But just listing affiliations with the area’s biggest foundations hardly does the reputation of the staff service. The Barancik team represents an all-star line-up of development and collaboration experts in the region who earned recognition from the Aspen Institute and broke ground in areas like microphilanthropy. How did this concentration of talent end up in one place?

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“Have you met Chuck and Margie Barancik?” Romanoff quips.

For their part, the Baranciks credit their foundation staff with boosting their reputation. But the secret to positive outcomes starts with a healthy work environment.

“We all love what we’re doing,” Margie says. “We really care about the people in the groups that we’re helping, and everybody’s got a sense of humor.” Devine, who came on here in December, says the overarching philosophy of the Baranciks attracted him to the foundation. “The one thing that really inspires me here,” he tells the Baranciks, “is how you embedded your own values, that you carry your entire life, into this foundation.”

Hansen, captain of this dream team, left a job running one of the most prominent community foundations in Florida so she could become this family foundation’s first executive. She too says the Baranciks, with whom she’d worked at Gulf Coast on education projects for years, lured her to the post. She cites the couple’s “creative intelligence and generosity” as the greatest reasons for a move. Of course, the opportunity also proved rare in that she could tap into those personal attributes while the Baranciks were still alive.

In fact, the clearest thing that separates the Baracik Foundation from other prominent family foundations in the region is the presence of the Baranciks themselves. Most major foundations become endowed by words in a will. That leaves staff interpreting instructions post-mortem and dealing with restrictions in an ever-changing world. Chuck initially planned to set up an endowment the most common way, with the money coming in after he and Margie passed. But then he had a conversation with a local philanthropic leader who suggested it would be more fun to see the results of a foundation’s work in his lifetime. More importantly, it would allow he and Margie to have a seat at the board meetings to offer genuine input on where dollars should be spent, rather than leaving a couple lines of legalese restricting a staff of strangers in the future.

Now, the Baranciks themselves sit for quarterly meetings to discuss grants. They can call up foundation staff and visit throughout the week if they choose. Most important, they can learn about the most effective ways to leverage dollars and empower their philanthropy rather than restricting it.

“It’s a real gift for those of us who have chosen philanthropy as a career to shape the foundation alongside Chuck and Margie,” Romanoff says, “and to see their philanthropic vision realized.”

“You have no choice but doing it with us,” Margie responds, “because we're not dead yet.”

Like so many major players in the nonprofit world,

Chuck first built up a fortune in the for-profit one. He ran companies making everything from fire prevention gear to office furniture, and he now uses the lessons learned there to strengthen his giving.

“I started my career needing other people’s money to finance what I wanted to do,” he says. “Eventually I sold out of those things and I had a carried interest. I had no money to put in, but I converted profits into stock. Back in 1961, I went to the three founding families of our corporate ventures and said I want to go out on my own. Take me out at a fair price. And they did.” The next day, he started investing in companies on his own, but he did learn—eventually—that having a diverse board of directors would lead to greater success for the businesses. Along the way, Chuck feels fortunate he had no major failures, and headed a couple companies so successful they ended up listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Now he brings the same attitudes he learned about corporate investment into the board

meetings at his own foundation. Chief among them, every grant must be scrutinized intensely. “Do they really fit what we’re trying to do?

What's their risk-reward ratio? Would we see an immediate return on investment?” Chuck asks. “I hate to put it in financial terms.” But it’s important to do so in order to ensure smart, impactful philanthropy.

Over the years, the foundation developed a 12-point list of criteria to check off when studying each grant. That’s an internal document used for review in addition to published criteria, and he won’t share it all lest nonprofits focus more on gaming the process than helping their clients. But he alludes to sustainability and solid business planning.

“In a perfect world,” Chuck says, “you want to see an immediate impact. You want to have an exit strategy where your funding diminishes and you’re done. That latter is very hard to achieve.” One of the foundation’s great success stories that largely completed the whole checklist, Chuck says, was a local Reading Recovery program in the local schools. “It’s been told to us, our board, that if a child leaves third grade not able to read at a third-grade level, you’ve lost them.

They’ll never catch up,” he says. “Is this 100 percent true? Probably not, but I bet it’s 80 or 90 percent true.” So the foundation looked at research done at Ohio State University. Working with community foundations in the area, a pilot program launched.

“We brought in one teacher that was schooled on the principles of coaching on a one-on-one basis students that were at risk of not being able to read at a third-grade level,” he says. The results proved outstanding. While Ohio State researchers boast a 75-percent success rate for programs using the prescribed methods, Sarasota schools boast an 86-percent rate. But more important than bragging about a pilot program, it showed a need to make reading readiness an achievable part of school curricula. Now the school district funds 38 qualified professionals employing the same techniques through the region. “Our funding is done,” Chuck says.

