Jacksonville Magazine | Lovely Bones | August 2014

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AUGUST 2014 // JACKSONVILLEMAG.COM
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64 | JACKSONVILLEMAG.COM AUGUST 2014

GOOD
BONES
DOWNSIZING DOESN’T HAVE TO
MEAN LOWERING ONE’S STANDARDS
WORDS BY JULIET JOHNSON // IMAGES BY WALLY SEARS
GARY AND REBECCA BONE WEREN’T READY to retire, but they had
found themselves at a point at which they could live pretty much anywhere.
Gary wanted to return to Queens Harbor in Jacksonville for the
tennis, the golf, the fishing, the boating... “It’s a giant playground, let’s
move there now and create a home we can live in for the next two
chapters of our life,” Gary recalls. He was sold on the Northeast Florida
lifestyle; however, finding the right house was a challenge. Many were
too big, or on property with no view. Suddenly, a home on the fresh
water lagoon was listed and Rebecca rushed down from Atlanta to see
it. It was a pokey little ’90s thing, but she saw the potential.
AUGUST 2014 JACKSONVILLEMAG.COM | 65

Afriend
suggested she call Katrina Hosea of
BeeTree Homes. On a hot Saturday afternoon,
the two women measured, ideated
and bonded. Together, they agreed the
house could be made a home.
During the design and feasibility phase,
Rebecca paced about her 5,000-square-foot
Atlanta home on the market, all the while
worrying how the couple would make the
transition to the Queens Harbour home,
which was 2,300 square feet. Fortunately,
Hosea was willing to help.
“The way to make a small house special
is to give it architecture,” says Hosea. That
meant lovely chunky molding, trim
around the windows and doors, varying
ceiling heights and up lighting where possible—all
principles of “The Not So Big
House,” a movement away from “starter
castles” (aka McMansions) led by Sarah
Susanka to reimagine spaces that satisfy
real needs. Susanka’s ideas and philosophy
informed many of the choices as the
renovation progressed. The spaces might
be small(ish), but each is beautifully finished
and visually expansive.
A simple stack of stone covering the
mantel from floor to ceiling commands
attention and provides a strong anchor for
the harbor view. Rich wood cabinets,
reaching 12 feet on either side, provide
both symmetry and storage.
Opening up the kitchen to the dining
room meant removing a wall which, as
luck would have it, turned out to be a
shear wall (put in place as a hurricane precaution
and incredibly difficult to remove).
Though some might have panicked, Hosea
remained unfazed. “When you have the
right team in place, a problem requires little
more than a phone call. It’s merely an
opportunity to find a good solution.”
A solution was found in a pair of stylish
wing walls which now frame a large opening
to the kitchen (and double as added
space on which to hang art).
In addition to redoing all the original
molding and installing E3 windows (which
allow for more light and less heat), the
floors throughout the home were replaced
with bamboo.
66 | JACKSONVILLEMAG.COM AUGUST 2014

In the kitchen, traditional Georgian
details take center stage. Huge
corbels hold up an elegantly
framed hood, intricately crafted
table legs corner a massive granite
island. There’s also one enviable,
high-tech detail too unique not to
mention: An electronic dog door that keys
off the dog’s collar. “Rudy was always on
the wrong side of the door; I got tired of
getting up all the time,” laughs Rebecca.
A set of glass-backed cabinets are situated
around a window so that the chef can
watch the boats while cooking. The additional
glass makes the kitchen a light and
airy hub. That the former kitchen’s cabinets
are now classing up the laundry room
is another inspired touch. The old mantel
is there too, repurposed as a hook rack.
And then there’s the home office. Most
offices are placed above the garage, or
down a hallway, practically hidden from
view. Gary Bone’s office is in the thick of it
all. Located just off the family room, in
fact, so that he can enjoy the views, too
(thanks in large part to a pair of 8-foot-tall
glass French doors).
This page, clockwise from top right: Textures take center
stage in the master bedroom with a dramatic four-poster bed
with Anglo-Indian turned posts, an antique nightstand and
bedding from Restoration Hardware; Gary’s office houses a
collection of cherished mementos, including a South African
wall hanging, a curious horn lamp and a large stone desk; the
tiles in the master bathroom are travertine, a form of limestone
deposited by mineral springs. A soaking tub remains
from the original home.
The Bones’ previous
homes had all been renovated
prior to purchase.
The Queens Harbour
expanse would be their
own. Hosea calls it “a
totally different emotional
investment.” Rebecca wanted it all to
be as close to their ideal as she could get
it. “I could not have done this without a
designer,” she says. “I would have been
blown away by so many choices.”
Case in point—the granite countertops.
Rebecca went to Ace-Granite to find the
perfect one, but it didn’t prove to be an
easy decision. After considering slab after
slab, she settled on a piece with a lot of
fissures—“a gorgeous, exotic piece,” she
says—and eagerly anticipated the install.
The 10-foot slab made it through fabrication
and then (as she held her breath)
through transportation. Six movers
hauled it carefully into the house. Two
inches away from its final resting place, a
fissure gave way and the slab split in two.
Hosea found Rebecca, who was out running
an errand at the time, to break the
news. Devastated and exhausted,
Rebecca remembers only one phrase
offered in comfort: “God made a lotta
stone.” Indeed, a new piece was found.
It’s so lovely that the Bones’ kitchen has
won design awards.
With Hosea’s words ringing in her ears,
Rebecca went on to hire Doug McGregor
of Earthworks, who deployed 1,700
square feet of stone to nearly double the
size of the home’s living space. The additions
included a fire pit, dining area,
summer kitchen and gardening area
(“with raised beds so Rudy can’t mess
them up,” of course).
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