61 Auburn Drive

Description

Most homes along this stretch of Grayton Beach play it expected. Whitewashed shiplap, soft coastal palette, the familiar vocabulary of a beach house doing its best impression of the one next door. Sixty-one Auburn does something different. The design intention here was coastal industrial, and builder Chris Burch of Grand Bay Construction and architect Chris Stoyles of Archiscapes committed to it completely. Exposed steel beams run the full height of the home, solid and horizontal on the ground floor, shifting to a triangular pattern on the second for a detail that is structural and sculptural at once. Nearly every wall surface is mitered nickel-gap paneling, and ceiling is tongue-and-groove. The lot itself is an asset before the front door opens. Auburn Drive carries some of Grayton's oldest and most beloved cottages, many raised on pilings with views earned over decades. This new construction, completed in 2026, occupies one of the street's highest natural positions and makes full use of it. The Gulf is visible from the pool deck, the kitchen, the primary balcony, and the watchtower. The state park fills the view to the north. The site works in every direction. The ground floor establishes the register. A marble fireplace anchors the main interior space while an oversized wet bar island in leathered quartzite handles the social load. Flanking Sub-Zero units, one a dedicated wine chiller and one a combination refrigerator with pebble ice and freezer, make the bar a serious operation. Seven-panel nano doors retract to open the entire south wall onto a gulf-front pool with a floating fire pit and sunning shelves. The summer kitchen carries the leathered quartzite through and adds a 52-inch DCS grill with side burner. A first-floor bedroom suite with a multi-head shower, soaking tub, dual vanities and a Moen smart toilet functions as a fully self-contained guest level. A flex room currently configured as a gym converts easily to office, bunk room or whatever else the moment calls for. The main living floor is where the coastal industrial intention reads most clearly. Triangular steel beams run the ceiling of a kitchen outfitted for real cooking: 48-inch Thermador dual-oven range, Bosch dishwashers, quartzite waterfall counters, a prep sink alongside the main, under-cabinet lighting, cabinetry with crown molding and uplighting, ceilings approaching 12 feet. Custom graphite pendants with bronze interiors provide the lighting anchor. A steel and glass door leads to the butler's pantry with GE Cafe convection microwave and oven, enough counter space to run a second line, and storage that actually gets used. Seven-panel nano doors open the south wall to a covered balcony with an outdoor fireplace and multiple configurations for alfresco dining. A north-facing balcony looks out over the state park. An elevator services all three primary floors. Above the garage, a fully self-contained one-bedroom, one-bath apartment with a full kitchen and Juliet balcony, handling extended family with equal ease. The third floor is quieter, more private, and built around the primary suite. An angular roofline pitches toward seven nano panels that open onto a private gulf balcony. A painted brick fireplace sits on the opposite wall. The bath is an exercise in material confidence: a stone countertop running cream into gray into oxidized orange, cement sink basins, a generously sized shower with rain head and multiple body sprayers, shell travertine tile on the walls, a freestanding tub enclosed within the glass shower surround, two casement windows framing the Gulf and a hidden linear drain that eliminates the need for a shower curb entirely. A pocket door leads to the primary closet with full built-ins, a dedicated shoe wall with cubbies, and HVAC service. Two additional guest suites occupy the third floor, both with direct gulf views and full en suites. One features a teak-panel tile shower with rain head and body sprayers. The other offers a slate her