A Place to Call Home

Building for Life and Family

Interview by McKenna Mears | Photography by Jean Allsopp

Amid the serene landscape of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, this beautiful home was built not only with bricks and mortar but also through resilience and familial bonds. It is the recently constructed home of Justin Bell’s brother and his family. As the director of architecture and co-CEO of Ruggles Mabe Studio, Bell’s brother faced a daunting challenge when his family’s home was ravaged by fire on May 6, 2020, amid the backdrop of a global pandemic.

Determined to rebuild, Bell spearheaded the project, rallying his team and even engaging his brother’s roofing company. Despite the hurdles posed by the pandemic, the collective effort bore fruit, and by February 2023, the family of five moved into their new abode. Join us as we explore the journey of rebuilding through adversity, where every brick laid and every detail crafted reflects the enduring strength of family.

VIE: What was the emotional impact of designing a new home for your brother and his family after such a devastating loss, and how did it influence your design approach?

Justin Bell: Designing a new home for my brother and his family after such a devastating loss remains the pinnacle of my career. It was a vast and sometimes intense emotional journey that began with profound sadness. I was visiting my brother from Colorado when the fire occurred. We were at dinner when we got word that a fire was headed toward their home. My brother and I rushed there to find the house fully engulfed in flames. Within thirty minutes, they lost everything they owned except the clothes on their backs. Witnessing their despair was heart-wrenching.

However, amid the grief, a glimmer of hope emerged when my brother asked me to design their new home. While daunting, it was also an opportunity to provide solace in the face of tragedy. Unlike my other projects, I was designing this home from the perspective of an architect, brother, and uncle. Knowing these clients extremely well helped inform the design, and it came together rather quickly. The most memorable meeting I had early in the design process was interviewing my nephews Sawyer, Jasper, and Oliver. They each told me what they wanted in their new home and it varied from bunk-bed slides to hidden rooms, but I could tell it gave them a little spark of hope during a hopeless situation. There were ups and downs during the design, budgeting, and construction process, but I never lost sight of my greatest motivation: to give my nephews a home to grow into.

VIE: What are some of your favorite design features in the home and why?

JB: My favorite feature of the home is one that wasn’t photographed. I designed a play loft on the third floor that is only accessible by a ladder in the kids’ bedrooms. If the kids aren’t outside, this is where they spend most of their time—and it has the best views! My second favorite feature would be the “Bourbon Bar” for my brother Travis. He likes to entertain (and collect bourbon), so this was the most important space for my brother. It’s at the epicenter of the house with views looking out onto the Gulf and proximity to the main living spaces. This is where most people end up congregating, and it can comfortably sit large gatherings. My sister-in-law Holly also loves this space because it keeps people out of her kitchen!

VIE: The home features a transitional coastal style with traditional architectural elements. Can you explain how you achieved this balance and what inspired the aesthetic choices?

Unlike my other projects, I was designing this home from the perspective of an architect, brother, and uncle.

JB: From the onset, it was really important to everyone that we design a home that was timeless but also a departure from the typical beach houses you see around town. So, instead of all Hardie siding and metal roofs, we chose natural materials with patina—a reclaimed slate roof from a local building, natural painted brick, copper accent roofs, and wood shutters. We used a color palette of warm whites and soft blues to honor the coastal setting. The house incorporates many traditional elements but in a minimalistic nature. The house has symmetry and a strong centerline, but it’s more balanced than fully symmetrical. There are gentle pitch breaks at the eaves and a combination of simplistic wood brackets and exposed rafter tails to accentuate the porches. There is an enclosed breezeway from the garage to the house that looks like it used to be an open porch. These details and moments give the home a story and a sense of place. It’s new but doesn’t feel new. It has traditional elements but feels like a fresh take on them. It feels like it’s in place on the water, but it doesn’t look like anything around it. The ultimate goal was to give my family a deeply personal home that would stand the test of time. I think we succeeded in that vision.

VIE: Can you talk about the integration of indoor and outdoor spaces?

JB: The best way to connect indoor and outdoor spaces is visually. From the front door, you can actually see the Gulf, so before you even step inside the house, you are drawn to the water. The main living space—kitchen, dining, and great room—is a large open space with a series of all-glass doors and an eight-by-eight-foot steel window facing the water. With its low profile, the steel window frames views of the pool and ocean while in the great room. You almost feel as though you’re on the water when you’re watching TV. Almost every room on the first floor has a clear view of water. We also designed a series of outdoor porches close to the kitchen but off to the side so as not to block views.

VIE: Looking back on the project, what are some key takeaways or lessons from designing and building a home that is both a personal family project and a professional accomplishment?

JB: The greatest takeaway for me as an architect was perspective. I’ve designed many homes for clients where I put myself in their shoes to understand how they live. This was the first project where it was essential to understand their emotional perspective. I was designing for people who didn’t want a new home; they desperately needed one. It was the first time I put myself in my clients’ shoes from an emotional perspective. For two years, they bounced around temporary housing that was never their own. Their urgency wasn’t because they wanted extended family over for holidays; they wanted a home to keep their family unit strong when life seemed fragile.

As a big brother, I learned that my little brother is still always right, even if it takes him a few bad decisions to circle back and tell me I was right.

It was an emotional and challenging experience, but those projects are always the most rewarding. I could not have done it without my business partner and interior designer, Emily Lindeman. She kept us all grounded when things were tense and added vibrancy to the home where it needed it. I am also forever thankful for the superbly talented builder and friend John Brown of Gulfview Construction. He built a beautiful home and taught me a thing or two along the way.

VIE: Thank you, Justin!

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To learn more about Ruggles Mabe, an architectural studio in Denver, Colorado, visit RugglesMabe.com or follow them on Instagram @ruggles_mabe_studio.