The Ellis House, also known as Sarasota Island House, was designed and built by Stephen Ellis, CEO of MGB Fine Custom Homes, a Sarasota home builder, on a private boat-access-only island only 15 miles from his family home. It was built as a vacation getaway that is close to home so that friends and family can gather and feel as if they are in some far-away place.
The goals in designing the Sarasota island house were smart, simple and sustainable -- consciously integrating outdoor living space.
Large pocketing sliding glass doors open completely allowing the indoor living space to flow seamlessly to the exterior porches, effectively doubling the main living floor square footage. 
The layout is geared towards entertaining and family togetherness and can comfortably sleep 12 people in beds.
The home has been featured in several publications, including SRQ Magazine, Sarasota Magazine, Green Builder Magazine and the Herald Tribune.
The home is clad in fiber cement board and batten which was repeated in certain areas inside the house to add to the indoor-outdoor feeling of the home. All of the seating furniture is made from reclaimed and recycled teak wood and is inter-changeable inside and out and provides comfortable seating for up to 40 people.
The west deck provides deep lounge seating and overlooks the private beach and azure waters leading to the Gulf of Mexico. 
The East deck features a large dining table and additional game table to accommodate large dinner parties allowing views through the house to the water as well as the forested rear lot.
At the core of the house is an open living and kitchen space, designed with large pocketing sliders that open up both the west and east sides of the room. Flanking the length of this room are screened porches that allow the space to fully open up to create a large pavilion-like space that allows the gulf breeze to pass through the space and makes you feel like you are living outside. With the doors closed, the views remain unobstructed and allow the space to be fully conditioned.
Ellis designed the home to accommodate weekends with friends and family and the open concept really works to support this goal.
The roomy chef’s kitchen has a 4 foot by 10 foot kitchen island that allows many to participate in meal preparation. To eliminate the need to build dining space, they simply push a large reclaimed wood trestle table against the face of the island. When dinner is served, the table can be slid away from the island and into the center of the space allowing the exposed face of the island to be used as a buffet for serving. Of course the temperate climate of this private island retreat allows most meals to be enjoyed on the 10 foot long “Aft Deck” table. All of the beds in the home were designed by Ellis and handcrafted locally from salvaged beams with a history.
The master bed was fabricated from a large hand painted beam that supported the ceiling in the once elegant Ringling Hotel (owned by the famed circus magnate) that was demolished in the 1990s. Other beds were fabricated of old-growth heart-pine salvaged from what Ellis believes was a demolished cigar factory in the historic Ibor City section of Tampa Florida.
To accommodate overnight visiting families, we tucked in extra rooms adjoining the upper level bedroom suites. These rooms are children’s favorite with their slanted ceilings. With the addition of a built in bunk, each upper level bedroom suite can accommodate a family of five. 
View from 2nd level Bedrooms with shared terrace
Master Bedroom – as with every bedroom in this vacation paradise -- has lots of glass, light and views to the water.
Reclaimed sails from a friend’s 110’ schooner were fabricated into panels to be used to enclose the outdoor shower on the ground floor of the house, and to cover the closet doors in the guest rooms of the home. They give the space an airy feeling and remind Ellis of the origin of his design and construction philosophy.
“My design efficiency, and connection to sustainability comes from my days living-aboard and maintaining yachts in my youth, with my family and as I worked through college. My construction philosophy also stems from the structural integrity of blue-water yachts, and the quality of the joinery work I was exposed to a young man.”
Enjoying the afternoon “convection” breeze that faithfully whips up off the Gulf. The hotter it gets on land during the summer, the stronger the upward lift of hot air becomes – which in turn drags cooler air in from the Gulf of Mexico and right through the Ellis House.
For more information or to book your next vacation at the Ellis House, visit https://PrivateIslandHouse.com
