The "Ellison Residence," a 1963 ranch house designed by a founding father of Sarasota School of Architecture is now for sale in Winter Haven.
Located at 1602 8th St. SE, the home is one of a handful of residential homes from legendary architect Gene Leedy. The concrete and glass home features Leedy's classic use of "double-T" precast concrete, which runs throughout the residence. The 2,592 square-foot home comes with three-bedrooms and three-bathrooms, as well as 12-foot sliding glass doors, Ocala block stone walls, a pool, and an astroturfed courtyard.
The Ellison Residence is one of 25 homes in the area designed by Leedy, who opened his practice in Winter Haven in 1954. Besides the Ellison Residence, Leedy is also responsible for quite a few notable Central Florida buildings, like the University of South Florida President's Home, Winter Haven City Hall, Brentwood Elementary School in Sarasota, and the Walden Lake Country Club in Plant City.
The Ellison Residence is basically a work of art, so it's only fitting an artist currently lives there.
After seeing it featured in an Instagram post, Brooklyn-born painter Christopher Florentino, known professionally as contemporary artist Flore, purchased the home in 2018 before even stepping foot into it. Florentino had the whole house restored to nearly every detail, including the original tile, fixtures and even brought back to life a 1962 Custom Imperial Flair combo oven-stove by Frigidaire/General Motors.
The artist told Dwell he fell in love with the house because he has tremendous respect for Leedy, and he also wanted a place to put his massive amount of rare midcentury-modern furniture, which he's amassed since his teenage years. The good news is, it can all be yours. According to the listing, all of the vintage furniture is also available for purchase. Some of the furnishings up for grabs include pieces from George Nelson, Eames, Paul McCobb, Alexander Girard and Knoll.
The home is currently asking $481,000, and the listing agent is Lisa Simpson.
Photos via Realtor.com
