Photos by Laura Rowe
The first wisps of smoke rise from the firepit in the crisp fall air as a radio broadcast of football breaks the silence. A cool breeze plays on the water in Soldier Creek, causing the canopy of live oaks to bend and sway, casting dappled patches of sunshine on the gravel path. Friends and family catch up and enjoy gameday surrounded by the natural world. This property off Redfish Point Road on Soldier Creek is Brooke and Chad Henderson’s home away from home.
Growing up on the west side of Pensacola, Chad was already well acquainted with life on the water. His introduction to Soldier Creek, however, happened in high school. He would go skiing with friends on the creek in his free time and knew it was a special place. “I worked at the Perdido Pass Marina and started a business called Gulfstream Ice Cream,” he says. “I would sell ice cream by boat, and a lot of those afternoons, I would wind up with friends at Soldier Creek. I just fell in love with how tucked away it was and protected it was.” Later on, when he and Brooke married, the couple moved into a house on River Road in Perdido Key, spending Sunday afternoons on the water. Based in Pensacola, their daily lives are almost always busy, with Chad working as the founder and CEO of a healthcare real estate firm and Brooke with a full-time job as mom to their four children. They dreamed of having a place on Soldier Creek to host family, relax and create special memories with their kids in all four seasons.
As luck would have it, the Hendersons got that opportunity when exploring the area by car. They stopped to look at a nearby lot and ran into a longtime Soldier Creek resident with a deep family connection to the area. “We purchased this property from Mary Scott Smith. She was a daughter to Fred Scott, who originally bought all this land at the turn of the century back in 1900,” says Chad. “It felt right that there was such a deep sense of family already on the property that we could kind of step right into.” The Hendersons started drafting plans for an outdoor pavilion, dock and guest house. Both Brooke and Chad grew up on the water boating and fishing with their families, and wanted their children to have that same childhood, bonding over the creek with loved ones.
The Hendersons envisioned an ageless guest house that would effortlessly match the 1950s ranch-style house already on the three-acre property and echo the beauty of its surroundings. “When we were thinking about the design of the guest house, we wanted to promote spending time outside,” says Chad. “It’s certainly a place to relax, but not a place where we’re hoping our guests will go sit on the couch and watch TV.” They sought the help of Fairhope architect Clay Adams to bring their vision to life. “We built something very timeless that looked like it was an 80 or 100-year-old house,” says Adams. “It’s what I call an ‘heirloom project’ that they’re going to keep for generations.” Adams conceptualized a design that allows the guest house to be completely open at times, but with the close of a barn door, the space can be sectioned into two separate guest houses. The shared kitchen and living room area between both sides of the house were purposefully kept on the smaller side, and the reason became obvious the moment Adams stepped on the property. “All I could do is ask questions,” says Adams. “‘How has this not been developed? How has anything this beautiful not been developed?’ It’s one of the prettier places I’ve seen for sure.” Builder Chuck Kelly used natural-looking material that would blend seamlessly against the backdrop of the rural surroundings. Mingling the old and new in effortless harmony, Adams employed the perks and conveniences of the modern age to make living alongside the historic aesthetics convenient. “The house and technology are built in a way that’s fortified for protection against storms and lowers insurance rates and maintenance,” says Adams. “It’s wonderful because everybody wants to enjoy being there with their family and friends and not doing maintenance.”
ALL IN THE DETAILS…
Architect Clay Adams used old brick and natural wood to convey timelessness at the guest house. “We wanted to drop this building on the property and make it look like everything had grown around it,” says Adams. Interior designer Lacy Phillips echoed a fish camp feel with fish cutouts on the stair railing. “Their strategy here was you come in after a day of fishing, prop up your pole, pour a glass of wine and you just watch the sun go down,” she says.
WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES…
The design of the guest house allows for one cohesive space or two separate sides. It’s all accomplished with the close of a barn door. The shared living space allows for all occupants to enjoy each other’s company while the kitchen’s dark green cabinets bring the colors of nature indoors.
CABIN FEVER
Comfort is key for guest house accommodations. The bunk room can easily fit up to eight people. Muted blues, grays and reds stay true to a rustic, cabin-like feel. The room is small, encouraging guests to enjoy the outdoors. “Yes, you want everyone to have a wonderful place to stay, but the beauty of the property and being on the water is the highlight,” says Phillips.
To capture the Hendersons’ vision inside, Pensacola-based interior designer Lacy Phillips veered off the beaten path. She packed up her van and drove across the southeast picking out antique and vintage finds to furnish the home. “We did have some new pieces, but for the most part, I tried to have every piece that had a little history and a story to it, even if I didn’t know that story, just to layer the space with a fun patina,” she says. She used muted, natural colors and finishes to add to the illusion of the house having been on the property for a long time. “Even the finish on the plumbing fixtures, we wanted that to have a little bit more of a vintage vibe,” she says. “We used old wood on the floor. We had old beams. We used colors that you see in nature around the fish camp, those deep blues and the greens.”