The Barancik Foundation also earned national acclaim for its “First 1,000 Days” initiative, a first-in-Florida program that brings together a network of 30 nonprofits working with new families with babies born in Sarasota. Facilitated with the county Health Department, the effort ensures that families all have access to medical, emotional and wellness services pre-pregnancy and through the first three years of a child’s life.

Sarasota in 2017 saw 251 babies delivered whose mothers had no prenatal care. The Baranciks aim to reduce that number as much as possible.

When the day eventually comes for the

Baranciks to leave this world, the foundation will see an additional infusion of wealth. The couple’s three children know they won't be inheriting any additional money. “That’s the present plan,” Chuck says. Assets instead will all go to the foundation. And it won’t be squandered in the meantime either. “We still won’t buy a yacht or a plane or a third house,” Margie jokes. It’s another sign that the cause transcends any personal gratification for the Baranciks. Hansen had to twist Chuck’s arm when it was decided to let the foundation bear the family name, those curly-cue letters on the brochures. Hansen deemed that move necessary to establish the organization as a leader in the philanthropic world. But the Baranciks remain uncomfortable with credit and accolades. The work, each one stresses, remains the only kickback needed for the foundation’s ventures.

“It’s all been very gratifying,” Chuck says.

“Seeing a smile on little kids’ faces, who don't have much to smile about,” Margie says. “How can that not be the most satisfying thing in the world?” LUXLIFE

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An all-ivory opus poses poetically on the canalfrontofSiesta Key,designed and sewn togetherwith extrem e detailfora figurative conversation known asThe W hite Haus.

HAUS COUTURE TAKING CENTER STAGE ON ONE OF SIESTA KEY’S MOST ENVIABLE STREETS in real

estate—at the exact point where two wide boating canals come together on Avenida del Mare—the haute assembly of The White Haus was brought to life by architect Jonathan Parks of Solstice Planning & Architecture and builder Nick Ferguson of NC Ferguson Construction. The exterior color of fresh snowfall (or Siesta quartz sand) reflects visible waves of sunlight, bringing a sense of elevated warmth, while the stark diagonal lines create animation and oblique shadows inscribed into the modern build. “Architecture as a visual language is something we talk about often,” notes Parks. “We are creating a place with this home that is poetic, and people respond to it and it enriches their life. The language of the home is modern but it is more than just communicating this aesthetic. This is the definition of intellectuals, and I wouldn’t say the language of this house is only available to intellectuals—the average person understands the modern design and responds to it too.”

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HAUS COUTURE

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The unembellished way each interior and exterior space is depicted strays away from predictable floorplans or dogmatic layouts. “These interior and exterior ‘rooms’ suggest certain activities, but also allow for flexibility,” says Parks. “This approach lets individuals respond to the home, and then define how it enriches their life.” What may be normally designated as a bedroom, may actually constitute as an art studio, library or however they wish to utilize the space to benefit their lifestyle. “Much of our work is focused on reducing the complexities of a building into common elements that are then reassembled to demonstrate a different way to create environments,” Parks says.

The homeowners expressed their fancy for a home that provided ample views of the water, as well as living areas on the ground and upper level to gather outside and enjoy the sunshine. Providing this vernacular environment not only met those functions, but ultimately created a metrical aesthetic and poetic sense for the people who dwell there.

“The majesty of the existing natural environment was obscured by the previous home,” says Parks. “So we felt it was our responsibility to provide our client with a new home where importance was placed not necessarily on style or what's fashionable today, but with an emphasis on timeless beauty and how one experiences the delicate harmony of the whole.” Thus, the team worked on equal footing to scrupulously redesign the property with a new home in a studied way, so that both the natural and man-made environment have equal opportunity to shine. White Haus’ south-facing location granted ideal exposure to tropical breezes and the Florida sun throughout the day. The architectural language of the house subsequently sources natural elements—greatly informing sustainability with the use of passive systems to light, shade, heat and cool the house. And while ‘sustainable’ is as much of a hot buzzword in the construction industry as ‘organic’ is to health nutritionists, know this project wasn’t just a bunch of certified materials and solar panels thrown together. “‘True sustainability’, fundamental to the layout of the house and in a cultural sense, tells us something interesting,” says Parks. “It inspires us.” LUXLIFE

Written by BrittanyMattie | Photography by Greg WilsonArchitectural Photography

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con veyance Written by Andrew Fabian

From European supercars to tim eless luxury m odels,daily drivers to weekend show-boaters,futuristic tech to the roarofinternal com bustion,the bestcars should still,attheircore,be fun to drive.Ultra-sporty SUVs pack the punch to geta party offourto their destination in a hurry,even ifit’s perched on top ofsnow-capped m ountains,two-doors offerthe ultim ate in white-knuckled luxury experience and a supercarwith four-figure horsepowerand aerodynam ic perfection blurs the line between carand airplane.

