Feature
Reimagined
From dark and dated to airy and refined, this Summerport home balances sculptural design moments with the joyful mess of family living.
- heather anne lee
- Fred Lopez
Jenny and Toby Cartell’s home doesn’t shout for attention — it earns it quietly, revealed in the calm rhythm of repeated tones, natural materials, and light doing what light does best.
Walk through the door and the mood is immediate: soft light, pale wood, and an effortless sense of ease. White-washed floors stretch wide and welcoming. Sunlight glints off glass and warm gold finishes. In the kitchen there’s a 7-foot-by-9-foot island crowned with a luminous two-inch thick slab of marble that practically begs you to lean on it with a cup of coffee and a good story. Hand-laid herringbone tile adds quiet character. Washed oak, creamy cabinetry, and layered textures set a serene foundation, softened by the easy presence of real life — a backpack on a chair, toys not far from reach.
But here’s the twist: it didn’t start that way. Not even close.
When the UK-born couple first stepped inside this Summerport home, it was, in Jenny’s words, “very brown… and very busy.” Dark cabinets, mismatched tile, clashing wall colors, and a general lack of light made it hard for most people to see past the chaos. Jenny and Toby? They saw possibility. Also, a pool and a view—two things that shot straight to the top of their wish list and made everything else negotiable.
Renovating homes is practically their shared hobby. Back in England, they’d already tackled multiple projects, slowly building confidence, skills, and a surprisingly high tolerance for living in construction zones. This Florida house simply became their biggest canvas yet.
Before their family of six—kids ages 17, 14, 10, and 3—fully moved in, they transformed the bones. Out went the patchwork flooring. In came wide-plank floors in a soft, pale finish that instantly calmed the space. Walls were coated in a warm, cohesive white that bounced natural light from room to room.
Then came the kitchen, now the undeniable heart of the home. Rather than gut it completely, they reimagined it. Cabinet boxes were refinished, new doors and drawers installed, and that showstopping oversized island added. Jenny and her dad, who visits from France and apparently travels with tile skills, installed the backsplash themselves. The result is equal parts elegant and lived-in—the kind of kitchen where homework, snacks, and late-night chats all happen within arm’s reach of one another.
The renovation unfolded in real life, not on a TV timeline. There were weeks when the stove sat in the middle of the room and countertops were missing entirely.
“You just have to like the chaos a little,” Jenny says with a laugh.
Space was another priority. With four growing kids, they converted the garage into a full bedroom suite for their oldest—a five-month journey through permits and inspections that ended in a bright, comfortable retreat with its own cooling system.
Bathrooms are still on the to-do list, and Jenny and Toby’s bedroom remains mostly untouched. In families living through renovations, parents almost always go last.
What they’ve created, though, is more than a beautiful interior. From the kitchen, Jenny can watch kids drift between the pool and the living room, hear the thud of backpacks hitting the floor, and call everyone in for dinner.
Jenny says they’re staying. Toby, she admits, may already be dreaming about the next project.
For now, this once-dark house is filled with light, laughter, and the gentle hum of a family building something together—one plank, one paint can, one slightly chaotic day at a time.
What was once a garage is now a private bedroom, complete with a bold statement wall, dedicated cooling, and the kind of independence a teenager can appreciate.
