Sunday, October 25, 2009

By story BY BARBARA BOWERS Special to The Citizen PHOTOS BY ROB O'NEAL The Citizen

Bob Goldman's penthouse apartment at 619 Eaton St. is more than a treetop aerie for Largo, his 13-year-old African gray parrot, who luxuriously cohabitates in sight of wild birds winging by. It's also center stage for Corky, his terrier and long-haired Dachsy mix born 11 years ago at the Florida Keys SPCA.

"I wanted a space big enough for Corky to have maximum room to play in, and where both Largo and Corky could always be in the center of things," Goldman said. "Mine is pretty much a working household -- at least, I always bring work home on weekends -- and to be fair to my pets, I needed to accommodate them with a design that worked for all of us."

Located above commercial space on the first floor, the animals have free run of the big two-bedroom/two-bath apartment without Goldman's concern for any disruption to neighbors. He's a practicing attorney, and Largo, who perfectly mimics Goldman's voice, dispenses legalese, talks baseball and orders Corky into excitable romps across the hardwood floors.

The apartment is entered from the gated rear garden of the property, and the household hub -- a great room of living, dining and kitchen space -- overlooks the pool. The soaring, beamed ceiling and natural Dade County pine walls feature a loft and a "Swiss chalet look" that aesthetically works for Goldman.

It even offers benefits beyond its pleasing design: "I'm not exactly Mr. Fix It," he said. "Renting works for me, and during a hurricane, there's no place I'd rather be than in a rented apartment built as solidly as this one."

Since moving to Key West 15 years ago, Goldman said he's been paring down the antiques he collected formerly, when he lived in the Midwest. Some things still remain, though, like an old Noah's ark etching, which suggests that Goldman's soft spot for animals is deeply rooted.

Hanging in the living room, too, is a framed clue to his appreciation for most things aged and aging.

"That's a letter to Donald Samuels, congratulating him on his election to the New York Stock Exchange on March 27, 1929," he said. "I did some research and learned that the seat cost Mr. Samuels $432,000; when he sold it in November of 1949, it was only worth $40,000."

Paring down, though, is tied less closely to financial cycles than to meandering decorative tastes. Banished to Goldman's official business office on Southard Street are a couple of antique chairs, including one with uniquely carved arms. Gone from the household repertoire of fine furniture is the long, hand-carved Chinese coffee table.

Gone, too, is a blue, satin-upholstered sofa, replaced with an overstuffed white one, and another sofa that converts to a bed, which doesn't necessarily support his "downsizing" efforts.

"The sofa bed is for guests," he explained, without any edge of defense for trading in one sofa for two. "The loft is for storage and the other bedroom isn't much bigger than a closet so it's about the right size for my in-home office."

Goldman's in-home office is lined with poster art, law books and an up-to-date wine library. And for efficiency sake, the closet in the closet-sized office is outfitted with a wine cooler, just one of three in the spacious apartment.

"Moving each one of those wine coolers is like moving a refrigerator," Goldman said, cringing at that thought, but smiling with another bit of tongue-in-cheekiness: "I try to keep a birth-year bottle for every memorable woman I've dated."

Two black, rectangular wine coolers contrast nicely with the kitchen cabinets' rounded edges and lavender blue -- a color that's reflected in a similar shade on the living room's coffee tabletop.

"The blue-mirrored table is an art deco piece I just couldn't get rid of," Goldman said. "They just don't make solid furniture like that anymore."

Another solid wood piece of furniture, but this one lime-green, is multi-purposed. It sits flush with the kitchen counter and serves as an extension with drawers for storage. When an attached white leaf is hoisted in place, it becomes a desktop or an informal kitchen table.

Formal dining is reserved for a natural teak boat table retrieved from an old yacht -- probably art deco vintage -- that folds in half, seats six people comfortably when it's opened, and currently is tucked away beneath a deep-red shelf hanging between the entry door and the double French doors that lead to the rear balcony.

A front balcony overlooking Eaton Street is accessed from the master suite, which is roughly one-third the size of the great room. Two balcony doors, one from the bedroom and one from the bathroom, enhance the balmy airflow throughout the apartment almost as much as the lavender, red and lime-green colors present a Caribbean ambiance.

In case the tropical influence is too subtle, there's always the talking parrot.

Barbara Bowers is a writer and member of the Key West Historic Architectural Review Commission. To suggest a home feature, send an e-mail to Barbara@bbowers.com. Homes listed for sale will not be considered.