Perched on a narrow spit of land, Nathan and Mary Lee Smith’s home brings boisterous Kentucky charm to Useppa Island. Outside, twin spires rise like a nod to Churchill Downs, and gas lanterns cast a soft glow across the facade. Inside, hardwood floors and vintage furnishings lend the intimacy of an inherited home. The architecture and decor blend Old World and island influences with just the right amount of quirk.
A Kentucky native, Nathan infused the retreat with his love of Derby tradition and bourbon culture. The lot—an airplane runway during the Bay of Pigs invasion—drove much of the design. Perfectly oriented for sunrise and sunset, it offered views in every direction. The Smiths enlisted architect Jonathan Wagner, local builder Derrick Stearns and Cincinnati interior designer Michelle Pinales. “We told them, ‘We’ll give you a list of 70, maybe 74 things we have to have, and for everything else, if you three agree, you don’t need to call me,’” Nathan says. They only called a couple times. The Smiths’ list covered essentials, from bedroom orientation to hardwood floors, all in service of a specific vision: to create a vacation home where St. Barts meets Fiji with a Miami art gallery edge and Old Florida soul.
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Photography by Tristan Heeb
coral grey wood interior living room HOME 2026
Architect Jonathan Wagner worked with builder Derrick Stearns to design the home around twin spire-topped towers linked by an open-air Sky Lounge, where a modular Royal Botania Mozaix teak sectional sits beneath a pecky cypress ceiling.
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White Carrara marble lines the kitchen counters and backsplash, while hand-forged, solid bronze hardware from Rocky Mountain Hardware resists Useppa’s salt air.
Building on Useppa poses unusual challenges. Everything has to be transported by barge and travel through winding roads, limiting the materials that can be used. Concrete, for one, is prohibitive. The team had to work almost entirely in wood. “We’re islanders, born and raised on Pine Island, so we know how to build a stick frame,” Stearns says. The ingenuity carried through to the architecture and home layout. The Smiths envisioned a home that felt both connected and private, with clear separation between the sleeping quarters and public living spaces. “We didn’t want children or guests to feel like they’re in our space,” Nathan says. They also wanted elevated outdoor areas for sunrise and sunset viewing.
Those two charges led to the home’s most distinctive features: a pair of spire-topped towers linked by a bridge, along with bungalows connected by a catwalk. The top of one tower holds the primary suite; the other houses the Bourbon Bar. Between them sits the open-air Sky Lounge—an elevated porch that catches the cross-breeze and offers nearly 360-degree views.
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Turquoise bar area with white accents HOME 2026
The Bourbon Bar celebrates homeowner Nathan Smith’s Kentucky heritage. The bar, swathed in emerald, is outfitted with a sparkling water tap, ice maker and built-in smoker for infusing cocktails.
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The bar’s sitting area houses vintage Milo Baughman swivel chairs reupholstered in Pollack fabric, a custom Lapama rug and a record player connected to the whole-home Sonos system.
Below, the dock acts as an architectural and visual axis for the main structure. “[It] creates symmetry,” Pinales says. At night, subtle under-lighting transforms it into a glowing feature. Inside, this central area includes the kitchen, living room and two primary bedrooms—one upstairs, one below. “We figured, later in life, we’d want to be on one floor, but not yet,” Nathan says. On one end, a covered patio holds an outdoor living room, dining area and kitchen. “That’s where everyone ends up having coffee in the morning,” he adds. A sunken hot tub on a lower deck nestles into the landscape, preserving the water view. On the other side, a catwalk connects two guest bungalows. As the Smiths requested, each bedroom faces the sunrise—and in turn, every room captures a view of the water.
White board-and-batten siding unifies the structure. “White is basically a requirement of the island; it speaks to Old Florida,” Wagner says. He wanted the landscape to feel natural to its setting: “Like they cut it out of the island, like it’s been there forever.” That meant using tropical vegetation, like date palms and coconuts, over manicured symmetry. “I said, ‘I don’t want perfect palm trees—give me something that’s bent!’” Nathan says with a grin. To give the house its character, the Smiths insisted on gas lanterns around the exterior. “We love how they give it that South Pacific-meets-St. Barts feel,” Nathan says. Stearns had never done them in the area before. “It’s so unusual to see natural gas in Florida, but the flames are so special,” he says.
Inside, the couple’s ‘Kentucky-meets- island’ brief took shape through classic materials and handcrafted details. They wanted hardwood floors throughout. “They’re timeless, even though everyone kept reminding us they’re very not Florida,” Nathan says. To make it work, Stearns found a hardwood company to bring in the wood, let it acclimate to the island’s humidity and sand it on site for a perfect fit. Counters and backsplashes in white Carrara marble elevate the woody palette, while hand-forged, solid bronze hardware from Rocky Mountain Hardware resists salt spray. Mary Lee requested another unapologetically un-Florida element for the living room: a fireplace. “It adds so much warmth and interest at night in the winter,” Nathan says of the linear gas feature.
