rosemary beach house

i spent some time last weekend searching for a beach house to rent for a few nights this summer. we are going back to the 30-a area of florida--a tranquil, dreamy little stretch of beach towns between panama city beach and destin. 

as i was looking, a certain property that is currently for sale caught my eye...i KNEW i had seen it before, and immediately recognized the handiwork of the architect and designer.

 (and good heavens, i wasn't looking at houses like THIS to stay in...my budget would probably rent this baby out for about 12 minutes! but hey, looking is free, right?)

as with all properties designed by mcalpine tankersley architects and interiors by susan ferrier, the house is jaw-droppingly beautiful.

full of rich details. 

elegant, rustic and welcoming.

this house was featured in the october 2010 issue of coastal living.

this house is located on the beach in the planned community of rosemary beach, which i blogged about here. there is actually a lot of design talent in the area--- erika form urban grace interiors has an office around here,  seleta from simply seleta lives here, and tracery interiors has a store just steps  from the beach in the business district of rosemary beach. i actually stopped in last year and visited the store last summer and met anna kay porch of tracery interiors in person, who is absolutely lovely and super sweet...even if she DID graduate from auburn university. (sorry anna kay--i had to say that!!  my husband is a fiercely loyal alabama fan!)

anyway, back to the HOUSE...

although the house is GORGEOUS, and it would be impossible to make it look anything BUT gorgeous,

it was kinda refreshing to see some of the listing/"real life" photos in comparison to the pictures that were captured for the coastal living spread.

feast your eyes:

real life:

coastal living:

real life:

coastal living:

real life:

coastal living:

real life:

coastal living:

really, the differences are minimal... just a few live plants, some well placed accessories, and better lighting.

in fact, in the kitchen picture above, it even looks like the same bowl and cutting board are on the counter!(minus the artichokes, or course. 

cuz what's a beach vacation without some pelligrino and artichokes??) 

and, just for fun, a few additional shots from the coastal living spread:

of course, no matter how beautiful the house is, it can't compete with this view!

and yes...it really does look like this in person.

i can't wait to go back.

*sigh.

all images via here and here.