LAMBORGHINI URUS

Lamborghini has grown bored atop the hierarchy of barely-street legal sports cars, and with the introduction of the Urus, hopes to cure that boredom with a car that can very nearly do everything. It meets all of the performance benchmarks that have made the brand a favorite of speed fiends—640 hp, a breakneck 0 to 60 time of 3.5 seconds and the customary primal joy that accompanies the rumble and snarl of such an experience—and manages to squeeze them into a car that excels on trips to the grocery store as much as it masters off-road terrain. After the beefy V8 bi-turbo engine, the most salient characteristics are the electronic safety and performance gadgetry.

An ANIMA selector includes six presets that alter the steering, suspension and power-band to optimize performance over a wide range of conditions, from street to snow, while the full-time four-wheel drive and four-wheel-steering ensure that driver and passengers remain firmly secured to the earth. And with its aggressive lines that make it look like something out of science fiction, it will sure look commanding in any driveway. $200,000

BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT CONVERTIBLE

Like a custom suit, Bentley’s Continental GT Convertible can be customized to fit every aesthetic whim of its prospective buyer. Whether it’s the infinite possibilities offered by Bentley’s proprietary color commissioning department, Mulliner Paint service, or the ability to select from a menu of tanned hides and stitches, owners have the opportunity to create their own personalized masterpiece. For 2019, Bentley has introduced a new tweed option for the soft-top, lending an elegant, timeless touch that complements the all-new Cricket Ball leather option for the interior trim, featuring burgundy-tanned leather cross-stitching and embossed with a diamond-shaped pattern. Dressed in bespoke attire, it would be easy to forget that the Continental GT is no slouch in the performance department. Beneath the classy trappings is a 6-liter, 12-cylinder engine capable of pushing the broad, robust frame up to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, with a top speed of 207mph. Not too shabby for a car that still feels soft and luxurious on the road with its three-chamber air spring suspension and the automated Bentley Dynamic Ride system. Those with deep pockets may want to shell out the extra coin for the First Edition, sure to be an instant collectible. $240,000

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ACURA NSX

Ferraris and Lamborghinis may get all of the attention when it comes to midengine supercars, but the Acura NSX has quietly amassed a cult following since the first generation hit the streets in 1991. Discontinued in 2005, the Japanese automaker reintroduced the model in 2016 with the same intent: create a sports car whose performance matches Europe’s finest and whose reliability makes it suitable as a daily driver. The 2019 model features a 573 hp, twin-turbocharged V6 spinning the rear wheels while the front wheels are spun independently by two electric motors. That’s right, the 2019 NSX is an all-wheel drive hybrid supercar with the style and performance to compete with Ferrari’s LeFerrari. And with barely more than 200 manufactured and sold in 2018, its exclusivity is also comparable. The NSX ’s starting price starts around $ 150k but creeps up over $ 210k after adding a carbon fiber trim package, custom wheels, limited edition paint color and carbon-ceramic brakes.

With room for just two, buyers may have to make some difficult choices on who or what gets to ride in the passenger seat. $1 5 9 ,000

Acura NSX

Lamborghini Urus

MCLAREN SPEEDTAIL

For 2019, McLaren unveils a car so staggering in its performance it makes other supercars seem like go-karts. The S peedtail is something out of a NASA engineer’s fever dream—a land-bound rocket with sweeping, aerodynamic lines made of space-grade carbon fiber, the cockpit of a futuristic fighter jet that puts the driver in the center of the car and styling that evokes the sultriness of Italy’s finest supercars of the ‘ 70s. It boasts a reardrive hybrid system that produces 1035 hp, enough gusto for McLaren’s marketing team to provide gawkers with a 0-186 mph time in lieu of a 060. That time? 13 seconds. And that’s before the S peedtail goes full Millennium Falcon and shoots up to its top speed of 250mph. The tail in Speedta il comes from its bulky rear end, where sleek lines terminate and seamlessly integrated, hydraulically actuated ailerons help the car maintain contact with the road at high speeds. The interior, where driver and two passengers enter through dihedral doors, features a three-screen LED instrument panel and overhead drive controls accessible only to the driver. The discreet rearview cameras and corresponding rearview screens will show jealous drivers in high-definition. $2.24 m i l l i on

