Architect Jeffrey Dungan likes to call it The Sandcastle, a home created with all the imaginative artistry the name implies. Looking for an idea that would be a little different from anything he’d done before—though in truth, no two of Jeff’s houses are alike—he had the simple idea of a home carved with curves, swoops, and small, rounded features that tell a story through subtle details. It could take days to discover them all.
Architect Jeffrey Dungan likes to call it The Sandcastle, a home created with all the imaginative artistry the name implies. Looking for an idea that would be a little different from anything he’d done before—though in truth, no two of Jeff’s houses are alike—he had the simple idea of a home carved with curves, swoops, and small, rounded features that tell a story through subtle details. It could take days to discover them all.
“It makes for a unique, fascinating, interesting, and challenging design problem for the architect to try to solve,” Jeff says. “I think a lot of the creativity that had to occur for that to happen as Alys Beach developed and evolved is a big part of the success, architecturally speaking, of Alys Beach in general.”
The homeowners, John and Melanie Peets, first encountered the home in 2022 after having lived for six years in a beautiful house on the north side of Alys Beach, tucked away near Lake Marilyn. It was a private lot perfectly suited for a family with young children who were ages two, ten, and twelve at the time. “But we always had the idea that we would eventually get closer to the water,” Melanie says. Once two of the kids had gone away to college, they approached their real estate agent about lots available
to build.
“He said, ‘Okay, but I do have a house that just came on the market that you might be interested in seeing.’ We said we would at least check it out. As soon as we walked in, we were sold on it.”
She says Jeff’s vision shone through in every aspect. “All of the architecture speaks back to the curvature that really takes us in our minds to the Gulf and all the natural elements that made us fall in love with Alys Beach. Each entryway, each ceiling, everything was intentionally done with those circular elements. It’s very zen to us.”
John concurs. “The most striking thing to me was the implementation of all the curves,” he says. “You realize the extra time and care that was taken to achieve the home’s feel that harmonizes so well with water. From walls to ceilings to windows, this is not a house full of connected boxes. It flows with grace.”
Because the Peets’ home sits on a corner lot, three facades are prominently visible to the public, creating lots of opportunities for uncommon exterior details. These include a multidimensional keyhole entry on the east side with a balcony above that is surrounded by fluted concrete. “It looks like drapery going in and out in the folds,” Jeff says. Other details include arched or circular entryways and windows, along with a chimney that’s tailored and sculpted with upside-down teardrops cut on each side. For Jeff, they evoke the indentation of a fingertip in the sand.
He calls the home’s exterior the beginning of a story, creating just enough intrigue to draw people in to experience a multitude of moments inside, large and small. “As you go inside the house, it should continue the story it was telling you on the outside,” Jeff says. “It just gets more interesting, more nuanced and intimate.”
These include a continuation of curves everywhere, seen carved above and beneath the stairwell, in the arched entries and ceilings, even in a circular banquette carved directly into the kitchen island that seats as many as ten to twelve guests.
Other moments include private outdoor spaces like a courtyard pool that fills up the space so completely, a person could swim right up to the covered dining porch. The third-floor rooftop terrace has its own bar, bathroom, water feature, and fireplace that has become a prominent gathering spot for the family.
“When we first went up there, I said that I would have thought being on the top, the focal point would be toward the Gulf,” Melanie says. “But it is breathtaking looking out over the rooftops of Alys Beach when the sun’s going down, or at night with the light hitting all of the different rooftops. Last year we came for a holiday weekend and suddenly started hearing the fireworks. We went up to the roof, and it was like having front-row seats. It was magical.”
After six years of enjoying the privacy of being off the beaten path at Alys Beach, the Peets have now embraced the sense of community their new home affords them. “Since it places you right in the middle of the community, it is certainly one of the most socially inviting homes I have ever lived in,” John says. “If you want to observe the action and feel the bustling part of Alys Beach, all you have to do is take a seat in the living room. But the second floor living room and rooftop allow you to get away with just family and friends, when that is what you’re looking for. That flexibility is an incredible feature of this home.”
Asked how he would describe the home in a few words, John doesn’t hesitate: “It’s a warm, white masterpiece.”
