Murray Homes Recognized For Bringing Fresh Styling To Lakewood Ranch

Murray Homes was featured in the real estate section of the HeraldTribune.com for bringing a fresh, innovative style to home designs in Lakewood Ranch. During the interview Harold Bubil of the Sarasota Herald Tribune and recipient of the 2015 Bob Graham Architectural Awareness Award, noted that while many homes in Lakewood Ranch are still the Tuscan-Mediterranean design, Murray Homes is “bucking the trend” by bringing Coastal Contemporary to east of 75.

The Resolute at The Lake Club Lakewood Ranch

Steve Murray stated the waterfront luxury home builder was approached by developers in Lakewood Ranch looking to offer a new experience for home buyers.

Staysail Court, a new enclave of custom homes inspired by the America’s Cup and featuring the innovative design blend of the clean lines of modern architecture with elegant British West Indies style as only Murray Homes can do, is the result.

Click here to read the complete article on heraldtribune.com

Those interested in see Staysail Court for themselves can drop by the model home located at 7926 Staysail Court Lakewood Ranch or visit www.MurrayHomesAtTheLakeClub.com

Murray Homes Co-Founders Participate in Fireball Run to Raise Money for Missing Children

Father-and-son team John and Steve Murray operate Murray Homes, a luxury custom home building company, originally created in the 90s. Since the inception of their business, the family-owned company is committed to constructing one-of-a-kind residences that their clients adore. The duo has built more than 100 homes along the Sarasota, FL waterfront. For John’s upcoming 70th birthday, Steve signed them up to participate in the Fireball Run, an annual nationwide race that helps build awareness for missing children.

Click here to vote for John and Steve – Team Hope and Glory

 

 

Fireball Run is a 2,000-mile life-size trivia game that is simultaneously a live event and a streaming TV event. Driving teams spend eight days driving around the country hitting assigned destinations. Each team is assigned a missing child from their city of origin. In the team’s 2,000-mile driving journey, they are tasked with distributing 1,000 flyers with the missing child’s image and pertinent information. This year, the theme is Space Race, and racers begin their journey on September 25 in Hartford, CT. They then travel to Queen Anne’s MD; Williamsburg, VA; Topsail Island, NC; Florence, SC; Liberty County, GA, respectively; finishing the race on October 3 during a city-wide parade finish in Cocoa Beach, FL. In season 9, four astronauts from around the globe, four celebrities, and 40 multinational driving teams will compete for bragging rights, the first to pass the finish line, and a plastic road sign declaring their victory.

John and Steve will be racing on behalf of Jennifer Marteliz, who has been missing since November 1982 from Tampa, FL. With previous experience as a racecar team who have competed regularly at Sebring, Daytona, and Homestead, the father-and-son duo hopes to “raise a lot of money for a good cause, meet a lot of people, and tear up the East Coast.” To virtually cheer on the team as they embark on their eight-day adventure, vote online for team Hope and Glory here. You can watch all the excitement and thrilling adventures in real time as John and Steve compete in daily challenges with trivia-based clues to unlock extraordinary experiences. The challenges range from historic to physically tough — picture ziplining in forests — to emotional. Follow team Hope and Glory as each episode airs here.

As avid sailors, car racers, and adventurers, Steve thought this pivotal race would be a great way to celebrate his father and spend some quality time with him while also helping raise awareness for countless missing children. John was touched by the honorable gesture from his son, adding, “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my 70th birthday than the thrill and excitement of this race that will also help bring missing children home.”

The Resolute model is now open!

The Resolute offers the best of Florida’s year-round outdoor lifestyle at the prestigious Lake Club community in Lakewood Ranch.

resolute kitchen

This magnificent new home is the first of Murray Homes new community Staysail Court, a collection of luxury homes and customizable floor plans from 3,000 to 5,000 square feet. This exclusive neighborhood captures the spirit of island style living through British West Indies architecture and landscaping.

Outdoor living second to none

Outdoor living second to none

The resolute offers 3 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, flex room/bedroom, library, summer kitchen, 3-car garage with split design. Over 1,000 square feet of outdoor living space and it is Fully furnished with chic accents. Exquisite architectural details, clean elegant lines, and finest custom finishes throughout the home.

click here for full details including a locator map and how to schedule a showing

Murray Homes Announces New Homes Construction in The Lake Club Community at Lakewood Ranch

Murray Homes is now an official builder at the exclusive Lake Club community with their first model scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2015.

resolute front elevation

Murray Homes, Sarasota-based luxury homebuilder,announces its expansion into The Lake Club at Lakewood Ranch, becoming the eighth official builder in
the exclusive community.

