An Unexpected Masterpiece

When Pat DeAloia wanted to transform her home in Martin County into a more contemporary space, she knew just whom to turn to: H. Allen Holmes

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A colorful oil painting by abstract artist Brian Rutenberg and a yellow mushroom seat by H. Allen Holmes pop against the modern white great room. Photography by Tim Lee
A colorful oil painting by abstract artist Brian Rutenberg and a yellow mushroom seat by H. Allen Holmes pop against the modern white great room. Photography by Tim Lee

After admiring the interiors of a friend’s condominium, Pat DeAloia was eager to tap her friend’s designer to work on her own home. That person was H. Allen Holmes, a Hobe Sound–based designer who has worked on dozens of residential projects in the Hobe Sound/Jupiter Island area throughout his 30-year design career (some of his work has been featured on the HGTV’s Top 10 series). Fifteen years and five collaborations later, Pat and her husband, Blaise, are enjoying Holmes’ most recent design in their new Jupiter Hills Club home.   

A striking velvet chair flanked by artwork in the home’s entryway.
A striking velvet chair flanked by artwork in the home’s entryway.

In 2019, the couple decided to downsize from their 7,200-square-foot waterfront home in Jupiter to a one-story, 3,000-square-foot property in the exclusive Jupiter Hills Club, on the Martin County side of Tequesta. The 36-year-old home with two bedrooms, a great room, and two and a half baths sits on the fifteenth fairway of the golf course at Jupiter Hills Club.

“Blaise and I are avid golfers, so Jupiter Hills was an ideal choice for us,” says Pat, who was a member of Lighthouse ArtCenter Gallery & School of Art’s board of directors for nine years and president of the board for three of those years. “But we wanted to reconfigure the home’s compartmentalized spaces into a contemporary, open, interactive interior. I like to entertain and actually see my guests when they are here.”

Pat is also the founder of Integrated Technologies, a company specializing in advanced information technology enterprise network engineering. As CEO, she worked primarily with the U.S. Department of Defense and spent 30 years in the information technology industry. Her husband, also retired, was a pioneer in the wireless industry.

In the family room, a tomato red ottoman pops against the black and white Savino sofa and loveseat.
In the family room, a tomato red ottoman pops against the black and white Savino sofa and loveseat.

As Holmes set out to work his magic on the DeAloias’ new home, he worked with Hobe Sound–based Carrere General Contractors and Innocenti & Webel Landscape Architects. When he first looked at the living spaces and talked with the team, he knew there would be a lot of work ahead. He would need to collapse some walls to open up the living and dining rooms into one grand space ideal for entertaining. “Where the bar is located in the living room now was a separate dining room and another space when we started the project in 2019,” says Holmes. “We took down walls because it was too compartmentalized. Pat doesn’t like the feeling of claustrophobia, and she loves light, so we added windows where needed.”

The home’s entryway.
The home’s entryway.

Overall, the space now feels much more open and modern, with smooth white walls and ceilings, white porcelain flooring, and unique contemporary lighting synchronized via computer and aimed perfectly around certain fixtures. Clean lines, bright spaces with lots of windows, and many open areas to showcase the couple’s art collection flow throughout the home. “We have always tried to blend modern features into our homes,” says Pat, who dabbles in collecting with Blaise, buying and selling various pieces of art. “Contemporary design is art-friendly, allowing us to feature our diverse collection without competing with ornate decor,” she adds.

The great room features three separate seating areas and is given an even airier feel by leaving the large windows bare.
The great room features three separate seating areas and is given an even airier feel by leaving the large windows bare.

As you enter the home through double doors that resemble a large window, you arrive at the entryway with a block wall that adds texture to the space. The wall is made of panels from Mexico and was inspired by the work of American sculptor Louise Nevelson. The entrance is an ideal space to showcase the couple’s colorful, modern French painting on one wall, as well as the stainless-steel sculpture by Czech artist Alex Kveton that sits on a black wood base and granite pedestal. A beautiful velvet chair and a vertical work depicting angels from the Lighthouse ArtCenter help set the stage for the art-filled home.

After the entryway, you enter the great room, a combination of living and dining areas with an open kitchen that overlooks the entire space. Holmes utilized artwork and accessories to add color to the white backdrop of the room, made even more open and bright by omitting window treatments.

The sleek kitchen, with a marble island, opens to the great room.
The sleek kitchen, with a marble island, opens to the great room.

There are three sitting areas in the great room, the largest of which is dominated by a colorful oil work by American abstract painter Brian Rutenberg. A yellow mushroom seat designed by Holmes picks up color from the painting. The vignette is rounded out with a pair of vintage white Vladimir Kagan sofas, colorful custom throw pillows, and a six-leg, white octopus cocktail table atop a custom, hand-sewn white rug.

