Innholdsfortegnelse for Winter 2025 i Coastal Living

It takes confidence to know when less is more. But on Bermuda, where the sea and sands provide a daily pageant of iridescent blues and pale pinks, the design thinking at AZURA is to showcase that splendor via cliff-hugging frames of soothing, spare whites. The impact is intoxicating, and an exciting addition to the island’s traditional resorts and cottage communities. Begun as a complete reimagining of the former Surf Side Beach Club on the island’s South Shore, AZURA opened quietly in 2020 and used the sudden freeze of the pandemic to continue its buildout, which now counts 60 sunlit, modernist rooms and suites. A sublime seawater Ocean Pool at the base of the cliffs joined the party in 2024, and a final phase in 2026 will layer in 20 more…

AT HOME AT SEA ON RITZ-CARLTON ILMA It feels like a typical Sunday morning. I roll over, stretch languorously, and open my eyes. Wrapping a robe around me, I pad over to the Nespresso machine, press the button, and summon a frothy lungo. Motorized window blinds whir into action, revealing the vista beyond floor-to-ceiling glass doors. At home in my downtown Miami condo, I’d be waking to the sight of high-rise condos and the sound of honking horns. But “home” this morning is the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s Ilma. And when I step onto the balcony, I’m greeted by an undulating, seemingly endless swath of Caribbean that’s as blue as a Jolly Rancher, and breezes that carry a faint tang of sea salt. Yes, this feels like a typical Sunday morning—only better.…

Barman Jeffrey Ong Swee Teik was a visionary. In the early 1970s, he set out to invent a drink for the Aviary Bar at the newly opened Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that honored his country’s equatorial climate, the bar’s ornithological vibe, and the decade’s disco mood that favored sweet drinks with flair. One might have expected a hyper-tropical cocktail, but that’s where Ong showed his genius. He introduced Campari—the bitter Italian aperitif most associated with a Negroni—into a shaken conversation with dark rum, pineapple and lime juices, and simple syrup. Served in a ceramic bird-shaped vessel, the aptly named Jungle Bird skirted kitsch with its grown-up notes of Campari; it wasn’t long before the drink entered, via widely published cocktail guides, the rotation of American bartenders. As the…

SHRIMP-AND-OKRA GUMBO ACTIVE 40 min. TOTAL 1 hr. 10 min. SERVES 16 6 Tbsp. canola oil3 Tbsp. unsalted butter9 Tbsp. all-purpose flour4 cups chopped white onion1½ cups chopped green bell pepper1½ cups chopped red bell pepper1½ cups chopped celery4 garlic cloves, chopped13 oz. smoked turkey sausage, sliced2 Tbsp. salt-free Creole seasoning3 tsp. kosher salt6 cups unsalted chicken stock2 (15-oz.) cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained1 (1-lb.) pkg. frozen cut okra2 lb. medium peeled, deveined raw shrimp1 cup sliced scallions8 cups cooked long-grain brown rice¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1. Heat oil and butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high, and cook, stirring until butter is melted and mixture is warm. Add flour, and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden flat-edge scraping spoon, until mixture is caramel colored, 5 to…

GRAPEFRUIT PAVLOVA ACTIVE 15 min. TOTAL 1 hour plus 1 hour, 15 min. cooling SERVES 8 4 large egg whites (about ⅔ cup)¼ tsp. cream of tartar¼ tsp. kosher salt¾ cup granulated sugar2 to 3 drops red food coloring gel (optional)3 large pink grapefruit2 Tbsp. seedless raspberry jam1½ cups heavy whipping cream½ cup sour cream¼ cup powdered sugarFresh mint leaves 1. Preheat oven to 250°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Beat egg whites with a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on high speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Beat in cream of tartar and salt until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Gradually add granulated sugar in a slow, steady stream. Continue beating until egg whites are very stiff and sugar is almost dissolved,…

The yellow shutters had them at hello. Vacationers on Harbour Island for years, a Dallas couple had been looking at real estate there, hoping to find a permanent vacation home in the Bahamas. “My clients had just one caveat,” says interior decorator Jody Hagan. “They didn’t want to buy a house that had already been ‘done.’ They wanted to reimagine an old house and make it all their own.” So when they saw this Bay Street historic cottage, built in the 1700s, full of island character yet begging for some TLC, they jumped at the opportunity to revive it. “The house needed a total gut and remodel, but from the very beginning we all fell for the facade and knew those yellow shutters simply had to stay,” says Hagan. “This…

For some, it may be enough to gaze at the water from the shore. But for those who have been lucky enough to move that gaze from near the water to over the water—to feel a part of the moving life of the sea while still feeling anchored—staying in overwater bungalows and villas becomes a holy grail. But not all overwater digs are created equal. From the South Pacific to the Caribbean, they vary in silhouette and shape (not to mention creature comforts). Some are like luxury piers in larger resorts; others, more like Robinson Crusoe–esque shacks with ample charm but spartan amenities. But in the largely yachting-forward archipelago of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a new wave of overwater villas beckons. On the main island, Sandals Saint Vincent and…

It begins with the water. And it begins the first time you lay eyes on it: gliding on a flight path toward the Providenciales International Airport, skimming across it on a boat bound for a private island, meeting your gaze from the lounge chair outside your villa, brushing your toes on a white-sand beach. No matter where you first meet the crystalline seas surrounding the low-lying limestone islands and cays of Turks and Caicos Islands, you will forever hold other waters lacking. You will tell your friends about it, and they won’t believe you. “It’s as clear,” you’ll say, “as gin.” And you won’t be wrong. But the magic of this archipelago—tucked in the North Atlantic (not the Caribbean) southeast of the Bahamas—is far more than its aquamarine seascape. This…

Sometimes following your gut is exactly the right call—especially when your instincts are well-honed from decades of designing homes. As were Georgia Benevides’s when she bought this rundown Palm Beach cottage sight unseen. “The yard was a mess; the whole thing was a mess. We thought it was an abandoned house,” says Benevides, a Texas-born Bermudian who’d met her husband, David, on the island after moving there for work. For 33 years the pair jointly ran Benevides and Associates, a Bermuda-based architectural firm, until he unexpectedly passed away in 2023. Before Covid hit, they’d been looking for a foothold in the States, and southern Florida suited them. “My husband was super preppy,” she says. “He loved Palm Beach style and fashion, how people dressed here. We loved the great restaurants.”…

It’s not uncommon for the natural beauty of Florida to stop West Palm Beach–based decorator Danielle Rollins in her tracks. A flash of blush pink plumage has inspired her to halt a round of golf for a moment of avian appreciation on more than one occasion. “I’ll say, ‘It’s a roseate spoonbill! Nobody move—I have to take a picture!’” Harnessing inspiration from Mother Nature’s color palettes and forms is integral to interior design, but it takes a special gift to translate it into a home that leans more high-gloss than au naturel. Such was the state of an early 2000s residence perched overlooking the cobalt blue Intracoastal in West Palm Beach. Its placement was prime, but a relationship with its palm- and seashell-studded environs—and gravitas befitting its historic neighborhood—was lacking.…