Bungalow Revival: A New House in Florida, Made by Craftspeople

“Our dog hated being downtown,” explains Arlene Steinberg, who with her partner, Gilbert Weiner, had bought a condominium in downtown Sarasota. They were Florida snowbirds from Long Island. “Every time loud trucks went by, it was a trauma. Besides, the windows were covered with hurricane slats that blocked the view. We started looking for a house.”

A self-professed old-house lover, Steinberg said they never considered buying a new house. “I grew up in a 1927 bungalow, and that’s what I love,” she says. “I absolutely wanted an Arts & Crafts house. Sadly, we found that the period houses we looked at had been bastardized. Finally, we bought a lot and a half in a new subdivision, with the intention of creating our own reproduction of the style we love.”

Steinberg, who is an artist and author of the book Masterful Color, found inspiration in the haciendas she saw while traveling in Mexico. “I love the way they’re built around a courtyard in the middle, and thought that we should build a U-shaped house. That also gets lots of light into the rooms.”

So she and Weiner, who is a retired lawyer, built a 2,870-square-foot, U-shaped house oriented around a central lanai with a swimming pool and garden. The center block of the house rises two storeys, with a guest suite, an exercise room, and Arlene Steinberg’s studio on the upper level. The first floor holds a great room and dining room in the center section; wings accommodate the kitchen and Weiner’s study, along with access to the garage toward the east, and a master suite and elevator in the west wing.

“We wanted a house that would work for people who are getting up in years,” says Steinberg. “So we designed it without too many changes in level, and, even though we don’t use it yet, with an elevator, just in case.”

An elevator is just one of the conveniences easily built into a new house. The new structure could be oriented so light enters the rooms in winter but keeps them shaded in summer. Starting from scratch allowed Steinberg to incorporate some of her favorite design elements—especially the rose motif she worked into tiles, fabrics, lighting fixtures, and stained glass.She is fond of Arts & Crafts-era stained glass; the custom work here was designed and executed by Sarasota’s Glass Crafters.

“Because this is Florida, we didn’t want the colors to be too dark. Rooms are painted in Arts & Crafts hues—we used hundred-year-old examples—but tinted lighter.” First-floor ceilings are 10 feet high. Furnishings are a combination of high-quality Arts & Crafts reproductions, flea-market finds, family heirlooms, and a few custom pieces designed by Steinberg. The needlepoint examples throughout the house were done by Steinberg over the years, some of them from her own design.

Inspiration came from “all the bungalow books, the earlier houses of Frank Lloyd Wright. And, more recently, from Sarah Susanka’s bestselling book The Not So Big House. And from the Gamble House, which finally I was able to go visit. Greene and Greene are my favorite architects.”

Arlene Steinberg takes credit for the design of the house, while Weiner managed the business end. “The reason we were able to work so well together is because I did the designing and the initial sourcing of materials, while Gil was more involved in the mechanicals—HVAC, plumbing—and also the financials,” Steinberg says. “Gil is fabulous at research, so he’d do the necessary researching and then we’d discuss it. Together we shopped for appliances. We’d never make a final decision without first running it by the other.”

Arlene Steinberg and Gil Weiner are happily settled into their new house. No more traffic noise or hurricane slats, but “it’s only a half-mile walk into town,” Arlene says. “This is the life we were hoping for when we moved to Florida.”