“Every day I thank God for letting me live here with this gorgeous view,” Lonnie Petrinko says of the home she and her 67-year-old husband, Vic, own in Ponce Inlet, Florida.
Built in 1989 by the original owner, the Petrinkos’ three-bedroom, three-bath, 3,170-square-foot home is angled along the east bank of the Halifax River (the Intracoastal Waterway) for interest and to provide maximum water views from all rooms.
Central pillars of Old Chicago bricks, two brick and stone fireplaces, exposed beams, vaulted ceilings and hardwood floors create a rustic but elegant flavor.
“We’ve enjoyed living here for 10 years, and we’ll stay in this beautiful area,” says Petrinko, who is 63. With their motel business keeping them increasingly busy, they want a smaller home.
Their 150-by-175-foot lot with a three-story house, two garages, a swimming pool, a spa, a dock, ramp and float is on the market for $1.75 million.
The front entrance opens on the ground level. The single large room contains a waterfront office area with custom cherry cabinetry and a family room with a gas-log fireplace, a dining area, a kitchen and a walk-in wine cellar. A wet bar adjoins French doors connecting to the covered concrete lanai, summer kitchen and paved patio around the swimming pool and spa.
Petrinko’s favorite spot is outside on the lanai, “which always has a wonderful breeze and such great views of the boats.” Nearby is a detached one-car garage, used for tool storage.
A spiral staircase ascends from the family room to the second-level open-plan living area. Picture windows overlooking the river flank the gas-log fireplace, and French doors open to a surrounding balcony. The kitchen features gourmet appliances, granite counters, custom cherry glass-fronted cabinets and a matching storage/dining island. A grocery elevator from the attached two-car garage below eases that chore.
An oak staircase leads from the living area to the third-floor interior balcony, which offers 360-degree views of the river, endless mangroves and the ocean.
The master suite occupies the hexagonal wing at one end of the house. Brick pillars and exposed beams highlight the bedroom’s hexagonal cathedral ceiling. Picture windows overlook the river and mangrove islands. The tiled en-suite bath’s cabinetry matches cabinets found elsewhere in the house.
A brick path leads from the house across the terraced lawn to the wooden boardwalk along their 175-foot riverfront. Granite rip-rap and a concrete seawall protect their shore. The dock has new pilings, seating, a lift where they kept their Four Winns and a finger pier, which their children and grandchildren used for swimming. The dock can accommodate a 100-foot yacht.
“We cruised all over the area in our Four Winns,” Petrinko says. “It’s only a mile downriver to the lighthouse and ocean. We often cruised across the river to the beach on Disappearing Island or to Daytona Beach.”
The house has central climate control, city water and sewer; 2015 taxes were about $16,400. Ryan Adams, (386) 212-5315, of Adams, Cameron & Co., Realtors, Daytona Beach (ryanadams.adamscameron.com) lists the property.
This article originally appeared in the February 2016 issue.
