When a well-known architect designs a home for himself, the place is likely to be pretty cool.

That’s certainly the case with this modern-style home in Fernandina Beach, FL. Architect Harry Bates designed the 1,024-square-foot standout as his retirement residence.

Bates was known for designing modernist homes in vacation spots such as Fire Island and the Hamptons, on New York’s Long Island, with his firm, Bates Masi + Architects.

“This house has a lot of little hidden tricks and features and things that just make it simple and livable,” says listing agent Robin Rawls, with Atlantic Properties International. “It is an architectural design that this area had not really seen before.”

Bates finished his custom abode in 2017 and died in November 2022 at the age of 95.

‘Wood all the way around’

His two-bedroom, two-bath home is listed for $855,000. The space might be small, but it’s big on brilliant design.

“It has a lot of doors that you don’t realize are doors, because they have small handles or features on them that you don’t really see,” Rawls explains. “There are a lot of hidden spaces. The whole interior is cypress, and the exterior is cypress. It’s just wood all the way around.”

Two porches span the width of the living room and kitchen and make the petite property feel larger.

“If you’re sitting on the porch you can see out, but no one can see in,” Rawls says. “It creates a beautiful outdoor area that is very relaxing and peaceful.”

Indoor-outdoor elements

Each bathroom has a special indoor-outdoor feature.

“He has done two exterior, spa-type showers, which just makes this house kind of fun and gives it a little flair,” Rawls says.

There is no pool, but there is space for one.

“The buyer could put a great little lap pool outside, and they would have access to the spa showers coming inside,” says Rawls, who has a personal connection to the architect.

She explains that Bates was renting part of a duplex she owned when he first came to the area as a snowbird.

“I did not know he was some well-known architect until about the second year he came down, and my husband and I invited him out to dinner,” she recalls with a laugh. “We were so embarrassed he had been living in our little duplex.”

They all became friends, and Bates even helped come up with some renovation ideas for Rawls’ house.

In 2015, Bates picked up the piece of property in downtown Fernandina for $70,000, records show, and “he decided that this was where he was going to retire,” Rawls says.

Updated abode

Rawls has spent the past few months updating the house, replacing some wood, and coating it to make it less appealing to critters and less susceptible to Florida’s heat and humidity.

“It was quite an expensive renovation, because we wanted it to honor him and what his original build looked like,” she explains. “We didn’t want to put it on the market as an ‘as is’ thing that did not reflect the quality of the person who designed it.”

Rawls hopes the eventual buyer will understand the talent and work that went into the home.

“Someone has to be able to appreciate the simplicity of the design,” she says.

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