Interior designer on Hutchinson Island, Florida

South of the St. Lucie County line, the island is unincorporated Martin County, and the county's comprehensive plan caps buildings at four stories and 40 feet, so this end stays low-rise. MacArthur Boulevard, the only internal public road, runs past the House of Refuge, Martin County's oldest building, to Bathtub Beach and the entrance to Sailfish Point, a private oceanfront member community with a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, a marina and a club and property owners association.

Low buildings put living rooms and bedrooms close to the dunes, in full sun and salt air. We plan layouts around the view, choose finishes, fabrics and hardware that hold up to that exposure, and prepare the drawings and finish boards a condominium board or property owners association asks for. Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne both made landfall on this end of the island in 2004, and storm-rated window and door work is coordinated with licensed contractors and engineers.

North of the county line, the Hutchinson Island South census-designated place stretches along South Ocean Drive. Its oceanfront is lined with mid-rise condominium buildings, and the Indian River side holds a mix of communities, the largest of which is Nettles Island. The 2020 census counted 6,408 housing units, with more than half of the units vacant on census day.

Renovations here are planned inside the building's fixed structure and plumbing stacks, and inside whatever the association sets for contractors, work hours, flooring underlayment and deliveries. We redesign kitchens, baths and living areas within those limits, and our project direction service runs the schedule with the licensed contractor and the association while owners follow along through photo and video reports.

• Kitchen and bath redesign within fixed plumbing stacks
• Flooring and underlayment chosen to the association's specification
• Built-in storage and furniture sized for elevators and corridors
• Photo and video reporting for owners who are away

The island's beaches are sea turtle nesting grounds, and each government here has its own lighting ordinance: Martin County since 1988, St. Lucie County, and the City of Fort Pierce at the north end. Martin County's nesting season runs March 1 through October 31, and St. Lucie County gives its season as March 1 through November 15. St. Lucie County asks that exterior lights be modified or turned off during the season so they are not directly visible from the beach.

The rules reach indoors, too. St. Lucie County calls for window treatments on windows within line of sight of the beach, with blackout draperies or shade screens preferred and approved window tint as an alternative, and it encourages residents to turn off unnecessary interior lights at night. We design window treatments, lamp placement and exterior fixtures together, so a beachfront home works after dark with those rules in view.

Condominium and cooperative buildings three habitable stories or taller fall under Florida's milestone inspection law: an inspection by the end of the year a building turns 30, or 25 where the local building department requires it because of conditions such as proximity to salt water, and every 10 years after. Structural repairs that follow are handled by the association and its engineer. When an association has work scheduled, we can time an interior renovation around it so the design is ready when the building is.

Gava Studio Design is a design and consulting practice, not a contractor. On the Martin County side, permits go through Martin County; on the St. Lucie County side, through the county's Building and Code Regulation Division, except near the Fort Pierce Inlet, where the island is inside the City of Fort Pierce. Licensed contractors pull the permits and do the licensed work, and we prepare the design documents and coordinate the team.