The first British West Indies style model is expected to be completed in the spring of 2015. “We are excited to be selected as a home builder in The Lake Club and are committed to delivering exceptional homes in this prestigious community along with the exemplary customer service our clients have come to expect,” says Steve Murray, President of Murray Homes.

“We are confident the Lakewood Ranch community will benefit from our customer-centric approach and 20 years’ expertise in the luxury home building market.”

An extensive market study has been conducted to understand the style of homes people want. Based on the research findings along with the Murray team insights, an elegant timeless island-style collection has been created. The homes reflect a middle ground between traditional and contemporary. The British West Indies style architecture creates a casual yet elegant open island style home.

“Murray Homes is an ideal partner for The Lake Club, and strengthens our portfolio of existing builders,” says Jimmy Stewart, Vice President of Sales for LWR Communities. “Murray Homes offers a fresh variety of architectural styles and designs to suit every lifestyle and age group, and this new addition to our approved home builders’ team will reinforce our quality offerings at The Lake Club.”

Murray Homes is the exclusive builder in Staysail Court in The Lake Club. The family of homes designed for the enclave has been inspired by the America’s Cup and will reflect the British and European heritage of the Murray family as well as their passion for offshore racing.

The first model, scheduled to open in the spring of 2015, is named after the 106-ft. racing yacht Resolute. She was designed and launched in 1914 and sailed to victory for the U.S in 1920.

For models floor plans and more lake club homes for sale visit http://www.murrayhomesatthelakeclub.com

Murray Homes Supports the Season Opener Of The Secret Garden

The secret garden by the sarsota ballet

I had the opportunity to see The Secret Garden with my family and it was BRILLIANT. The choreographer, Will Tuckett brought Frances Hodgson Burnett’s popular children’s novel to life with beautiful dancing, costumes, puppetry, and narration.  Tuckett is no stranger to creating memorable productions and is the recent recipient of England’s 2014 Olivier Awards.

My 7-year old was impressed by the amazing narrator who memorized all those extensive lines. The nice English accent and handsome looks must have contributed to the impact! My 4-year old loved all the oversized puppets, especially the surprise appearance of the fox in the lobby during intermission.  The interactions with the puppets were fun, well executed and helped bring the story to life.

I loved the various beautiful sets and incredible costumes which perfectly reflected that time in history. The talented dancer who played the lead role of Mary Lennox had graceful lines, incredible techniques, and strong theatrical skills with excellent comical expressions. We all wondered how she was able to keep up her high energy levels and flawless dancing while being on the stage almost every minute of the performance.
This ballet performance was a magical interpretation of the book and fantastic entertainment that utilizes the trio of dance, theatre and puppetry.

Murray Homes is proud to support the Season Opener of The Secret Garden that will be performed again at the stage of the FSU Center for the Performing Arts October 24-26. This is definitely a must-see for all ages!

If you missed the August Premiere, purchase your tickets for October’s performance http://www.sarasotaballet.org/events/secret-garden

Murray Homes wins Gold in SRQ 10th Annual Home of the Year competition

Murray Homes beat tough competition to win gold for 2014 best overall home in the over $2 million category at the SRQ 10th Annual Home of the Year Competition. The award recognizes the best architects, builders, and interior designers who create residential spaces with striking character.

384 N Washington St Armands Sarasota

The judges were particularly impressed by the convergence of creativity and functionality to design this stunning coastal contemporary house. “This project is original in form, adding freshness to a traditional salt box concept. There is a quality of views without having an all-glass building.” Commented one of the judges.

The elegant four bedroom, six and a half bathroom presents the finest in island living. The owners wanted to create a home that would be comfortable and manageable for them for day to day living, but that would seamlessly transition into a space large enough to accommodate a growing family of grandchildren. There is over 1,500 square foot of outside living area from which to enjoy the peaceful views across Pansy Bayou and the wildlife preserve beyond.

