“One of the coolest ‘escapees’ was a quilter from Tallahassee,” Pickel says.
The quilt she created depicted the town’s plan, including the streets, houses and landmarks.
At the end of January, the institute holds a celebration to reveal the projects. The unveiling gives the community a boost and helps break the mold during one of the slowest months for the touristy town, Pickel says.
The original houses have a traditional, cracker-box style common in most beach towns. Other characteristics include pitched roofs, wide porches and double-hung windows.
In order to make the dream of Seaside a reality, the Davis’s collaborated with city planners Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zybeck of Miami.
The Davis’s traveled areas from Louisiana to the southern tip of Florida in search of ideas for their town. They measured the distance from houses to the street, door sizes and window dimensions to create their design.
“The Davis's wanted to use the fabric that was already in the area,” Pickel says of the common building materials and styles.
The founders established the Seaside Urban Code as a general guideline for the housing types and layout in the community. The buildings use time-tested materials like double-hung windows and wood construction, and the wide streets are pedestrian-friendly with sidewalks and limited vehicle access.
The water is the main focus of the town’s beauty, and the planners incorporated that into Seaside’s color palette. Houses along the water have muted colors, like whites and pale blues, so they don't distract from the natural beauty of the beach. The colors become more vibrant further north of the beach, painted in pinks, greens and other bright hues.
Seaside has more than 50 businesses within its quarter mile area including a quirky bookstore, a local gourmet market, art galleries and many restaurants.