1025 Von Phister Street, Key West - Casa Marina Area Dream House

 

Just Listed by yours truly, 1025 Von Phister Street in the Casa Marina Area of Key West.  This dream home is tucked away behind a bamboo fence and professionally landscaped yard lush with tropical foliage, tall palms, and an orchid garden. Then the two story house is revealed. When the front doors are opened your eyes are immediately drawn through the formal entry, past the living area, and out to the covered lanai and pool. The view is unparalleled.  Your guests will be awed.

As I took photos of the house for this listing and my blog I began to appreciate the detail in the design that seems, at first glance, very simple. Upon reflection I decided that there is a great deal of planning in the the design and materials used that make this house.  Take, for instance, the formal entry. How many simple houses have such a spectacular formal entry that leads to such an impressive two story great room?

As I clicked away I began to see numerous design elements emerge. The built-in bookshelf walls in the photo just above provide display spaces. Consider they are the same size but the opposite of the other. How clever! The kitchen island seems so spartan. There's more storage and utility than meets the eye.  There is under island storage under either side of the island. A large pantry is located just off the kitchen that provides a huge amount of storage for food, cookware, and seldom used items that all of us seem to have. This house a place for all the stuff. And everything is tucked away right and proper.

 

There are two bedrooms on the main floor each of which has a private porch. Both share one bath. The larger bedroom has a huge built-in closet with lots of do-dads.  The other has immediate access to the covered outdoor lanai just off the orchid garden. 

Note the shared bath has both an inside and an outdoor shower which has a little awning to keep rainwater off.  I use my outdoor shower all the time. Everyone that I that has one does the same.  This is one of the joys of living in Key West - being able to take a shower in the middle of winter outside when the friends and family up north are freezing the behinds. 

The bamboo stairs and banister lead upwards to the second floor which is the master suite. The bamboo continues on and becomes a second floor railing that overlooks living area below and the pool beyond. The vaulted bedroom ceiling provides dramatic relief from hum-drum flat ceilings seen in so many homes. The drama continues at the front where French doors open out to a little Juliet balcony where two can sit and ponder the worries of the world - or not.  A private office is hidden away in the west side.  The master bath is tucked in the opposite side of the house.

The living room opens out to the outdoor dining area. A single lounge chair is located at one end.  A pedestal monument is located at the opposite end with the word "DREAM" engraved thereon. A twenty-five foot pool with waterfall runs in between. There's a little Tiki hut hidden in the bushes at the very rear amid all the palms.  CLICK HERE to view more photos.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls datasheet.Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to show you this Dream Home come to life.  I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

1006 Packer Street, Key West, Florida - New Listing

The listing Realtor, not me, describes 1006 Packer Street as

"This handsome freestanding two story home in the Truman Gardens Homeowners' Association has it's own large and sunny swimming pool. The open plan great room opens through two pairs of french doors to the pool deck. The kitchen is bright with plenty of cabinets and both spacious bedrooms have well-appointed en suite bathrooms. The appealing front porch overlooks a tranquil private lane. There is one off-street parking space."

If you have never been to one of these homes before, get ready for a treat.  Once you enter the gate you head down a bricked path to the home. Three homes use this gated pathway to their respective homes. The yards are lush with tropical plants. The palm trees have matured since the last time I walked down the path. This place is so damned wonderful.  Each house is different - no cookie cutter houses here. 

1006 Packer Street sits at the end of the pathway. The house appears quite large and almost imposing from the pathway. The front porch offers a place for quiet contemplation on the joys of owning a home in Key West.

The exterior is Hardiboard siding. This is a man-made material that resembles wood siding, but is much easier and less costly to maintain. The house has a metal roof and crisp shutters to project the look of an old Key West house without all the work and maintenance costs of one.
 
While the house has the look of an older home, it is anything but.  The formality of the beautiful entryway dissolve when you see the two sets of French doors that open out to the private pool. That's a real "Gotcha!".  The living room is quite spacious as it merges into the dining and kitchen areas. 

There are two good sized bedrooms each with en suite baths on the second floor.  Too many Key West houses have pretend bedrooms. These are real.  This is a home - not a hotel room.

The reason most people want a place in Key West is to enjoy our wonderful weather - especially in the winter when everybody up north are freezing to death.  In Key West the French doors are opened out to the pool where the inside and the outside become one large living space.  The pool at this home is beautiful.

 This 1296 sq ft two story home was built new in 2001. The house and the 2354 sq ft lot on which it sits are owned in fee simple - just like your home up north in America. There is a shared common area that includes shared walkways with other homes and parking. Each owner has a deeded parking place. The annual fee for the association is $255.91. Each owner is responsible the maintenance, repairs, and insurance on his or her respective home. CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of this lovely home.

1006 Packer Street has a successful history as a vacation rental. The home is located four blocks from Duval Street and an equal distance to most of the gyms and yoga studios in the White Street area.  The beaches are an easy bike ride.  But the peace and serenity are right here.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on 1006 Packer Street #8. This property is offered at $869,000.  Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a showing.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

326 William Street, Key West Florida - Old Town

326 William Street in Key West, Florida is located within a block of the historitic Key West Seaport. Most of the houses in this immediate area were built because of proximity to the seaport which was the site of most early commerce on our island home. The 300 block of William Street is noted as having some of the oldest homes on the island.

For some odd reason the 300 block of William Street was omitted from the 1889 edition of the Sanborn Fire Map. But it did appear in the 1892 edition. That map shows numerous small lots interspersed with large lots. Many of the smaller homes are accessed via small lanes with entrances on William, Caroline, Margaret, or Eaton Streets. Unfortunately, while 326 William Street is a large house (1649 sq ft), it sits on a very small lot that today measures 29' X 51'.  I dug into my old shoebox to find an older photo of this property, but I could only locate a picture of a former resident, Mr. James A. Boyd, as it appeared on his Water-Front Pass issued on 2/22/18.

While I can't share with you any old photos of the house, I have many current photos which show this big, sturdy house that was likely built by ship chandlers. The front of the house is quite impressive. The house rises from the street with imposing front porches on the first and second floors.

Inside the home you will find a simple but elegant formal entry that flows to either the main floor living areas or the second floor. Today the main floor living space looks pretty much like it did more than a hundred years ago.

Dade County Pine walls, ceiling, and floors mark this property as historic. The tall baseboards, crown molding, and trim are painted a crisp white. As I photographed the house I noted the rippled glass in some windows which notes the gravitational pull of glass molecules dragged toward the earth. The rear portion of the house has been significantly updated in architecture and purpose.  Today one large living space  now contains the kitchen, an informal dining area, a family room type sitting area, the laundry closet, and an outdoor covered deck. Transoms above the windows and doors bring lots of daytime light into this space.

The second floor landing provides access to the three bedrooms located on this level plus access to the second floor front porch.The porch sits high above the street and provides a commanding view of this historic block filled with some of the oldest houses in Key West.

The front bedroom has quick access to the front porch. The middle bedroom has the flexibility to share space with the master bedroom at the rear or it can be used as a third bedroom. The master bathroom is also relatively new. It is large and sunny in the daytime. A newly added spiral staircase provides easy entry without disturbing friends or family using the middle bedroom.  CLICK HERE to view more photos I took of this lovely Key West home.

326 William Street is offered at $775,000 or $470 per sq ft.  CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on this home. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a showing. I am a buyers agent ( but not the listing agent of this property) and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.