In the Grove
Roney Mateu, a Miami architect, believes that life is best led in a series of homes. “I think in terms of dream houses. Plural,” he told me. “I think I have a few left in me.”
With that in mind, Mateu bought an unusually narrow plot shaded by towering oak and gumbo limbo trees in the Coconut Grove neighborhood. “I fell in love with the trees,” he said.
Mateu was building a home there with the expectation that he and his wife would relocate from their current compound in Pinecrest, Florida, when an unexpected bid came from Felipe Martinez, a Colombian who designs specialized rims for foreign sports cars.
Martinez bought the house mid-construction and asked Mateu to finish it according to his original plans, which called for two gray concrete block buildings separated by a generous lawn and a stone path from the street lined with bamboo. On the street side of the property is a modest apartment and office above a garage. The main house is an open, ample space in which everything tends to be exposed.
With that in mind, Mateu bought an unusually narrow plot shaded by towering oak and gumbo limbo trees in the Coconut Grove neighborhood. “I fell in love with the trees,” he said.
Mateu was building a home there with the expectation that he and his wife would relocate from their current compound in Pinecrest, Florida, when an unexpected bid came from Felipe Martinez, a Colombian who designs specialized rims for foreign sports cars.
Martinez bought the house mid-construction and asked Mateu to finish it according to his original plans, which called for two gray concrete block buildings separated by a generous lawn and a stone path from the street lined with bamboo. On the street side of the property is a modest apartment and office above a garage. The main house is an open, ample space in which everything tends to be exposed.
View a Slideshow of Coconut Grove
Posted by: Michael Cannell on Jan 4, 08 at 09:00 AM PST
Where can i get more info
on this home?
Posted by Lorraine White on 02/04/08 08:20AM PST
I love the exterior of the house. Especially, the back...it has such a fresh feeling.
Posted by Carolina Eclectic on 01/04/08 07:22PM PST
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