From a distance, the two homes on this Captiva property read as family: same standing seam roofs, same type of siding. But step closer and you see one is a rare 1912 cottage, low-slung and traditional. The other is a soaring contemporary guest house with 22-foot ceilings and stark white interiors. Architect Joyce Owens designed them to coexist with visual continuity, but without imitation.
The cottage came first. Owens, principal of Fort Myers-based firm Architecture Joyce Owens and recipient of the AIA Florida Gold Medal, had renovated the historic structure for the owners a few years earlier. Built in 1912 on Useppa Island and moved to Captiva in 1948, it’s one of the island’s oldest homes. When the clients wanted more space, the challenge was one of architectural diplomacy: how to add a significantly larger, elevated structure without overwhelming the modest original, which sat low in the natural landscape. “With all the newer regulations, like being above the flood zone, we wanted to make sure that we didn’t dwarf the cottage,” Owens says.
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Photography by Dan Cutrona
modern coastal guest house exterior HOME 2026
The modern guest house complements its rare, century-old main residence through shared materials, like standing seam metal roofs and wood-look siding deployed at different scales.
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Photography by Dan Cutrona
white beach cottage exterior HOME 2026
Built on Useppa Island in 1912 and relocated to Captiva in 1948, the cottage is one of the island’s oldest structures.
While the new structure is about twice the size of the original, 2,000-square-foot cottage, Owens split the massing to soften its presence. “It’s more like two guest houses, connected by a hallway and open courtyard,” she says. “Had we filled in that entire space, it would have felt enormous.” She also left the beach-facing part open underneath, using it as a lounge area to keep the space feeling airy.
To maintain cohesion, the team relied on shared materials deployed at different scales. “It’s a sort of Captiva-meets-Cape-Cod thing—but very contemporary, with a nod to traditional,” Owens says. If that description sounds a little hedgy, it’s because the style of this guest house is hard to define. Yes, there’s a classic standing-seam roof and wood siding, but the unadorned windows, exposed steel trusses and stark white interiors push the design modern. Mixed in are marble floral tile accents for a hint of glamour and linen sofas that suggest coastal ease.
The roofs use the same charcoal SNAPMAX metal, but the guest house sharpens the angles to accommodate its loftier ceilings. Owens kept the massing restrained, relying on peaked gables to echo the cottage without replicating it.
Photography by Dan Cutrona
modern coastal living room black and white HOME 2026
The challenge was adding an elevated structure nearly twice the size of the original without overwhelming it. To achieve this, Owens split the 4,200-square-foot guest house into two smaller volumes, connected by an open-air walkway. The front structure houses the living, kitchen and dining areas. Everything is white—Sherwin-Williams’ Snowbound on walls and ceilings—multiplying natural light throughout the day.
The conversation between old and new continues at eye level. Where the cottage wears narrow beadboard paneling, the new structure has broad tongue-and-groove cladding (James Hardie’s Aspyre Collection outside and Primelinx nickel gap inside). The proportions shift, but the idea remains: Both rely on vertical rhythm to draw the eye upward and emphasize height. Matching paint colors and Hubbardton Forge sconces recur across the façades, bridging the century between them so the cottage feels intentionally paired, not preserved.
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Photography by Dan Cutrona
coastal dining room with ocean view HOME 2026
An oculus window above the dining table reveals exterior trusses left in natural wood tone. Inside, Owens painted the structural trusses in the 22-foot-high space white to achieve vaulted lift without visual weight.
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Photography by Dan Cutrona
modern coastal kitchen HOME 2026
Ironbark cabinets recreated the historic cottage’s clean-lined storage, while ceramic Sartoria TSquare backsplash tiles in First Snow add subtle texture.
Inside, the design is deliberately restrained. Everything is white, with Sherwin-Williams’ Snowbound covering walls and ceilings, and engineered wood floors from DuChateau’s Atelier Series done in Driftwood White. Wood-tone furnishings and bronze window frames provide the only contrast, multiplying light throughout the day, so the space feels larger and more connected to its beach setting. Furnishings favor comfort and the same muted palette. Here and there, a hint of black or bronze nods to the window trim, lending depth to the space. The landscape and changing daylight become the stars of the decor. “It speaks to the white sandy beaches of Captiva,” Owens says.
Working with Benchmark General Contractors, the architect composed the plan to make the best use of the slender site. “We had to manipulate the shape to keep the structures narrow, preserve views through the property and make good use of the site,” Owens says. She designed the new structure as a linear, courtyard home with two pavilions organized around a pool and an open-air walkway connecting the two. Neither volume overwhelms the cottage, and the layout allows every interior space to have ample cross-ventilation and views in several directions. The pool becomes the heart of the composition rather than an amenity tacked onto the side.
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Photography by Dan Cutrona
guest bedroom white decor wood accents HOME 2026
The back pavilion houses the bedrooms and a media room with an attached kitchenette. The guest bedrooms keep the palette soft and airy with Driftwood White engineered floors from DuChateau’s Atelier Series and warm wood accents.
