Designing Our Cape San Blas Homes for "Blessed Chaos"
One of our guests recently described her family's week at Good Fortune as "blessed chaos," and the phrase immediately resonated with Will and me. It wasn't a phrase we had in mind when we designed our homes, but it perfectly captured what we were hoping to create. Family vacations are rarely quiet or perfectly organized. They are filled with grandparents, parents, children, cousins, meals around the table, shuffleboard tournaments, game nights, fishing trips, and countless stories shared throughout the week. We didn’t design homes to eliminate chaos. We designed homes that embraced it.
It All Began with The Table
When we sat down with our architect to design our vacation rental homes on Cape San Blas, we didn't begin by talking about bedrooms, pools, or even Gulf views. We started with a dining table. That may seem like an unusual place to begin, but for us it represented everything we hoped these homes would become.
We envisioned grandparents, parents, children, cousins, and friends all gathered around one large table sharing meals, telling stories, laughing together, and making memories.
In today's busy world, those opportunities are rare. For many families, a beach vacation may be the only week of the year when everyone is together under one roof. We wanted to create homes that made those moments possible. That vision shaped every decision that followed at Beach Camp, Good Fortune, and Sweet Necessity.
A Home Should Bring People Together, Not Just Give Them a Place to Sleep
Our goal in designing a home for large groups wasn’t simply about maximizing sleeping capacity. Many vacation homes dedicate a significant amount of square footage to spaces that are rarely used during a week-long beach vacation. At the same time, the areas where families actually spend time together can sometimes feel cramped. We made a conscious decision to prioritize the shared spaces instead. A house can have enough beds for sixteen people, but if everyone feels crowded whenever they gather together, the experience isn't nearly as enjoyable.
One example is that we took square footage away from closets and added it to the bedrooms and living areas. When spending a week at the beach, most guests don't need a closet large enough for an entire wardrobe. They simply need enough room to unpack a week's worth of beach clothes and store a few suitcases.
That may sound like a strange thing to think about, but we knew our guests wouldn't spend their week admiring a large closet. They would spend it watching movies together, playing games, catching up with relatives they haven't seen in months, and enjoying the rare opportunity to all be in the same place at the same time. We wanted everyone to be able to gather comfortably without feeling like they were competing for a seat on the couch or squeezing into a crowded room.
The result is two spacious living spaces in each home that can truly accommodate large groups, allowing families to enjoy being together while still having room to spread out and relax.
Why Multiple Primary Suites Matter
We knew most of our guests would be multiple families traveling together. Parents invite grandparents. Siblings vacation together. Adult children return with spouses and children of their own.
In many large homes, there is one obvious "best bedroom," and everyone else settles for something less. We wanted to avoid that dynamic entirely. Instead, we designed multiple spacious primary suites so that everyone could have their own comfortable retreat. We wanted each family to feel like they had a special place to call their own during the week.
Guests often tell us how much they appreciate having a private space where they can step away from the activity for a little while. The primary suites provide that balance between togetherness and privacy that makes multi-generational vacations work so well.
The Kitchen Is More Important Than Most People Realize
While the dining table is probably the feature guests mention most often, the spacious kitchens and pantries are a close second.
If you've ever vacationed with fourteen to sixteen people, you know how much food comes along for the week. There are groceries for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts, and everything in between. Without adequate storage, counters quickly disappear beneath loaves of bread, boxes of crackers, bags of chips, cereal, fruit, and drinks.
We wanted the kitchens to function the way real families use them. That's why we included generous pantries and large kitchen spaces that allow guests to put food away and keep the counters clear.
Having room to work makes it easier for multiple people to cook together, clean together, and simply enjoy being in the kitchen without constantly shifting things around to find space.
Some of my favorite guest photos aren't of the beach at all. They're families gathered in the kitchen preparing meals together. Grandparents teaching grandchildren a favorite recipe. Several people are cleaning the day's catch. Someone is baking cookies while someone else mixes up cocktails. Those everyday moments often become some of the most meaningful memories of the week.
Designed for the Moments That Matter
When we picture the perfect week at Beach Camp, Good Fortune, or Sweet Necessity, we don't think first about the homes themselves. We think about what is happening inside them. We picture someone telling a story they've told for twenty years while the grandchildren hear it for the first time, families cooking together after a day on the water, cousins competing in a shuffleboard tournament, game nights around the oversized coffee tables, and grandparents reading bedtime stories to grandchildren on the bed swings before turning in for the night.
Over the years, Will and I have come to appreciate how rare it is to have everyone together in one place. Children grow up, schedules get busier, and families spread out. That's why we designed these homes around gathering spaces. We wanted to make the most of the time families have together, and every design decision we made was intended to support those moments. The oversized dining tables, spacious living areas, multiple primary suites, and thoughtfully designed kitchens weren't added because they looked good on a floor plan. They were added because we believed they would help families spend meaningful time together. The laughter around the dinner table, the friendly competition, the conversations that continue long after the dishes have been cleared, and yes, even the occasional chaos that comes with gathering multiple generations under one roof, are all part of the experience.
If our homes can help create a week filled with connection, memories, and the kind of joyful, family-filled chaos that is still being talked about years later, then they've done exactly what we designed them to do.
~ Carrie