Here’s exactly what I want for Christmas—a perfect example of the Sarasota School of Architecture, nice and roomy (2,550 square feet), looking just as it did when it was built in 1962, only better due to a first-rate renovation. And it’s in the perfect neighborhood—Sandy Hook—just steps from a private Gulf-front beach and a short walk to Siesta Village.

The house was designed by Seibert Architects (and later renovated by them, too, along with premium builder Pat Ball). It has all the Sarasota School details you’re looking for—the low slung exterior, the glass walls and clerestory window, terrazzo floors, the indoor-outdoor lifestyle.  The kitchen and baths are the only big changes—they have been gutted and are now state-of-the-art up-to-date and glamorous. 

Sandy Hook can easily give Lido Shores a run for its money when it comes to mid-century design. Founded by Mary Hook back in the 1940s, it contains homes by all the greats—Rudolph, Lundy, etc. Mrs. Hook was an architect herself, and she acted as a sort of mother hen to all the young architects of the time, fixing them up with wealthy patrons and listening to their dreams and woes over cocktails. Today some awfully big homes are creeping into the neighborhood, but its informal, uniquely Sarasota spirit lives on.

37 Sandy Hook Road S. is priced at $1.75 million. For more info, call Martie Lieberman of Premier Sotheby’s at (941) 724-1118.