Alys Beach residents Winston and Martha Wilkinson recently presented our community with a very special gift: A gorgeous antique billiards table.

"They just said 'here you go' out of the blue," said Alys Beach's Town Founder, Jason Comer. "It's the sort of generosity that one could only imagine."

Antique enthusiasts and experts, the Wilkinsons originally purchased the 120-year-old billiards table for one of their other homes, but instead decided that they wanted to share it with their new friends and neighbors here at Alys Beach.

"We just thought it would be cool if other people could enjoy it too," said Winston.

Designer Dale Trice of Design Services of Florida has worked with the Wilkinsons on several homes and projects, and actually helped them select the brilliant orange felt that now covers the table.

"We did a little research and found that one of the company's original tables had orange felt," said Dale. "At the time, the Wilkinsons were living in Cincinnati and the Bengal colors were orange, so it all seemed to work. Either way, we wanted to make sure that we kept the table as authentic as possible."

"I don't want anyone to think it's an Auburn or Tennessee thing," joked Winston.

The pool table is now housed in one of our beautiful courtyard homes, and is available for owners and guests to enjoy. Interested guests (ages 18 and older) can contact our Community Center for more details (850-213-5520).