More about the award-winning home

Murray Homes Offers Inspired New Waterfront Home On Bird Key

Boasting the best of Florida living this visionary new home to be located at W Royal Flamingo Dr. on Bird Key has been designed to take full advantage of the Florida lifestyle, blurring line between outdoors and indoors.

340 West Royal Flamingo Dr, Bird Key Sarasota FL
Taking design ques from the Caribbean-style island homes, this amazing new home offers large open spaces that seamlessly transition to a beautifully landscaped outdoor living space with a lush tropical atmosphere.

Despite the large open rooms the well-designed floor plan residents will find an elegant yet highly efficient design that is great for day to day living as well as entertaining guests.

Murray Homes, Sarasota’s premier waterfront builder will outfit this magnificent new home with the finest materials available, and an uncompromising attention to detail.

The beautifully designed outdoor living space opens up to a bayside swimming pool and dock offering residents direct access to Sarasota bay, and the Gulf of Mexico via Big Pass or New Pass.

Those interested in more information about this spectacular new home should contact Murray Homes at 941-906-7000

Sarasota McMansions? Kevin Spacey, Surely You Jest!

Sarasota McMansions? I Think Not!Earlier this week the new political drama ‘House Of Cards‘ featuring actor Kevin Spacey debuted on netflix. In the show Kevin Spacey plays a rather unpleasant, power-hungry politician with an apparent unfavorable view of our lovely city.

In particular his character cited Sarasota’s luxury real estate market while illustrating his disdain for a former employee who left his service.

Money is the McMansion in Sarasota that falls apart after 10 years, Power is the old stone building that stands for centuries.

Well it’s obvious for us his character must NOT have spent much time checking out the array of industry leading hurricane-hardened, luxury homes that line our waterfront neighborhoods. Many of which have been designed by renown architects in both traditional and contemporary styles, have been built with beautiful natural materials, are LEED certified and will certainly withstand the test of time as they must comply with some of the strictest building codes in the country to deal with our frequent threat of hurricanes.

While hearing this kind of casual criticism certainly gets our feathers ruffled, we will admit at least during the ill-fated real estate bubble, there were a few fly-by-night builders with little experience interested in flipping a large well-located but poorly designed home for an even larger quick profit. However those were definitely the exception not the norm. High-end luxury home building in Sarasota is not for the feint of heart, and builders with little experience or resources do not last very long.

Sarasota Historical Remodel By Murray HomesThe many stunning estates that line our avenues and waterways have become a world-wide draw, and competition between top builders ensures impeccable quality and design standards. Murray Homes, we are proud to say, has been leading the pack. As the top builder on Bird Key in 2012 we have always had a passion for building homes that are not only luxurious, well designed and built with the best materials to the highest standards, but homes that will stand the test of time and continue to be an asset for both the homeowner and our community as a whole.

If fact for proof of our luxury home market’s longevity you need look no further than Ca’ d’Zan. John Ringling’s historical mansion. Built almost 90 years ago in1924, this masterpiece of the Venetian style architecture has graced our shorelines for decades.

Sarasota ModernIf the ornate old-world look is not your thing, Paul Rudolph, an icon of contemporary architecture, started the well known Sarasota Modern, or Sarasota School of Architecture movement that has not only lead to the design and construction of decades-old masterpieces, but has inspired a whole generation of contemporary architects to continue to innovate with beautiful and clean designs. In fact many homes in our area gain significantly in value not by being designed by a well-known architect but by simply being next to a home designed by one.

As a builder of of luxury homes in some of Sarasota’s most prominent areas we take the responsibility of creating homes that will add to our areas overall value now and far into the future.

Murray Homes Voted “Best of Houzz 2013”

Florida based Luxury Home Builder Murray Homes was voted as Best of Houzz 2013 by the Houzz.com community

Murray Homes specializes in building high-end luxury homes in and around Sarasota Florida’s premier waterfront locations.
Owner Steve Murray had this to say about the award, “Over the years Murray Homes has won some accolades from different local organizations, but being voted as ‘Best of’ by the design-savvy Houzz community is a real honor.” Murray added,”Our focus as a luxury market builder has always been around design, quality and creating enduring value that goes beyond the latest building fads. The members of Houzz are there to view beautiful designs and get ideas for projects so receiving notice from that group of discerning individuals is gratifying to all of us at Murray Homes and Murray Realty.”