Tour a Chic Beach House Filled With Neutral Tones and Tons of Texture

Lots of people dream about moving to the beach. Holly and Mike Izard took the plunge, leaving behind Northeast winters for balmy Atlantic Beach, Florida, and rounding out the fantasy by having a house built there in 2019 for their family. “We wanted a more active lifestyle all year long that included biking, swimming and surfing,” says Holly. Pictured: Mike and Holly with Margaux, 7, and Julien, 4.

Their home, located a few blocks from the beach, fully embraces its identity with woven textures, light woods, and nearly every shade of blue under the sun. “It’s practically a neutral when you live on the coast,” she says. Designer Lauren Leonard helped steer rooms to be less traditionally nautical and more lighthearted with waves of pattern. The result is, says Holly, “a vacation home we never have to leave.” Coastal cool: An aluminum roof can withstand salty air, and the porch’s three shutter panels between the columns offer a bit of shade.

When the fireplace in your coastal home is one of the first things people see after they walk in, you surround it with a sea of tile (by Mosaic House). The blue surge continues in drapery fabric by Lee Jofa and patterned cushions by Taylor King on rattan and seagrass chairs by Palecek. Chosen for its lack of undertones, the white paint (Snowbound by Sherwin-Williams) is as crisp as can be.

A true vacation at home means never having to scrub off food stains. Designer Lauren had the bench cushion fabric, from Lee Industries, laminated for easy cleanup. Bistro chairs from Ballard Designs are also wipeable. Serendipity: The base of the CB2 table they already owned had a sunlike shape.