Ideal Escape

Bill Musso and Bryan Cooke“s Alys Beach, Florida, home features exotic palms transplanted from the Canary Islands, which surround a carpet of creeping grasses growing amongst fragments of Cuban stone.

The living room is the couple“s favorite place to unwind, day or night. The sea breezes that whisk through the French doors, Musso says, make it hard to leave. “We chose a very sheer, open-weave Fabricut material for the curtains, and as soon as you open the doors, they billow. It“s very beautiful; like something out of a movie.”

The living room is a perfect balance of casual and formal, traditional and modern“with just a touch of glam. “I“ve always done things with a bit of Hollywood glamour,” Musso says. “Even if things are casual, I still like them to be elegant, too.” The accent of silvery wallpaper above the mantel is what makes this room sing; it provides a chic backdrop for the couple“s most prized art piece, a canvas by Provincetown artist Anne Packard.

The kitchen was unfinished when Musso and Cooke purchased this home, giving him free reign to design the cooking space of his dreams. Using a local Florida cabinetmaker, he had walnut cabinetry constructed in a clean, streamlined style. “All of the wood is cut from the same sheet, so the grain extends linearly across the whole room,” says Musso. “It“s just a really simple, functional look“light, airy and great to cook in. I actually love it more than my kitchen at home.”

In a nod to the sustainable building practices of Alys Beach, Musso used many eco-friendly wall coverings and fabrics“like the Beacon Hill stripe featured on the dining chairs. “The developer is really passionate about what kind of footprint they leave behind,” he explains. “They“ve created a lot of green space within the property that they didn“t have to.”

Global influences have greatly informed the designs of Bill Musso (left), who enjoys mixing high and low. Case in point: An inexpensive, streamlined lounger and chairs from Restoration Hardware, corralled in the courtyard, provide shade on hot summer days and give the couple“s cocker spaniel, Aaron, a regal spot for repose. The harlequin pattern of the Dominican shellstone was original to the house.

The summer kitchen, complete with an outdoor grill and ample seating, is filled with friends and family throughout the day.

In this guest bedroom, cheery Bauhaus-style arc lamps and a wall of playful convex mirrors make it a favorite haunt for children. Still, “the room is not so juvenile that adults can“t stay here,” adds Musso. The designer chose fresh shades of green to complement the watery hue of the walls, as captured beautifully in the Victoria Hagan fabric he used for the shams and window treatments.

This guest bath was given a vibrant treatment with spring green wallpaper from Schumacher, adding visual interest to the otherwise understated space.

Because windows and doors crowded the spaces where a bed would have typically been placed, the design for the master bedroom began as a challenge. But Musso soon realized that the multiple windows were a blessing in disguise. After setting the bed between two of them, he took cues from the sun-drenched space and reflected it in colorful fabrics“a hand-painted Rubelli floral and a Liberty stripe.

Wood bead trim on throw pillows complete the look with “tribal, almost West Indian” accents.

Because Musso and Cooke were two of the first homeowners in Alys Beach, they“ve seen many waves of change in the coastal community. “It“s a great time to be here,” says Musso. “Every time we go, we see something new.” Because the two frequently make the trek to Alys Beach at the end of a long work day, they often don“t arrive until after 10 p.m. Still, the living room frames a beautiful view, no matter what the hour may be. “I actually think the house looks prettier at night,” says Musso. “That“s my favorite time of day to be there, because when the moon is full and reflecting off the water, it“s really magical.”

In community planning, as much as interior design, the best results are born out of pure vision—collected from various influences over time, woven from a thread of collective memory and cultural meaning. Each fragment that shapes the individual experience helps tell a story, too.

That’s the feeling that imbues Bill Musso and Bryan Cooke’s Alys Beach home—and the pieces they’ve put in it. “For years, it’s like we were buying things for a house we didn’t have,” says Musso, an Atlanta designer. “But it all kind of worked out in the end. It’s like it was meant to be.”

For Musso and Cooke, like many of the homeowners who have stakes here, Alys Beach is precisely the place they were dreaming of. One of the newest Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TND), the planned Gulf Coast community is quickly becoming the ultimate getaway for discriminating Atlantans. A sanctuary of calm from the life chaotic, it’s filled with Caribbean-influenced homes that reflect a fusion of architectural styles ranging from Moroccan to West Indian—all executed with elegance and simplicity.

It was while driving down Highway 30A in 2007—Musso’s first trip to the Florida panhandle—that he and Cooke stumbled upon the town’s stark white facades. Having lived and worked in locales ranging from New York to London, and traveled frequently both stateside and abroad, the two knew a gem when they saw one.

“Everything the developers have done is with so much thought; the level of detail here is amazing,” Musso explains.

The four-bedroom spec home they purchased—just a two-minute walk from the shore—was the first residential property built in Alys Beach. But, while it was an excellent rendition of the Alys vision, the designer admits that “it was a little vanilla.” His solution: to play up the simple architecture by adding built-ins, wallpaper and a cook’s-quality kitchen fashioned from streamlined, locally sourced walnut cabinetry.

Throughout, the interiors reflect the serenity of this dreamlike destination. A mix of fresh blues, greens and neutrals with just a hint of glitz—in the form of blown glass, mother of pearl and hand-painted floral fabrics—underscore a vision fully realized. The result boasts enough beachy style to bring reprieve and just enough urban sophistication to make the Atlantans feel right at home. “I wanted it to flow,” Musso says. “I wanted to be able to walk in the front door and walk out again and feel at peace.”

To keep the vibe calm, accents were chosen with careful consideration. Many, in fact, had been stowed away for years, awaiting proper placement. “We had these old lanterns for about three years, but didn’t know where to put them,” says Musso of the antique sconces now casting a glow in the summer kitchen. The work on canvas over the living room mantel, by Provincetown artist Anne Packard, is probably Musso’s favorite art piece—and not only because he purchased it at a very good price through an Atlanta dealer. Just as artfully, a collection of 14 photographs by Dutch artist Ron Van Dongen, picked up years ago at Jackson Fine Art, add graphic interest and individuality to the formal dining area while a prized pair of Mid-Century Klismos chairs gets a new lease on life with fresh fabric.

Musso’s favorite spaces, however, are the ones that make the most of the outdoors’ breathtaking beauty—like the summer kitchen and gracious living room, complete with five sets of French doors that open wide, letting in crisp ocean breezes and showcasing the view. It’s an invigorating feeling, which is why the designer banished all distractions—like a TV—from the living space. “I didn’t want the rooms to be so overly done that you lost the sight of the views,” he says. “Why compete with them?”

INTERIOR DESIGN, Bill Musso, Musso Design Group Inc., (404) 873-1773, mussodesigngroup.com