Residential
Set along the turquoise waters of the Gulf in Marathon, Florida, the Gulf Front Estate approaches residential outdoor living with the ambition of a private resort. Across two waterfront acres, the 23,000-square-foot retreat brings together a sophisticated main residence, guest cottages, and an expansive network of outdoor destinations designed for relaxation, recreation, and entertaining.
The property was designed and built by D’Asign Source as a unified environment rather than a collection of separate amenities. Architecture, landscape, lighting, and audio are interwoven across the site, allowing the estate to shift from quiet daytime refuge to fully immersive evening destination without the technology ever overtaking the natural setting.
A Resort Experience at Home
The outdoor program reads like a private hospitality retreat: a winding lazy river, multiple pools, spa areas, cascading waterfalls, a swim-up bar, terraces, seating areas, a putting green, a sandy beach for games, and a waterfront marina. Each zone has its own reason for being, but the landscape choreography keeps the experience connected from arrival to shoreline.
Inside the main residence, the estate continues that relaxed-luxury sensibility with an open kitchen and living area, a wine room, a large game room with a custom bar, a private home theater, and a master suite oriented toward both comfort and celebration. The design supports the way the owners and guests actually use the home: sometimes quietly, sometimes socially, and often across several indoor and outdoor settings at once.
“Designing this estate meant creating outdoor spaces that feel both purposeful and immersive,” Nick D’Ascanio, Project Executive and Landscape Architect at D’Asign Source, said of the project.
Lighting That Extends the Landscape
As daylight fades, the estate relies on layered, low-voltage lighting to reveal the depth of the property. Coastal Source fixtures are used throughout the grounds to highlight pathways, architectural details, limestone walkways, water features, and tropical plantings. The design creates drama, but it remains warm and restrained, preserving the sense of a tropical coastal retreat.
The lighting package includes 27 MR11 Bullet Lights, 81 MR16 Bullet Lights, 48 Niche Bullet Lights, nine Wash Lights, 34 Double Tier Hat Path Lights, and 25 Tiki Torches, all finished in vintage brass to complement the site’s coastal palette. Another 157 Niche Marker Lights are integrated into the driveway, retaining walls, and pool deck planters, while 16 MR16 Bullet Lights are mounted throughout tiki huts and the gazebo to create inviting after-dark gathering spaces.
Audio That Feels Built In
The audio system follows the same design principle: performance is felt everywhere, while the hardware remains visually quiet. Twenty-four three-way bollard loudspeakers are positioned around the pool deck, putting green, marina, docks, and guest houses to create a consistent entertainment atmosphere across the property.
Near the fire pit, four Line Source array loudspeakers deliver a more focused, concert-like experience, making music feel as if it is being performed directly in front of guests. Eight mini bollard speakers around the driveway extend the audio story to the arrival area, while Coastal Source subwoofers and CRS amplifiers reinforce the system from discreet locations within the landscape.
Built for the Coast
A project of this scale also had to account for the realities of building on the water. Elevated hardscape construction helps protect key areas from storm surge and flooding, while native and salt-tolerant plantings reduce irrigation demand and improve long-term performance in a challenging coastal climate.
Custom stonework and mosaic installations appear throughout the pools and outdoor kitchen, introducing color and craft while being engineered for intense sun exposure and salt air. The lighting and audio installation required the same attention to durability and placement, with fixtures and speakers carefully concealed so they would enhance the estate’s atmosphere without interrupting its design language.
“Coastal Source products provide the high-performance, durable technology we rely on to bring our landscapes to life, ” said Andrew Walker, Director of Technology at D’Asign Source.
The Gulf Front Estate is a showcase for what happens when connected technology is treated as part of the design process from the beginning. Lighting does more than illuminate the property; it gives the landscape depth, rhythm, and a second life after sunset. And audio does more than fill the outdoors with music; it defines destinations, supports moments of arrival and gathering, and makes the expansive site feel cohesive.
Through D’Asign Source’s integrated approach and Coastal Source’s outdoor lighting and audio solutions, the estate becomes more than a luxurious waterfront home. It becomes an evolving experience: tranquil by day, animated by night and deeply connected to the architecture, landscape and coastal environment around it.
Featured Equipment
Lighting
- 27 Coastal Source MR11 Bullet Lights
- 81 Coastal Source MR16 Bullet Lights
- 48 Coastal Source Niche Bullet Lights
- Nine Coastal Source Wash Lights
- 34 Coastal Source Double Tier Hat Path Lights
- 25 Coastal Source Tiki Torches
- 157 Coastal Source Niche Marker Lights
- 16 additional MR16 Bullet Lights mounted throughout tiki huts and the gazebo
Audio
- 24 Coastal Source three-way bollard loudspeakers
- Four Coastal Source Line Source array loudspeakers
- Eight Coastal Source mini bollard speakers
- Additional Coastal Source subwoofers and CRS amplifiers
Finishes/Placement
- Vintage brass lighting finishes
- Concealed landscape speaker placement
- Integrated marker lighting
- Retaining walls and pool deck planters.
Project Partners and Sources
D’Asign Source
Design/build, architecture, construction, interiors, landscape architecture, pool design/fabrication and ceiling cypress fabrication.
www.dasignsource.com
Coastal Source
Outdoor audio, outdoor lighting and amplification.
coastalsource.com
