Retirement? For Barry and Louise Snyder of Palm Beach, it was a case of "Well, sort of."
Barry once was chairman of the board of Gingiss Formal Wear and Great Lakes Bank Corp. and has just sold Tuxedo Junction. Today, he is thinking about retirement, as his original plan was to put the business world behind him at age 55.
"I still own Great Skate Hockey Supply Company, though" he says.
His wife also seems far from retired. They are from Buffalo, N.Y., and she sits on the board of Roswell Park Cancer Institute and WNED, the city's public broadcasting station.
As they began preparing for the next phase of their lives, they traveled. But deciding about where they'd settle was really a no brainer, and eight years ago they bought a townhouse on Hibiscus Avenue in the heart of Palm Beach.
"I wanted to be in Palm Beach," Louise says. "We had been here when our kids were tiny, and Barry's mother lives in Boca Raton."
She has also been taken with Palm Beach's cultural scene. Because the Snyders lived near the world-famous Chautauqua Institution near Buffalo, she was happy to find a similar arts-and-culture-focused organization in the island's Society for the Four Arts.
But their extended family is growing – their daughter is engaged – and they are looking for a new residence with a guesthouse. So their expansive town home at 355 Hibiscus Ave. has been listed for sale at $3.8 million by Jeffrey A. Cloninger & Associates in Palm Beach. A price for the furnishings can be negotiated separately.
Built in 1994 by Dunworth Construction with about 4,000 square feet of total living space, the home has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and a study. From the get-go, the townhouse suited them and needed only minor corrections.
"It had a large bar – we took that out. But everything else we did was just cosmetic," Louise says. "The pecky cypress doors I loved, and there are generous ceiling heights both downstairs and upstairs."
And you can't beat the downtown location, Barry points out. "We like to go out to dinner," he says. "We can have a drink and walk back."
The townhouse was suited for quick getaways, too, he says. "You leave, put the key in the door, and that's that. Also, it's private, quiet and convenient."
The rear of the residence has a private swimming pool with a fountain and patios furnished for dining and lounging, with the entire area enclosed by high hedges.
At the front of the town house, a handsome cypress door leads into a foyer with a square-and-lozenge-patterned Mexican tile floor, crown molding and a stairway with a wrought-iron banister that defines one end of the open living room. A new bar has been inset under the stairwell.
Opposite the stairs is a bank of French doors that open onto the enclosed patio,
as do doors from the nearby dining area. Both rooms face east, while the kitchen
is to the south.
A Lacey Champion needlepoint floral-and-white rug inspired the living room's color scheme and anchors the seating area, with its sofa, two rattan chairs and an armchair. The dining area is striking: Antique chairs surround a glass tabletop resting atop an urn full of smooth stones.
In the kitchen, the Mexican-tile floor appears again, along with granite countertops and glossy white cabinetry, all set off with white, green and red plaid wallpaper.
Also on the first floor, and off the entry to the north, is a sitting room with a notable architectural feature – a curved window wall that adds visual interest inside and out.
The floor plan upstairs includes guest bedrooms and the master suite, where the color scheme is tropical orange and green with white carpeting. Furnishings include an iron bed and antiques.
The bedroom to the southwest is decorated in cream and rust. At the French doors leading to a balcony, floral-pattern draperies in red, green and white are installed over plantation shutters.
To the northwest is the third bedroom with a beige-and-white color scheme. It, too, has French doors leading to a balcony.
Designer Allen Minars helped them decorate the interiors, explains Louise. "I told him I wanted an island-relaxed feel, and people do feel relaxed here. We wanted it comfortable. I like greens and raspberry, and we like collecting contemporary art. We like the darker woods and worked with what we had – the coral keystone fireplace is original, for example."
The home also has an elevator, a laundry off the kitchen and a two-car garage.
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source: palmbeachdailynews.com
