Colleen Cooley, CRS - Jupiter Florida Realtor

Every once in a great while you walk into a house that feels, well, quite perfect. You could move in without changing nary a thing. Even the wallpaper is charming, delightful, completely unexpected. That's 148 Santiago Drive, in Valencia at Abacoa.

It sits unobtrusively on a very quiet street. The playground and community pool are near by ... but you'd never know it. On paper this home appears quite mundane... one story, 2900+ square feet, 3 bedrooms with an office/den, and three full baths. But, surprise! You leave ordinary at the door.

Inside the foyer is a formal living room to the left, with plenty of room for a baby grand. To the right, a spacious office and a full guest bath complete with a huge shower, of all things.

Pad quietly down the hall a bit and you come to a formal dining room with a double tray ceiling with subtly painted clouds and a trompe-l'œil window scene on the wall.

Go a few feet further and find yourself in a vast open country kitchen with a family room that looks out on a brick lanai with a perfectly private lap pool and Jacuzzi waterfall.

Just beyond are very ample Jack and Jill bedrooms separated by a large double bath. And then there's the magnificent master suite with two large walk-in closets and a double bath complete with a steam/shower.

And everywhere, every detail is tastefully, artfully attended to by a decorator who clearly knew her stuff. So much so that the overarching feeling is quiet sophistication, and serenity...now. Seinfeld aside, that's no joke! Not at $699,000 in a neighborhood surrounded by $2million dollar homes.

In a neighborhood known for remarkable homes, 120 Santiago Drive just naturally stands out. Built in 2004, this 3-bedroom plus den, 3000-plus square foot home is an artist's palette of natural textures and tones.

That's because the owner personally flew to Indonesia to hand-select every piece of carved wood trim, every solid wood door, every wood inlay. Different shades of mahogany and teak are juxtaposed against marble, tile, granite, and river rock throughout. Why, the his-and-hers master bath alone is a visual marvel ... complete with Jacuzzi tub and walk-in shower.

Now, factor in a huge master suite and an office/den on the first floor, a vast kitchen (complete with butler's pantry and gas stove) that opens onto a truly great room, which opens onto a very private pool and a maintenance-free yard... and you begin to understand.

No detail here has been overlooked. The pool even has a swim current for laps. And the two bedrooms and baths upstairs are delightfully designed to feel more like an airy loft than a second story.

The unique personality of this home ... its mixture of seductive textures, space and light ... makes it one-of-a-kind and not to be missed. At $695,000 it's sure to disappear quickly. So make it a point to see it before it's sold!

Until recently anyone who wanted information on homes in Valencia at Abacoa went to www.ValenciaatAbacoa.com for front views (elevations), floor plans and builder information on each home model available in the Valencia development. Then the development sold out and the site developers let that website become inactive. I thought that was a real shame, since it provides such important information for prospective buyers of resales in that neighborhood. So I took matters into my own hands.

Since I live in Valencia, know the area so well, and have sold and listed so many homes there, I recently acquired that website and reactivated it. It's up and running again for your convenience and mine. So you can once again go to valencia.webraven.net for information on all the homes there ... including which ones are currently up for sale. Now, how great is that!

It's not just the name, SCRIPPS®, on the signs that tells you this biomedical giant is setting up shop on Florida Atlantic University's Jupiter campus. The exteriors of its three buildings are nearly complete. The spire atop the centrally located administration building is already a landmark for drivers on Donald Ross Road. And Scripps' new facilities, after 14 months of work, will be formally occupied by the end of January, 2009... though scientists will be moving in equipment as buildings are completed.

Science there is already well under way! It's been reported that Scripps has received 39 research grants valued at more than $30 million and has already spun off one start-up company from its research. It's made 13 patent applications and hired 260 employees. Those are significant signs!

So what does that mean to the rest of us. Well, look for more traffic off 1-95, on Donald Ross. And watch the prices of Jupiter real estate start to rise. As transfers move into the area, it won't just be corporate investments that bump up our local economy. It will be the demand for Jupiter homes and the flow of new paychecks into local businesses for goods and services.

So welcome Scripps with open arms - and watch Jupiter's economy surge!

Most homes today are designed with front-entry garages. And I personally hate them! They detract from the beauty of a home, dominating the visual scene.

More than just an architectural eyesore, front-entry garages create the opportunity for all sorts of unpleasant views. How often have you looked into an open garage to see car repairs in progress, unpacked moving boxes stacked to the rafters, piles of trash, garbage cans, messy do-it-yourself projects in process, or bags of dog food and piles of old clothes scattered about. Hardly appealing to the neighbors.

We all live with a certain degree of clutter and messiness. But with the right garage orientation you can dramatically limit its public exposure!

Rear-entry garage in Valencia at Abacoa

Beautiful front without views of a messy garage!

Each home has a rear alley with a garage out back!