The Cooney House . Lido Key, Florida.

Designed on a strict budget on a narrow 50-foot-wide lot in a well-established neighborhood for an attorney, his wife and two children, this Lido Beach house offered a quiet elegance achieved through ordinary materials and simple construction.  Bearing block walls, flat roof, and stock casement windows gave the client architecture for a “builder price”.  Shuttered, deep-set windows imparted a regional flavor while ensuring space for storage beneath and on either side. The owners wished for a space to display their art collection, to graciously entertain, and to allow privacy for family members.  Straight-line simplicity flowed through the plan providing a central, expandable glass pavilion for living and entertaining and two bedroom suites; one for the parents contiguous to a small sitting room with walled court and the other for the children near the kitchen and family room.  The openness of the central glass pavilion and porch held in balance the privacy of the two bedroom wings. 

Photographer: Wayne Swicord

Year Built: 1965