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It Has Beauty, Brains and Brawn

For more information:
Debbie Deioma Danto, (954) 229-2006
Note: Photos are available to accompany this piece.

It Has Beauty, Brains and Brawn

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 12 - Like a partner in life, most people want a home that is beautiful on the inside as well as the outside. They want the complete package, including beauty, brains and brawn.

Homeowners want a home with beautiful lines, personality, and a "heart" that is warm and welcoming. They want it to be smart for energy savings and security, and strong through good times and bad. And of course low-maintenance is a plus.

Craig Danto, chief executive officer of Danto Builders and Orange Sun Building and Development in Fort Lauderdale, feels a Royal Palm 7,200-square-foot custom home remodel his company recently completed in Boca Raton is one of those complete packages.

“It’s love at first sight because it delivers the look of luxury and all the comforts of home,” said Danto, a fourth-generation builder with 30 years of experience in South Florida.

Homeowners Alan and Lynne Levy were determined to create a beautiful and livable home. They are the founders of Levy Realty Advisors, a top-rated commercial property management company in Florida, so it was important for them to personally and professionally build their dream home to share with their friends, family and business associates. The Levy’s worked intimately with Danto and designer Elliot Acosta of Design Interiors throughout the design and build process to accomplish their goals.

It Has Beauty

As one drives down Silver Palm Lane at night, the Levys’ home is illuminated by its exterior lighting, which magnifies its unique roof lines, balconies and chimneys. Its all-natural coral-stone moldings and balcony balusters, mosaic tiles, wrought-iron railings and Pecky Cypress soffit outlookers dress it up perfectly.

In addition, the Pecky Cypress tongue-and-groove entryway ceilings and the custom, 10-foot, solid-core Brazilian Mahogany impact door with wrought-iron inserts give the perfect finish to the exterior.

From ceiling to floor, the home is inviting from the first step visitors take inside. With its series of arches, Brazilian Lyptus millwork, and marble and Brazilian cherry floors, the entryway draws people in. It opens up into a grand entertainment area, including a living room, dining room and open kitchen.

These areas use both natural stone and wood, giving a strong but warm feel. They boost a $500,000 custom Brazilian Lyptus millwork package that dramatically dresses up the home. Highlights of the millwork include impressive 8-foot, eight-panel doors, three-piece crown molding, radius-arch moldings and eight-piece coffered ceilings. The trees used for this wood are chopped down at their maturity of 8 years. The wood is of the highest quality with respect to its strength and beauty, and it has no knots.

Brazilian cherry floors lead into the kitchen and outdoor areas, where there is more use of wood and real coral stone. The custom kitchen cabinets are also made of Brazilian Lyptus and have insert panels with raised moldings. The kitchen displays a coral stone hood and decorative surround, which is artwork in itself. The granite kitchen counters show off beautiful, flowing colors. Along with the tumbled marble backsplashes and iron inserts, they tie all the other uses of material together.

The living room flows seamlessly into an outside living space featuring a summer kitchen, patio, pool and putting green. Coral stone is predominantly used for flooring here because of its natural beauty and coolness to the feet during the hot, sunny days in Florida. A coral hood and surrounds, mosaic and Pecky Cypress also showcase the summer kitchen. Pecky Cypress tongue and groove is also used here for the ceilings.

All the bathrooms in the Levy house are special. They feature various natural materials such as river rock, mosaic tiles, granite, marble and slate.

Bedrooms are classic and comfortable. One special bedroom for the grandchildren features a themed construction room designed by Daddona Studios. It has a "dump-truck" bunk bed completed with custom tool-chest storage for clothes.

It Has Brains

From the outside in, this house was built with brains.

"We always try to maximize the use of the land in order to obtain the highest value for the property," said Danto. "This is being smart with your investment, whether you plan to sell your home sometime in the future or not."

Ninety-five percent of the Levys’ original one-story, 3,900-square-foot home was demolished for the remodel. Only three walls were retained for the new, two-story, 7,200-square-foot home. This allowed the Levys to maximize the density of their property by maintaining the current setbacks, which would not be allowed with new construction. The process also saved on tax increases.

The Levys’ home remodel had well-thought-out, detailed plans from the design and construction to the "brains" inside. The home is a "smart" home, which includes touch pads that control the air conditioning, interior lighting, remote-control blinds, audio and video systems, security, sprinklers, pool equipment, landscape lighting and remote computer networking. Zones are automatically programmed for the amount of lighting where and when needed according to the time of day and daylight savings time. Remote access is also available.

"I can't imagine not having a smart system in my home," said Alan Levy. "We are grateful we planned for this system from the start," he added. "It makes our lives so much easier, safer and energy-efficient."

This home is also smart in the respect that it was built with energy-saving and low-maintenance features. Superior insulation between walls and under the roof and energy-efficient windows, air conditioning and duct material was used to achieve the highest efficiency. Tankless water heaters, solar panels and gas appliances also were installed to save energy. And the beautiful hard-surface tile, marble and wood throughout the home are low-maintenance because they are easy to clean and not susceptible to mold.

Moving outside, energy-saving solar-powered lighting is used in some areas where brighter lights are not necessary. Low-voltage lighting is used in other areas to save electricity. The artificial turf that surrounds the home looks real and does not need watering. Along with zero-scape (mulch, stone and growing plants), water is conserved. The driveway is installed with pavers versus blacktop, so it employs natural material and is environmentally friendly. Pavers allow water to drain into the ground, which helps keep the environment clean.

It Has Brawn

The home exceeds building code and is prepared to stand up to the harshest weather conditions in South Florida. All exterior walls are solid-poured concrete into CBS block, with solid-poured columns every 8 feet. Hip roofs were used since they stand up to high winds better than other types. Impact windows were installed for convenience and aesthetically pleasing storm protection. If any storm should shut down the electricity in the area, the Levys have a generator that will automatically turn on and keep the home running without any inconveniences.

In short, this home will stand strong through good times and bad weather.

"There is a lot more to building a home these days," noted Danto, who built this home with beauty, brains and brawn. "Homeowners want a complete package — aesthetics, comfort, convenience, technology and safety, just to name a few."

For more information contact Danto Builders at (954) 229-2006 or see www.dantobuilders.com.