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For one scuba-loving couple, trading city life in Washington, D.C., for the laid-back rhythm of High Springs, Florida—a town famed for its turquoise springs and storybook charm—was a chance to keep the water close, and its magic even closer. To them, a home inspired by those crystal pools felt like the perfect place to begin. The only snag? They had no idea how to bring it to life. What they did have, though, was the perfect blank slate: a forgotten workshop separated from the main house by a hallway—spacious and open-plan, with crooked ceiling outlets and a patchwork of disjointed drywall—waiting to be reimagined.
Their dream was to have it function as a Swiss Army room—part storage, part chill zone, part party central. They’d been playing around with layouts on their own but needed a designer’s eye to bring it all together, so that’s when they called in Chelsey Cox, one half of Gainesville-based Chinotto House. She dove into the project alongside the studio’s other half, Rachel Rector.
If the main house was like a breezy waterfront, this space would be the swampy deep—an immersive retreat with a quieter, moodier current. “The house sits along a river, so we leaned into a water-inspired palette,” says Cox, who, with Rector, carved out a cavernous home theater, a tide-charged lounge, a bespoke cocktail bar, and a smartly outfitted mudroom for wetsuits, fins, and everything in between. “It had to suit board games, movie nights, and craft cocktail moments with friends,” adds Rector. “It’s part fantasy, part Florida—with a Chinotto House twist.”
Reflecting Pool
The designers had two rules to follow: no white walls and every detail had to echo the springs. Backdrop’s Sicily or Cyprus was their BFF in the entertaining area. When the light hits the glossy finish just right, the walls and ceilings look like ripples you’d see on a swimming hole’s surface. “Not only does the lacquered ceiling reflect light around the otherwise moody space, it also makes you feel like you’re underwater looking up,” says Rector. “We were a little nervous it would feel overwhelming, but once it all came together, it really gave each room its own unique story and mood.”
Riverbed Reverie
The Corian Quartz Indigo Swirl countertop in the cocktail bar is one of the first finishes the designers picked out. With soft, fluid veining, the material echoes the gentle movement of water—like a riverbed frozen in motion. To drive home the theme, they brought in a hammered brass sink that looks like a relic dredged up from the deep and neon handles that look like rope from a boat.
The Deep End
The couch, the floor, the table—no spot is off-limits for lounging in the theater room. “We love that you can feel just as comfortable on the sofa as on the floor and that there’s room to spread out,” says Cox. The secret sauce is the wall-to-wall Newbern Classic carpet in the color Polo from Shaw Floors. “It gave us the opportunity to introduce softness and color.” The bonus? It acts as a sound-barrier, as does the plush curtain between the theater and the bar.
Current Mood
Cox and Rector brought a sense of beauty to the three bi-fold closets, which they created as a hiding spot for the owners’ abundant scuba gear. They bathed them in Clare’s Mellow Mood—a soothing sea green—and finished them with playful coral-hued Matilda Goad & Co. knobs. For good measure, they created a whimsical floor using a mix of blue and green cement tiles from Zia Tile.
Lime Meets Brine
To combat all the darkness, the designers introduced playful pops of lime green—first in the form of a custom Popus Editions Giovanna sofa from Paris, and again in the bar lighting, hammered brass sink, and mudroom walls drenched in Backdrop’s Pretty Ugly. “Florida springs are full of every shade of green you can imagine, so we didn’t hold back,” says Rector. “It’s a bold color, sure, but in the right setting, that’s what makes it fun. We’re calling it now: kelp green is the It color of the summer.