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ROLLS ROYCE CULLINAN

Rolls Royce is one of the few luxury car manufacturers to consider its buyers may not always be its drivers. For those who prefer to be chauffeured, the Cullinan comes with an optional center console in the rear seats that keeps a Rolls Royce-branded whiskey decanter chilled, with room in the refrigerated compartment for a bottle of Champagne to pour into the Rolls Royce-branded flutes. The sophisticated adventurer, on the other hand, will appreciate the viewing suite that emerges out of the rear of the car with the push of a button, presenting two leather seats and a cocktail table with which to enjoy breathtaking views. But, whether the buyer is sipping a Macallan 1926 in the backseat or maneuvering up harrowing switchbacks, the Cullinan will impress with ride quality. The stout body sits atop an aluminum spaceframe chassis, and combined with the self-leveling air suspension, electronically controlled dampers, four-wheel steering and Rolls Royce’s proprietary Flagbearer predictive ride quality system, the Cullinan can shrug off potholes and ice with grace. Those running late for an important board meeting or fundraiser, worry not, because the 563 hp, twin-turbocharged V12 engine packs enough punch to make one forget they’re in a four-wheeled land-yacht. $3 25 ,000

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DEFYING GRAVITY The Harbor House elicits head-tilting visions of grandeur by virtue of cleverly engineered apparitions and European m odern design elem ents.

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DEFYING GRAVITY

WHAT IS THE INTERSECTING MIDDLE GROUND

of a Venn diagram comparing magicians and architects? Precise illusionists. A geometrically sound edifice and beguiling build catches your eye immediately upon approach—dominating its surroundings and stealing the show from even the Sarasota Bayfront vista. Concrete stepping-stones seem to walk on water. Suspended staircases appear to be floating skyward and require a closer look to conclude your eyes are not playing tricks on you. A precarious cantilevered third floor room overhanging the edge defies Newton’s Law of Gravity. DSDG Architects pulls off the remarkable at this West of the Trail home, nestled in a secluded cove in Harbor Acres, in concert with Voigt Brothers Construction and Borden Landscape Design.

They say magicians never reveal their secrets, but Mark Sultana AIA, NCARB and Principal of DSDG Architects was gracious to note that cantilevers—rigid structural elements anchored at one end to an unwavering support from which they protrude—played a pivotal part in many of the eye-catching features of the Harbor home. The arresting front staircase leading to the front door, for instance, is a series of cantilevered stair treads anchored to a solid concrete wall. “The railing is attached to the side of each stair, making it truly frameless to give the appearance that the stair is floating over the reflecting pool below,” says Sultana. Moving to the back, the rear porch has a 25’ roof that cantilevers over it—giving sun protection to its occupants below, while providing the feeling that the roof is floating in thin air. Both of these

vanishing acts were accomplished with an inimitable team effort from the architect, structural engineer and contractor working in harmony.

Inside, April White, DSDG Interior Designer also curates a sense of magic. “The interiors were driven by the architecture of the house, and we knew the clients liked clean lines and minimal clutter,” she recounts of the exquisite simplicity and elegant functionality, identified largely with Scandinavian design ideals. Upon the first living level, visitors are greeted by a striking, gray porcelain plane. “The clients wanted concrete, but since there is a chance a concrete slab can crack, we found this perfect large format concrete-looking tile with rectified edges so we could get tight grout joints,” says White. In the kitchen, inbetween the refrigerator and wine cooler, is a hidden pantry for added storage—which also cuts over to the laundry room and powder bath like a secret passageway in Minecraft—but with much more lux cabinetry made with Zebrano veneer. Standing in the vast living room, spectators crane their necks to take in the lavish fixture dangling from the elevated ceiling, thematically named ‘Mercury Suspension,’ designed by Ross Lovegrove. Meanwhile, custom concrete panels, integrated by local contractor Ben Nettles Concrete Design, minimize the seams and any excess lines on the face of the two-story fireplace wall scaling from floor to summit. “The project is completely custom, oneof-a-kind everything,” Sultana says. “It has design features that we have never done before.” And now you see it, now you don’t. LUXLIFE

Written by BrittanyMattie | Photography by Ryan Gamma Photography

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“ THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW W HAT THEY HAVE,” says Alexander Eblen,Sotheby’ s vice president and jew elry senior specialist.And that’s why he travels the country,using Sotheby’ s InternationalRealty offices as m obile appraisalshops,offering hisexperteye and opinion to localcollectorsand clients.Stopping in atthe Dow ntow n Sarasota location,Eblen took a m om entto talk flaw less diam onds and the beauty ofim perfection.

