{Lauder Estate, Palm Beach}

I can’t help but feel a little envious of my amazing communications assistant, Colette, who recently returned from a weeklong getaway to Palm Beach…coming back tanned, blonder than ever and regaling us with stories of to-die-for houses on the exclusive island. Not only did she frequently send us snapshots of the lush paradise,  but she also picked up a Florida Design Magazine to share with my office, and the sunny skies and glistening pools that fill the pages are a sharp contrast to the painfully long winter we’ve had this year in Chicago.

{Colette’s photo of the view from the beach at Mar a Lago Club, Palm Beach}

{Colette’s photo of the view from the pool at Mar a Lago Club, Palm Beach}

Florida Design Magazine unfortunately does not offer an online edition, but luckily for us Architectural Digest has not surprisingly featured several magnificent Palm Beach homes in their glossy pages.

In fact, the home featured in this post is that of Evelyn and Leonard Lauder, yes…of the Estee Lauder family.  It is one of the most prominent estates on Palm Beach’s tony South Ocean Boulevard, complete with a team of full time security guards protecting the stately mansion.  Once Evelyn became the matriarch of the home after Estee retired from the estate in the late 90’s, she embarked on a massive renovation project to infuse light and cheerfulness to the gracious home.  Designed by Marion Sims Wyeth in 1938, the preeminent architect to the socialite Palm Beach crowd of the early 20th century, Evelyn and interior designer Thad Hayes made every effort to modernize the home while paying homage to its historic heritage.  It took a massive effort, Evelyn recalls, for the home to be brought up to date, but the end result was surely worth the effort.

While I do have plans to visit Florida soon- Boca Grande- where my in-laws have a home, I am thrilled to get an early start to my spring trip living vicariously through this and other dreamy Palm Beach homes.

{Lauder Estate, Palm Beach}

{Lauder Estate, Palm Beach}

{Lauder Estate, Palm Beach}

{Lauder Estate, Palm Beach}

{Lauder Estate, Palm Beach}

{Lauder Estate, Palm Beach}

{Lauder Estate, Palm Beach}

{Lauder Estate, Palm Beach}