Rescued From the Rubble

One couple saw beyond the ravages of a Florida hurricane to rescue and restore this cottage in danger of being demolished.

- AUTUMN KRAUSE

The term "hurricane damage" is often the kiss of death when it comes to homes that have been negatively impacted by nature. But for Worth Turner and Zach Neumann, a visionary couple seeking a bungalow to spend weekends boating and enjoying the South Ponte Vedra Beach, those two words weren't enough to scare them away-not when they could see the historic charm built into the bones of the battered Floridian beauty.

"The home was in horrible disrepair and close to being completely condemned," says Worth, founder of Hollingsworth & Soaptique.com. "Anyone else would have probably leveled the house and started fresh, but we were drawn to the old Florida character that the cottage exuded and wanted to preserve the structure."

The cottage's great ceiling height, vaulted wood paneled ceiling and many windows facing the ocean spoke of something special and worth preserving. "Even in its horrible disrepair, I saw the potential of what it could become, never realizing I had absolutely no idea how perfect it would turn out," says Zach, a veterinary medical oncologist and medical director. Fast forward to the present: The bungalow is now dubbed "Cane Cottage" and is completely renovated with a beachy European elegance that retains the character that first drew the couple to it.

Mixing Business With Pleasure