The Lucky Beans Beach House

Formerly owned by a Broadway superstar, the Miller home provides a life in the sun for a couple from Sun Valley.

The Lucky Beans Beach House

Formerly owned by a Broadway superstar, the Miller home provides a life in the sun for a couple from Sun Valley.

the lucky beans beach house

by ANN TAYLOR Photography styled by Leah muller interiors

The Millers’ growing collection of lucky beans, found on the beach and scattered among pieces of sea glass, are treasured finds that enjoy a special spot on the mantel above the fireplace in John’s office.

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t’s not every day that someone knows they’ve found the perfect house within minutes of walking through the front door, yet that’s what happened to John Miller three years ago. After a quick tour of the first floor he took the stairs two at a time to the second, where he counted the number of bedrooms and knew the oceanfront property was just what he had been looking for.

Never mind that John’s wife Kris was a California girl who hoped one day they would return to Newport Beach where she had spent her early years, and happy memories of family still living there kept tugging at her heart.

However, when Realtor Bevin Mugford showed the couple the former home of Broadway superstar Bernadette Peters, Kris couldn’t help but get caught up in her husband’s excitement. “We loved the setting, the light and the potential to recreate a beach house for our growing children,” she enthuses. “My daughter had just starred in the play Annie and we loved the idea that someone like Bernadette Peters had once walked the halls. Her husband Michael Wittenberg had been in the process of post-hurricane renovations when he was killed in a

As the sun slowly rises over the ocean it spreads a golden glow throughout the Millers’ home, prompting John to gather his fishing gear and head out in a kayak to see what the catch of the day will be.

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The Millers’ two-story beachside residence is on more than an acre of lushly landscaped land at the end of a winding, oak-canopied lane in a gated community that few people know even exists.

Carter, John, Madigan, Kinley, Kris, and Tim and Emily McDonough, John’s mother, spend as much time as possible together when the Millers are in Vero Beach.

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A forever view of the ocean can be seen from the open kitchen and “family table” where, between bites, everyone shares their athletic adventures of the day, which more often than not include surfing and tennis, two of the Millers’ passions. Another is John’s fondness for collecting Highwaymen paintings, one of which is seen on the wall.

Leah Muller designed this inviting alcove in the master suite, perfect for curling up and reading or simply daydreaming.

helicopter crash while on a business trip to Europe.”

After Wittenberg’s death, Peters rarely returned to Vero Beach, had no desire to continue with the renovations and finally decided to put the house up for sale. The actress had chosen the house for the same reasons the Millers did, with privacy and living on the beach topping the list.

The two-story Indian River Shores residence sits on more than an acre of land at the end of a winding, oak-canopied road in a gated community east of AIA that few people know even exists. Just north of the Village Shops it is close to John’s Island where the Millers have family.

Without that connection the couple would probably never have discovered Vero Beach or their “funky and fun beachside home.”

The main floor features an open plan with living, dining and family rooms plus an oversize kitchen that literally flow from one to the other, all with spectacular views of the ocean.

Off a nearby hallway John created a home office with a fireplace, making sure the sparkling blue waters of the Atlantic were in sight. There are two master suites, one on the first floor, the other on the second where each of the children – Madigan, now 16, Carter, 14, and Kinley, 11 – have their own bedrooms; in addition there is a game room as well as a fitness room – perfect for an active, athletic family.

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et’s go back to the beginning, when the couple’s paths crossed shortly after Kris’ family had moved to Darien,

In the entry hall all eyes are drawn to the mirror artistically framed with random pieces of driftwood.

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Sixteen-year-old Madigan’s second-floor bedroom reflects her sunny personality. A budding actress who starred in “Annie,” Madigan was charmed by the fact that stage and screen star Bernadette Peters had lived in the house.

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Conn. “John was the boy next door and we were the Brady Bunch who had moved in from California,” she explains. “We were the Coutts and the Guggenheims. John’s family was also made up of two wonderful families, the Millers and the Appletons.

After John and I were married in 1992 we moved to Sun Valley, Idaho, and left our careers in New York City where I had been an advertising executive at Metropolis magazine and John had a brokerage firm on Wall Street. I continued to work from home for the magazine and John started his own company, Pioneer Capital Management.”

When it came time to escape the Idaho winters and early spring mud season, John, who Kris admits can

be “very, very convincing,” decided Vero Beach was the place to be.

“As a native Californian, the idea of vacationing in Florida felt all wrong to me, especially since I had family still living in Newport Beach which was a lot closer to our home in Idaho,” says Kris, who admits she’s now glad she didn’t resist heading east instead of west.

John’s grandfather Jack Shaw was a long-time resident of John’s Island and his mother Emily McDonough was one of the first to buy property and build her second home in Orchid Island, where there was plenty of room for the Sun Valley crew to settle in. However, after their third child was born, the Millers realized they had outgrown their “guest-pass”

at Grandma’s house so they set about searching for one of their own on the barrier island, eventually purchasing a home on the Intracoastal Waterway.

“We loved the kids in the neighborhood, the fishing off the dock and sunsets at night, yet John longed to be on the beach. We would spend lots of time beachcombing and he would often point out homes he admired,” recalls Kris. “My husband loves to keep busy and wanted a new project to work on – he enjoys the process of recreating and renovating a tired, weathered house.”

The Peters residence presented the perfect opportunity. As an added bonus it was close to John’s Island where the Millers maintain a social

The Millers’ beachside house, surrounded by native foliage and a few steps to the beach, was just what the family was hoping to find to create their “happy place.” As Kris says, “John loves that the ocean is never the same and he gets a new backyard every day.”

membership. “We can ride our bikes there to play tennis, walk to the beach club for the day or even walk to dinner there at night. My daughter and I nicknamed John’s Island ‘The Four Seasons’ and I think our youngest daughter thought her dad owned it for a few of her younger years,” Kris confides.

While John was busy working with independent contractor Billy Holiday and his son on the renovations, Kris and Sarah Weaver Hartigan, a longtime friend and interior designer from Darien, focused on furnishings, selecting sea, sand and sunriseinspired fabrics.

“We did it on a tight budget and had a lot of fun going to antique shops and out-of-the-way places, searching for the one piece we loved and then designing the whole room around it.

Sarah helped me source the driftwood pieces to coincide with our family’s strong passion for the beach lifestyle,” says Kris. The entrance hall mirror framed with pieces of driftwood is an eye-catching example.

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n their first visit to the house during the remodeling phase the Millers discovered that, as a result of stormy weather, a sea turtle nest on their beachfront had become uncovered.

“We picked up all the eggs and ran into the house and called The Nature Conservancy to find out what to do with them. They felt it was best to send the eggs and any newly hatched turtles out to sea. We took this as a message to have a turtle theme throughout our home.”

Another theme the Millers have

taken to heart involves the “lucky beans” they found while combing the beach for shells, sea glass and pieces of driftwood. There are a number of tales about lucky beans but their favorite is the one John’s grandfather, Jack Shaw, tells. He claims the beans come from the coast of Africa and are treasured finds. The Millers combined Shaw’s collection of lucky beans with theirs and they enjoy a special spot on the mantel above the fireplace in John’s office.

The Millers consider that they, like their treasured beans, are the lucky ones to be living on the beach during the winter and early spring months in a house that reflects their personalities, and where a pink glow spreads across the sky as the sun rises over the ocean, promising yet another perfect day. `

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Represented by Bevin Murchison Mugford (772) 538-3276 bevinmugford@gmail.com PETERS CARLTON & MUGFORD RE A L E S TATE

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