Siesta Key is a barrier island off Sarasota, with Sarasota Bay on the east, the Gulf of Mexico on the west and two bridges to the mainland. Early maps called it Little Sarasota Key. In 1907 the Siesta Land Company, formed by Harry Higel, Captain Louis Roberts and E.M. Arbogast, platted Siesta on the Gulf at the north end, but few people came until the first bridge opened in 1917. According to a Sarasota County history of the island's beach pavilions, most building waited until after World War II, and the name Siesta Key became official by 1952.
Sixth Sense Studio provides luxury interior design Siesta Key owners can rely on for gut renovations, modernist restorations and new elevated homes, planned from our Tampa studio.
After the war, the north end of the key became one of the testing grounds of the Sarasota School of Architecture. Ralph Twitchell and Paul Rudolph designed the Revere Quality House on Bayou Louise in the late 1940s; it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. Nearby, their 1950 Healy Guest House, known as the Cocoon House, was chosen by the Museum of Modern Art in 1953 as an example of pioneering postwar American houses. In 2021 Sarasota County added a 1948 Lamolithic house on Avenida del Mare to its historic register, one of several island homes designated in recent years.
Those houses explain why good Siesta homes feel the way they do: raised floors, deep overhangs, cross-ventilation, shaded glass and honest materials, ideas any newer house can borrow.
Siesta Key is not its own town. Most of the island is unincorporated Sarasota County, so building permits, inspections and floodplain review run through Sarasota County Planning and Development Services. The northern tip, however, lies inside the City of Sarasota, which has its own building department and historic designation program; the Cocoon House, for example, was designated by the city in 1985. A 2023 bill to let residents vote on creating a Town of Siesta Key died in committee. Condominium and neighborhood associations add their own approvals on top of whichever government applies.
For Gulf-front lots under county jurisdiction, the line that matters is the Gulf Beach Setback Line, which the county code defines as matching the state Coastal Construction Control Line set for Sarasota County in 1978. Construction or excavation seaward of it is prohibited unless the County Commission grants a coastal setback variance or a listed exception applies, and state permits from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection may be needed as well. A Gulf-front addition, pool or rebuild can therefore follow a very different path than the same project a few streets inland, so the survey belongs at the start of design.
For homes in FEMA special flood hazard areas, Sarasota County's floodplain rules apply the substantial improvement standard: when the cost of improvements or repairs reaches 50 percent of the building's market value, excluding land, the whole structure must meet current flood requirements, most significantly a lowest floor at or above the required elevation. For an older cottage or ranch, that often decides whether you renovate within limits, raise the house or rebuild, so we ask for your elevation certificate and an early builder opinion before we draw finishes.
We have not completed a project on Siesta Key or elsewhere in Sarasota County. Our closest Gulf-front work is the JW Residence on Clearwater Beach, and our St. Petersburg projects include the AB Residence. For the region, see our Sarasota and Manatee page and nearby Bird Key.
For most of the island, Sarasota County Planning and Development Services. Homes at the northern tip that fall inside the City of Sarasota go through the city's building department instead.
Only in limited cases. Sarasota County prohibits construction seaward of the line unless the County Commission approves a variance or an exception applies, and state permits may also be required.
We start by documenting what is original, then design kitchens, baths and storage that respect the house's proportions, working with your architect on anything structural or historic.
Not yet. Our nearest published work is on Clearwater Beach and in St. Petersburg.
Full-service projects begin at $80,000, and most whole-home work we take on is $150,000 and above.
Book a $199 consultation. We will review the house or your plans and give you a candid read on scope, setback and flood questions, and next steps.
Sixth Sense Studio · 1646 West Snow Avenue, Suite 64, Tampa, FL 33606 · (813) 727-7293