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Photography by Dan Cutrona
neutral luxury bathroom HOME 2026
Distinct floral tiles appear in each bathroom, including this waterjet marble chrysanthemum band that adds interest without breaking the home’s neutral rhythm.
Pulling up the concrete driveway flecked with shells, visitors first see the back of the house, where mechanical systems hide on the second floor behind a faux balcony. “I didn’t want it to look like the back of the house,” Owens says. The pool courtyard, paved in shellstone, follows—then a covered loggia that perfectly frames the view of the historic cottage and features a cast-in-place concrete, wood-burning fireplace by Arcadia, Florida-based Robert Gonzalez Concrete Design. The fireplace surround and flanking bench seating are formed as one seamless piece. “Robert is so talented,” she says. “He allows us to design things you couldn’t normally do.”
The front portion of the home holds public spaces: the living, kitchen and dining areas. The back building holds private bedrooms and a media room that’s styled similarly to the front living room, but cozier and with a kitchenette. A wraparound porch in the back pavilion provides multiple access points to the outdoors.
A two-story, entry stairwell in white oak with powder-coated, bronzed stainless steel cable railings leads to the main living area, offering pool views as you ascend. A shimmering multi-light pendant with pleated-mesh shades laced in metallic threads hangs above the entry.
Upstairs, a central landing opens to the right into the kitchen, and to the left, into a sitting area and living room, where Owens left the Universal Timber Structures trusses that support the roof exposed. She painted the trusses the same white as the ceilings and walls to achieve the lift of a vaulted ceiling without the visual weight of exposed beams. “Leaving them open makes the space feel airy—it’s like we pulled in all the daylight,” she says. A cast-concrete fireplace with integrated benches echoes the loggia setup. With 22-foot ceilings and an all-white envelope, the room could have felt top-heavy and austere. Instead, the fireplace’s long, low form draws the eye down, grounding the volume and restoring balance.
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Photography by Dan Cutrona
coastal sitting area white tones HOME 2026
A two-story stairwell in white oak, with powder-coated bronzed stainless steel cable railings, leads to the main living area, offering pool views as you ascend. The entryway’s Coral Multi-Light pendant, by Arturo Alvarez for A-Emotional Light, shimmers subtly in the sun. With only wood tones and bronze window frames for contrast, the palette lets Captiva’s beachscape become the art.
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Photography by Dan Cutrona
modern coastal white staircase HOME 2026
To keep the interiors in step with the site’s historic anchor, some of the detailing is repeated in the guest house. Ironbark cabinets recreated the cottage’s clean-lined kitchen storage, featuring a thin reveal outlining each door. Done in white oak and painted Sherwin-Williams’ High Reflective White, the cabinets incorporate stained accents for added dimension. On the work surfaces, ceramic Sartoria TSquare backsplash tiles in First Snow add subtle texture to an otherwise flat white palette; the pattern catches light differently than the matte cabinetry, creating visual interest without introducing color. Pompeii Quartz countertops in Misterio shine under the Graypants Ohio Scraplight chandelier hanging above the dining table.
The dining area opens to a balcony with an outdoor kitchen. An oculus window above the table ushers in daylight and reveals the balcony’s structural framing. At the last minute, the clients decided to keep the exterior trusses in their natural wood tone. “Everything else was all white, but when we saw how beautiful they were, we decided to leave them as they were,” Owens adds. The warm wood emphasizes the geometry of the gabled roofline and connects the interior and exterior architecture.
Pattern and texture show up strategically throughout to define individual spaces without disrupting the cohesive palette. Distinct floral details add charm to the bathrooms, including waterjet mosaic marble roses in the primary bath and chrysanthemums in the guest bath. The front powder room has a New Orleans-inspired patterned tile from MLW Surfaces Nola collection, which lends softness to the angled-concrete pedestal sink, also by Gonzalez. “Everything is done simply, but with the addition of one major texture,” she says.
R.S. Walsh Landscaping helped integrate the home into its setting. Manicured plantings near the buildings create a seamless transition from architecture to nature, while wilder native vegetation at the property’s edges blurs the boundaries with the surrounding dunes, making the elevated structure feel rooted rather than imposed.
The final effect, as with the most successful designs, feels inevitable. Two buildings, separated by a century, occupying the same beachfront in perfect balance. “It’s more like a shelter—you just want a roof over your head so the breeze can come through,” Owens says. “It’s really about living simply.”
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Photography by Dan Cutrona
modern coastal guest house with pool HOME 2026
The guest house is organized around a pool with a raised spa. A covered loggia on the left frames the view back to the 1912 cottage and features a cast-in-place concrete fireplace by Arcadia, Florida-based Robert Gonzalez. The open-air walkway brings cross-ventilation and long views through the site. Throughout, R.S. Walsh Landscaping used Florida-friendly vegetation to root the elevated structure in its setting.
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Photography by Dan Cutrona
modern coastal guest house front exterior HOME 2026