Vacation home on North Captiva Island designed
Düsseldorf, December 2025
On North Captiva Island in Florida, accessible only by boat, we designed and built a light-filled vacation home for a family of five – a retreat on stilts that uniquely combines architecture and nature. Our goal was an open-plan living concept that captures the rhythm of island life and harmoniously connects indoor and outdoor spaces.
Nestled in a tropical garden of mango, coconut, and lemon trees, the house opens onto the first floor via a staircase. A living room with a ceiling height of over four meters forms the heart of the living, dining, and kitchen area, while large windows flood the space with natural light and offer views of the surrounding landscape and the sea. Dark wood floors and light wood paneling create a calm, balanced atmosphere, and the concealed climate control ensures an undisturbed clarity in the interior design.
Four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an upstairs studio offer both retreat and inspiration. The wraparound veranda with its fine mosquito nets and the elongated pool allow for undisturbed outdoor living. Beneath the raised house is a workshop for furniture and boat building – making this holiday home a place for relaxation and creative work.
The project on the remote island demanded utmost precision and creative logistics: materials were delivered by barge and transported along narrow sandy paths, and tides and local building regulations had to be taken into account. The house was built to American building codes to be flood-proof and in accordance with the latest hurricane code – a vacation home that combines European design clarity with the ease of Florida.
Architecture, Interior: Schwitzke & Partner
Size: 350 sqm
Service: Planning, Realization
Pictures: Schwitzke & Partner
