The Captiva Project began when my client purchased a 2 acre plot of land on Captiva Island adjoining the Robert Rauschenberg foundation. Her intent was to turn the property into two luxury vacation rentals that she might be able to retreat to in the winter.

Infamously dubbed ‘The Turtle Shed’, this was once an artist’s studio, equipped with a 1950s shower pan, a toilet almost falling through the floor and some animals that we’re not going to speak about if you’re planning on sleeping there. We had the shed resided with the main house, Beach Daisy, and kept the original pine flooring when we refinished it. It’s fairly simple but easy to use- we had originally planned to add a small deck out front, but because the shed is in front of the coastal construction line (about 100 feet from the high tide line) we weren’t allowed to add any permanent and additional square footage.

Because it is SO close to the beach, we opted for a darker respite from the bright sunshine of the beach- everyone needs to rest their eyes after a long day at the beach. The only way to bathe here is the outdoor shower (hello nature!), your only neighbor being the beautiful sea pines, possibly an iguana or some bunnies on the Rauschenberg property. The Rauschenberg Foundation is a multidisciplinary artist's residency program founded by the late Robert Rauschenberg who lived on Captiva for nearly four decades- keeping the original artist cottage seemed fitting to honor this legacy.