While both sides mirror each other, small, subtle changes in the bathrooms and color scheme provide some differentiation. “I had to be strategic about how the spaces looked,” says Phillips. “It was really important to me that these two separate houses flowed together yet also had their own personalities.” To accomplish this, one side of the house favored a green color palette, and the other side encapsulated a blue-based scheme. Those foundations allowed for each side to have an atmosphere all its own, while still feeling cohesive. The sides even have individual names that play perfectly into the fish camp feel. “We call one side the speckled trout suite and the other side is the flounder suite,” says Chad.
Throughout the architectural and design process, a focus on family was kept front and center. The upstairs bedrooms have bunk beds to allow more guests to stay. History appears in the decor as well. “Brooke had this idea to hang vintage photos along with family photos in the hallway leading down to the bedrooms,” says Phillips. “We had such a great time framing those.” “I tried as hard as I could to get current photos from the creek,” says Brooke. “But Chad’s family has such a strong history, and we were very lucky to have all of that from his grandfather and father’s generation.” Chad’s grandfather, one of 10 siblings, would gather with his parents and siblings on the weekends for fishing and fish fries in their concrete beach house, enjoying their company. “Brooke did a fantastic job capturing the spirit of why we did this property to begin with,” says Chad. “The spirit of that was in recreating this in this guest house. And she did a great job finding vintage pictures that really depicted those times of my grandparents and my father.”
PORCH LIVING
A dramatic deep green paint gives timeless character to the screened-in porch at the guest house while keeping with the natural color palette. Wood floors and ceilings add to the cabin vibe. The porch provides an ideal place to catch up with visiting friends and watch the water.
GONE FISHING
Fish decor is found throughout the house and property, from art on the walls in the dining area to the Camp Redfish sign posted outside. “We love to fish, Brooke particularly,” says Chad. “One of our sons, Archie, really leads the charge on fishing on the dock at night and we do go out in the boat and fish as well. It’s an activity we do a lot.”
FEELING YELLOW
A creamy yellow in the guest room feels perfectly worn in. Vintage accents on the walls and bedside table lend a homey ambiance. “I love yellow and I love the natural light in that room,” says Phillips. “I think I have a memory that connects to yellow and that brings me back.”
Now that the guest house is fully complete, the Hendersons have the freedom to host family for extended periods. “I had a mentor tell me a long time ago, ‘Chad, you can build the biggest house that you can imagine,’” says Chad, “‘But when you have guests staying under your roof, they may stay two days, three days, maybe even four if you’re lucky. If you have a separate spot for them, they can stay for two or three weeks at a time.’ That was very much the mindset behind building this, to have a family gathering place.” The Hendersons lovingly call their piece of waterside paradise Camp Redfish, posting a wooden sign out front. The pavilion facing the waterfront, outdoor kitchen, pier and outdoor fire pit in the back act as the main gathering areas for company to have meals, go out on the water and relax together. “It’s all those things that everybody wants,” says Adams. “Myself, I’m an outdoorsman, just like Chad. That little pavilion is the best. It’s just an amazing hub.” The dock’s three-boat storage space ensures that a boat ride or fishing expedition is never far away. “One of the rituals that we’ve quickly adopted as a family is going for a sunset creek cruise in our little 15-foot runabout boat,” says Chad. When the Florida State Seminoles have an away game, Brooke and Chad, both Florida State University alums, invite friends down to the property to watch with them. With the property being big enough to host upwards of 80 people for the day without feeling crowded, the possibilities are almost endless.
ROOM TO RUN
In addition to the waterfront, the property provides spacious grassy areas for kids to run around, play and throw a football while moms watch from the porch. The oak trees that are scattered on the land are the showstoppers.
A TOUCH OF GREEN
The dark green from the screened-in porch also makes an appearance in the kitchen, splashed across cabinets and the oven. The small kitchen ensures guests have access to everything they need while spending the majority of their time outdoors.
FISH CAMP PRIDE
Brooke and Chad Henderson lovingly refer to their Soldier Creek property as Camp Redfish, posting a wooden sign out front to greet visitors. “We wanted to put the name ‘camp’ in because with the multiple structures, you certainly feel like it’s a family campground,” says Chad.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
The house was designed with family in mind. Brooke found family pictures from Soldier Creek to decorate the hallway, emphasizing the history they had on the creek and the memories yet to come.
Most importantly, Chad and Brooke have a space to spend with family. The backyard has enough room for Chad to throw a football with kids, and the children take turns riding the zip line and playing yard golf. “The dock has a second story, so the kids love to jump off there and swim,” adds Chad. Watching the Hendersons enjoy their space with loved ones is the payoff all involved were looking forward to. “I felt like everyone who worked on this home really cared about it,” says Phillips. “Everyone saw how special this property is. I think this is the beginning of a wonderful story of that property, which will be theirs for generations. And that was not lost on any of us.”
As guests make their way down the dirt road and turn into the white rock driveway, they are enveloped by the same sense of peace the Hendersons have at Soldier Creek, with the promise of fishing, socializing and relaxing on the horizon. “The property connects to who we are at the core,” says Chad. “There’s the DNA of us woven throughout, and it certainly helps to frame the priorities in life, of spending quality time with the ones you love.”