A few steps away stands a striking black and white geometric Ziqqurat high cabinet with red detail, a great piece for both starting conversations and storing collectibles. Holmes came upon the piece in Italy, and the DeAloias love it. “Allen’s style is just enough,” says Pat. “It is never overwhelming or distracting. He is a visionary and imaginative, a master of the unexpected.”

A bar in the great room and wall art by Jorge Lujan.
A bar in the great room and wall art by Jorge Lujan.

Across the room is a black lacquer painted bar with a granite slab top. The integrated sink, a major design feat that is free-shaped and resembles a lake, pops up when needed. “It’s my quarry sink,” says Holmes. “It reminds me of New England with a beach and lake inside.” Above the bar is a rectangular portrait of a crowd wearing sunglasses by self-taught Colombian artist Jorge Lujan.

A few steps away is a beautifully scaled Decca GAIT rectangular glass dining table with metal legs complemented by Poltrona Frau Fitzgerald leather dining chairs. The table can accommodate 8 to 10 people for the couple’s frequent dinner parties.

A brutalist mid-century silver-leaf ebonized credenza in the master bedroom.
A brutalist mid-century silver-leaf ebonized credenza in the master bedroom.

Near the dining table is the second sitting area, which showcases sleek, acrylic swivel bucket chairs (for easy interactivity) surrounding a black painted wood coffee table with stainless steel bars. The whimsical dog collectible atop the table adds color and fun to the space and was purchased by the DeAloias in Santa Fe.

Adjacent, the third vignette is ideal for smaller gatherings. Holmes created a clever high-low round glass table that rises 30 inches and turns. “This table is good for lunch with the ladies or dinner for two,” says Pat, who loves to cook. Stylish black and white Donghia Lana club chairs complete the sitting area.

The ebb and flow continues in the sleek, clean-lined kitchen, which is as functional as it is spectacular. The space was gutted during the renovation, and a marble island was added to be a point of interest as well as a perfect place for storage and eating. Painted white Donghia Anziano chairs face the island, Sub-Zero appliances line the window wall, and the backsplash turns into the windowsill to create one clean edge. To the side, Holmes created a ledge that gives the appearance that the ceiling is almost floating.

The master bedroom is chic and comfortable, with gray tones, swivel chairs, and beautiful views of the outdoors.
The master bedroom is chic and comfortable, with gray tones, swivel chairs, and beautiful views of the outdoors.

A big challenge was the family room. The somewhat dated design included a wooden ceiling, a bay window, and only a 6-foot opening to the kitchen. “It was not attractive,” says Holmes, bluntly. “So we opened the room to the kitchen and added a door into the garage. The window on the right was originally a door.”

The clean and simple powder room.
The clean and simple powder room.

The furniture and patterns in the family room feature Pat’s favorite decor colors: black and white. Simple, white leather de Sede lounge chairs get a boost from a tomato-colored ottoman. A black and white geometric-patterned Savino leather sofa and loveseat bookend the room, with a Cavan Carpets Everest area rug tying it all together. Two strong pieces of art stand out: a portrait of a woman by contemporary Spanish artist Alberto Gálvez and one of the well-known Blue Dog paintings by late American artist George Rodrigue.

Pat prefers to keep the master bedroom fairly modest, and Holmes achieved that with a gray area rug, a platform bed with fitted bedspread, and subtle underlighting beneath the platform. “It’s a simple setting when I watch late-night news,” says Pat. The designer added sophistication and style with the selection of a Phillip Lloyd Powell–style brutalist mid-century silver-leaf ebonized credenza, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Cooper full-swivel chairs, and Thayer Coggin black  lacquer nightstands.

Carefully curated artwork throughout the home includes a unique sculpture in the guest bath.
Carefully curated artwork throughout the home includes a unique sculpture in the guest bath.

In the master bath, the couple can slip away into serenity in the minimalist space with two rectangular sinks and white mirrored medicine cabinets that slide out like the garage door.

In contrast to the subdued master bedroom, the guest bedroom beckons overnight visitors with color. Custom multicolored throw pillows create a splash on the bed, while two George Nelson Herman Miller mid-century modern steel-frame chests of drawers (one yellow, the other orange) flank the bed. A piece by German-American pop artist Peter Max hangs above the bed. “This is a fun room,” says Pat. “Allen has a personality and a sense of humor, and he knows how to nail it.”

The minimalist master bath.
The minimalist master bath.

The guest bath comes to life with a painting of a woman relaxing in a pool by Jupiter-based artist Kris Davis (who is a staff artist at Lighthouse ArtCenter), a harbor scene purchased in Charleston, South Carolina, and a small sculpture of a man doing a one-armed handstand on a ball, evocative of a Cirque du Soleil act. Even the powder room—with a round-edge mirror, a metal door cabinet, and a sleek white glass countertop with an integrated sink—is a clever work of art.

“Allen loves the unexpected,” says Pat. “When friends come to our home for the first time, they know they are about to see something they have never seen before.”

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