819 N. Lakeside Drive
Steven Eschenbach

While visiting friends in Delray, we came to Lake Worth for a street festival. The beach town vibe appealed to me so I ended up buying a house! I went back to California wondering what I had done but the house felt good and the garden is the reason I bought it.

It was a fifties house: dark rooms, poor space organization but with huge oak trees. My idea was to integrate the garden and interior. I created a walled entry as an outdoor room, complete with an integral tile “red carpet”. Palms were repositioned and a step-up wall allows a view out but no view into the house.

The living room was three small spaces which I tore out. I “bent” the spaces to make the entry, main room and pool symmetrical. Two beams allowed spanning the room without walls. Siccis Italian glimmer glass mosaic panels above the living room doors and master bath shower echo the yellow and green palette of the garden and house. The angles of master bath mirrors reflect the feeling of standing among the palms.

In the garden, the fountain is on a timer so the sound of water is my alarm clock. The glass tile around the fountain reflects the morning light. There are 20 varieties of palms, numerous varieties of heliconias, alocasias, orchids and bromeliads. Plants were selected to accentuate light and shadowed areas of the garden rooms.

Paintings by Jim Salem are in several rooms. The French furniture was colleted while I lived in Paris, mostly from the Marche aux Puce. I’m an avid potter and all of the earthenware ceramics, which I use, are my work.