From The Windy City To A Tropical Paradise
By Ronda M. Parag | Photograhy by Tony Sica Photography
The Mulh family recently relocated to the Tampa Bay area and chose to build a custom, dream home in south Tampa. “Chris and I are in our 40s with two young girls — ages 6 and 4,” says Marisa Mulh. “During Covid (when everyone was moving to Florida), our daughter was diagnosed with cancer. So, we spent most of Covid in the hospital for her care — keeping us pretty isolated from everything in Chicago, (which was completely shut down). But, during that time we went down to Tampa, only our second time, for one of my best friends’ 40th birthday party.
It was February in Chicago (so gloomy and cold), and gorgeous in Tampa. She threw a big bash at the Godfrey Hotel — and at the party everyone was raving about Tampa, how amazing it is, and in one night convinced us to look into moving here. The next day we went to look at properties, with a real estate agent we met at the party, and the next thing we knew, we locked in land to build our house with Ferncliff Inc. We went back to Chicago and listed our house … and the rest is history. Everything happened really fast, and it was definitely a spur of the moment decision.”
Things that were important to the couple included a lot of open space, natural sunlight and seamless transition to indoor/outdoor living. The home achieves that through sliding glass doors from the grand living space to the outdoor patio and pool area. There is an outdoor kitchen that makes entertaining a breeze.
The Mulh’s describe their home as Balinese Modern. “Our house in Chicago was very narrow and did not get a lot of sunlight, so it felt a bit like a cave at times,” recalls Marisa. “So, for this house, Chris and I wanted the opposite — something open, light and bright — and one that allowed us to have indoor/outdoor living.”
Ferncliff Inc. has been building homes in the Tampa Bay community for 5 decades. “We like to deal with classical elements, which makes the modern homes of today reflect the current needs of a family with open floor plans, wide foyers, and dramatic exteriors,” said Founder and Contractor Cliff Fernandez. “Our greatest strength is creating value for our clients throughout the design and selection process.” During the design process, Ferncliff and the Muhl’s consulted with Modulo Design Studio, and Modulo’s interior designer, Sarah Hussain, for assistance with the interior. Modulo created many of the signature design elements including the front door and the staircase that serve as focal points of the home.
“Our favorite place on earth is Bali,” says Marisa. “We have spent a lot of time there and love Bali décor and designs. To bring that vibe to Tampa, we imported almost all of our furniture from Bali. The lanai with all the Balinese lanterns is our favorite.”
Even though the couple were living in Chicago during the build, the process went fairly smooth. “We built our house in Chicago and that process was a nightmare on every front,” said Marisa. “I told Chris I never wanted to build a house again, but he loves the process and wanted to build in Tampa. And, truly, our experience this time around was a complete 180 from the experience we had in Chicago.”
To keep the home on schedule, the couple made a few trips to Tampa to review plans, and check on the progress.
Chris was very involved with the build and communicated extensively with the builder and designer. “I was especially concerned with floor plans and layout, as well as all the design details,” recalls Chris. “Sarah, our designer, was incredible at understanding the vibe we were going for and presenting designs and recommended finishes that matched our vision.”
“We especially want to thank our builder for everything they did on our beautiful home,” says Chris and Marisa Mulh. “We know that during the build, we all experienced some stressful times throughout the project, but we are lucky to have selected Ferncliff as our builder and are incredibly happy with the magnificent home that was built for us. M
Builder: Ferncliff Inc.
3318 S. West Shore Blvd., Tampa, FL 33629
813.835.7757 | www.ferncliffinc.com
Design: Modulo Design Studio
813.512.8872 | www.modulodesignstudio.com
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