Longboat Key Garden Club Home Tour
Longboat Key Garden Club Home Tour
Longboat Key is one of the most expensive cities to live in Florida. It is a barrier island sitting south of Anna Maria Island, and north of St. Armands Key and Lido Key. Just about one hours drive from our home in St. Petersburg, we decided to make a day of it to do the Longboat Key Garden Club’s 44th Annual Home Tour. We wanted to visit this high-end beach town to get a feel for how they live! Each year my aunt and uncle escape the New Jersey winter to soak up the warmth in the Anna Maria Island sunshine, so they joined us for the tour.
Weather Perfection
60’s to low 70’s and full sunshine as we embarked on the home tour. Unlike most, tickets for this home tour were not available for purchase online, so we arrived at the first home to buy our tickets. The tour featured 5 homes, with 3 situated on the north side of the island, and 2 more towards the central/south side of the island. So, while it wasn’t a walkable tour, we found it easy to find parking at each home.
Tour organizers really knew what they were doing, and put together some great variety in the homes on display!
Interesting
To quote the home tour booklet writeupon the first home, “visitor’s to Peggy’s home come away with descriptions such as “whimsical”, “offbeat”, “fun”, and “delightful” characterize this home best. Every spare corner, table top, and wall space was covered with various collectables and artwork. This stop on the tour was more about what was in it, than the house itself. While it certainly wasn’t my style (and would give me chest pains to live in), it was certainly interesting to see!
And Up We Go
After we left the self-proclaimed “whimsical” house, things on the home touronly got grander from there. The next home on the tour had something I’d never seen. A pool in the entry way! Guests enter the home through the courtyard, which featured a small pool with a rock waterfall. The home also featured aquarium windows, that provided an abundance of light throughout the home. This home featured a view of the golf course, but the water views were ahead! The next stop on the tour was a custom 4,000 square foot home on the water.
Understated
The next home was a bit of a surprise. It’s façade is a 1970’s ranch, but inside it had been updated into a beachy entertaining house! The large open living space (complete with a pool table and fireplace) opened up to a pool, and a water view beyond. I could envision myself hanging out in the cushiony outdoor furniture, eating food prepared from the outdoor kitchen, while lazily sipping a daquiri.
The Coup De Grace
As we ambled up the long driveway of the last house, we realized the house must sit right on the beach! We picked up our pace as we walked towards the beachy blue home with its shiny metal roof. The tour guide told us that the home was a 2-bedroom bungalow built in the 1950’s. But the current owners transformed the original house into a stunning 2 story, 5-bedroom, 5-bathroom family retreat. The entire home was done in white paneling to mimic shiplap and featured painted furniture and beach artifacts throughout. As we strolled throughout the home, each one of our mouths dropped open as we entered the master bedroom to see the expansive gulf views. We imagined just laying in bed and waking up to that view!
Leisurely Lunch
After completing the tour, we visited Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant & Pub for lunch. The restaurant touts that it sources ingredients locally. We enjoyed the stunning water views from underneath a large and winding shade tree as we munched on our lunch special, Nashville Hot Fish sandwich and chips. Not ready to end the day yet, we took a leisurely 11-mile drive further south to St. Armands Circle. This shopping and dining mecca allowed us to walk and window shop for a few hours. While we passed the time, we picked up some gourmet dog treats for our fur babies at home from Woof Gang Bakery. They were called “blueberry waffles and toast”, too cute!
Hot for Home Tours
We’ve been to over 25 home tours, and consider this to be a top rated home tour! We would highly recommend it! The review we just shared doesn’t fully convey the experience we had. Understandably, homeowners don’t like it when you take photos of the inside of their homes, so you really don’t get a true feel for the home tour just from this blog. The purpose of this blog is to share our experience at the tour in terms of travel, planning, content and overall experience. But our opinions should not replace your first hand experiences! We recommend you experience a home tour for yourself. Whether it would be a first for you, or you haven’t been to one in a while! Be sure to visit our Home Tour database to find a home tour in your area, or choose a home tour in an area you have always wanted to visit. Use it as a reason to travel! Happy touring!