AJEWELER’S EYE How has the internet changed the appraisal game? People today have access to more informa-

tion than they've ever had before. A couple decades ago, they really needed to be led. They did not know. Today, you can have conversations with clients that have a specific interest. They'll converse with you on the same level that you would with a professional in that area, because that's their passion. Where does the appraiser fit in?

Oftentimes, people make wildly incorrect assumptions about where the value of their property is. We are trained to think of our homes, our cars, maybe a boat, a vacation home, something like that. These are our assets. We're not so trained to know the contents of our home and the contents of the collections that have been passed down to us over generations.

People oftentimes lose complete sight of what it is that they've inherited. It happens all the time.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE Along with a keen eye, a good appraiser relies on quality tools. And properly equipped, even the amateur appraiser can take a bit of the guesswork out of their collection. “ If you invest in a little 10power loupe, you can take a look inside a lot of your jewelry,” says Eblen. “ Look for stamps.” From gold content to brand signatures, he says, anything could be a clue.

S c ale.

Jew eler's lou pe, 10x magnification. “ Y ou're not doing this like a magnifying glass; you're putting it to your cheek and it's a very, very small focal distance, but that's a classic.”

L everidge G au ge.

Written by Phil Lederer | Photography by Wyatt Kostygan

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What determines auction value? It has to do with a combination

of different factors—rarity, provenance, condition. Take a gold wedding band. Does it have value? Absolutely. It's intrinsically valuable because of the gold in it. Does it have rarity? No, because a great, great many of us are walking around with one form or another of it, right? Now if that wedding band belonged to a Kennedy or a Rockefeller, well now you have provenance—a famous background or history that adds value. Rarity and provenance are two different things. Condition is obviously a huge issue because most of the things that we hold onto over decades or longer will have condition issues. Rarity, provenance and condition. And, it has to have an audience. Something can be extremely rare, but if no one's ever heard of it then who cares, right? What’s in demand these days in the jewelry world? We sell a lot of contemporary jewelry, but some of the most rare and desirable items you'll see in our sales come from turn of the century, '20s, '30s, art deco period. It's sort of the magical time for jewelry. But as things progress, you start to see much more interest in jewelry from the '50s and '60s and '70s. Why? Because now there are people inheriting jewelry from that period. We're seeing this jewelry come back. Think of Sotheby's and the auction world as a wonderful recycling agent, right? What distinguishes the Florida market in particular? In terms of the jewelry market, you have a microcosm of the whole country in Florida. What you have in the United States, you have in Florida. It's such a great place where so many people come together. You've got a little bit of everybody and a little bit of everything, which makes it much more fun. Is there an inherent cynicism in diamond appraisal, in searching for imperfection? I don't use the word imperfection. I have a differ-

ent word for what you refer to as imperfections. I use the word “inclusion,” which is a much nicer sounding word. And, when you think about it, inclusions in stones, not just diamonds but in all these different stones, can tell us a tremendous amount. What can an inclusion tell you? As long as you know what those treatments are, they can be acceptable because you can tell the buyer what they are.

Sometimes treatments are not acceptable and so you do away with them. This idea that whatever's going on within the stone is bad, I disagree with. Inclusions can tell you a lot and are very important.

Does this apply to diamonds as well? Now a diamond is in this very interesting situation where no inclusions whatsoever really ratchet up the rarity of the stone, so we do appreciate those. But a diamond can be valuable and not be a D-flawless. Diamonds can come in almost every shade of the rainbow, and can be some of the most incredibly in-demand acquisitions in all the jewelry world. We just set a world record selling a three-and-a-half carat blue diamond, which brought over $5 million. We sold a 50-carat D-flawless white diamond for $7 million. Sounds too lucrative to be called an imperfection. In terms of describing things as an imperfection, these are natural occurrences, right? We value them because we didn't make them happen. Diamonds occur in such a huge variety of color and clarity. We dictate the shape, but everything else is natural.

The vast majority of what nature will give you will be compromised in one way. It won't be that needle-in-a-haystack perfection. They do exist, and when they do come up, they go for incredible sums. But there's nothing wrong with these variations. They can all be embraced. How do synthetic diamonds fit into the picture?

Maybe they'll replace silicon. Maybe we do our next array of supercomputing chips on diamond wafers. That's cool. But for jewelry, I want the real thing. I want natural stones, because what nature gives you has real rarity. LUXLIFE

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