Sharon and Michael Stathis had visions of retiring near the beach. The couple had spent decades in South Florida, where Michael owned a construction company, and now it was time to settle into their golden years. After spending his life building custom dream homes for clients, the time had come for Michael to build a dream home of his own.
It was during a weekend getaway in Faber Cove in August 2020 that the Stathises found their forever home. “We were out riding our bikes when we saw this empty lot for sale with magnificent views of the water and space for a boat dock,” Michael says of the paradisiacal refuge on Hutchinson Island with deep anchorage points and calm, crystalline waters. “I remember thinking, ‘Whoa, I have got to look at this.’” An avid surfer, Michael already knew all about the excellent amenities in the area—boating, fishing, water sports—from family vacations spent in Fort Pierce.
The couple, who had been living at the same address in Pompano Beach since tying the knot when they were in their twenties, wanted to relocate to a quieter spot with more spacious digs—and this was it.
They quickly scooped up the half-acre, palm-bordered estate and tapped architect Anthony Cosentino of Cosentino Architecture to draft a 3,500-square-foot, Key West–style home with wide open living spaces ideal for entertaining. They also planned for three bedrooms with en suite baths, a convertible office, and a connecting three-car garage. Says Sharon: “It was finally our turn to build a house with everything we wanted.”
At the southern end of the property, the architect configured a covered patio with roll-up fabric storm screens that protect an active space with table tennis, a dining setting for alfresco meals and playing board games, and separate seating areas with an outdoor television and wood-burning fireplace overlooking the cove’s turquoise waters…