Photography by Tristan Heeb
coral and red coastal living space HOME 2026
Cincinnati designer Michelle Pinales worked with the homeowners to source much of the furnishings at auction. In the living room, vintage Milo Baughman chairs pair with a red lightning-bolt coffee table. Mary Lee Smith’s primary request for this space was the fireplace, which the team executed in a minimalist, linear form. Above it the Samsung TV is framed in white so it appears like art when not in use.
Bedrooms have no closets or chests of drawers; instead, Pinales worked with an Ohio manufacturer to design walnut beds with built-in storage. “We didn’t want big bedrooms,” Nathan says. “Plus, this is a great, fun island—you’re not wearing a jacket to dinner. You don’t need much.”
Throughout, the furnishings mix Kentucky tradition with tropical verve. Pinales and Nathan took their time, visiting auction houses to find objects with personality. Many of the statement pieces came through Jonas Karp at Main Auction Galleries in Cincinnati. “He has a great eye for midcentury,” says Nathan, who loves the thrill of the hunt.
One favorite piece—a red lightning-bolt coffee table, scored at auction—greets visitors in the living room. “Nathan was like, ‘This is totally rock star—where can we put it?’” Pinales recalls. She paired it with an Angelo Lelii floor lamp and Milo Baughman chairs. In the Sky Lounge, a teak sectional from Royal Botania’s Mozaix collection holds pride of place. The seating’s modular tile frame integrates tables, planters and lighting to suit varying entertaining and lazing needs. “We wanted it to live in the center of the room and work in all directions,” Pinales says. She coordinated it with hanging pendants made from vintage speakers outfitted with LED lights. “They change colors along with the twin spires. Between those and the gas lantern, the whole room glows,” she adds.
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white bedroom with paintings HOME 2026
Each bedroom faces sunrise and captures a view of the water, with minimal furnishings, like vintage chairs and side tables, allowing the colorful artworks to take center stage. One bedroom features Andy Warhol’s 1966 screenprint Cow (FS II.11) and a framed panel of his grasshopper-print wrapping paper.
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Each bedroom features a special vintage piece or two. In one guest room, it’s Moroccan chairs and Danish side tables. “The detailing gives that little bit of the Fiji look they wanted,” Pinales says. In another, it’s a pendant light with an incorporated table that hangs from a green lucite chain. “It’s nice to keep the floor clear, since you’re constantly sweeping out sand, but we loved how it’s multi-functional,” she says. Outdoor furnishings are by Knoll, all reupholstered in water-resistant Sunbrella.
“The art is the showpiece of each space,” Pinales says, speaking to how the Smiths conceived each room around a distinct artist. One bedroom features an Andy Warhol painting and a framed panel of his grasshopper-print wrapping paper. Works by Kentucky artists Paul Sawyier and Harlan Hubbard take center stage in other spaces. In the living room, a white frame surrounds a Samsung TV. They keep it set to Keith Haring art when not in use, so the display blends seamlessly into the room’s aesthetic.
Nathan’s love for the Bluegrass State is never far, seen most exuberantly in the Bourbon Bar. “I grew up in Kentucky and went to college in Kentucky, so I love bourbon,” Nathan says. “That said, I like to collect it more than I like to drink it.” The bar’s window casts light through the bottles, while a sparkling-water tap, ice maker and built-in smoker to infuse cocktails cater to connoisseurs. “The color of the bar is a nod to both the greens in Kentucky and the Florida water,” Pinales says. She matched it with De La Espada barstools and a seating area with vintage Milo Baughman swivel chairs on a Lapama rug. Nearby is a vintage-looking record player that connects to the whole-house Sonos system. “We love to listen to albums at night, there’s something special about hearing a whole Prince album or Rumours,” Nathan says.
When the Smiths are at their getaway, every day ends with happy hour at 5 p.m. The towers play “Call to the Post,” the bugle fanfare that opens the Kentucky Derby. What began as a joke became a neighborhood ritual. “Our neighbors pull up in their golf carts to hear it, even when we’re not here,” Nathan says. The sound drifts across the island—a cheerful cue to raise a glass to the magic of Useppa.
Photography by Tristan Heeb
neutral outdoor living area HOME 2026
Knoll outdoor furniture reupholstered in water-resistant Sunbrella fabric fills the covered patio, where days begin with coffee and end with the 5 p.m. broadcast of the “Call to the Post”—the Kentucky Derby bugle call that’s become a neighborhood ritual.