A Family Oasis

By Lauren Weedon Hopkins
Photos by Polina Pigulevsky Photography

“It’s worth the 21-year wait,” exclaims Caryn Karinshak of her “dream home,” Cedar Shake Retreat in St. Augustine. Cary grew up in Atlanta and attended Florida State University. After graduating, she and her best friend decided to move to the Jacksonville area. She began work in St. Johns County Schools and met her husband Tom, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, at that same best friend’s wedding.

The couple settled into the community, welcoming their first son, Carter in 2000. Then, Tom got a job offer he could not refuse, and the family moved to Northern Virginia in 2002. “I wanted to stay two years, but that turned to six,” laughs Caryn. During that time, son Bryce, now 22, and daughter Erica, 19, were born. Next, Tom’s career took them to Wilmington, Delaware and a home in Chadds Ford, right outside Philadelphia—where they lived for 15 years.

In 2015, the family purchased a home in Palencia to escape the cold Pennsylvania winters and lived there full time during the COVID-19 pandemic. They enjoyed the “walkable, bike-able and golf cart-able” community and decided to purchase a lot there on the Intracoastal in 2020.

Building a home from the ground up can be a challenge but doing it from 850 miles away is even more difficult. The home builder introduced Caryn to Kelly Challberg, owner and principal designer of Draper Grey Interiors, who specializes in full-service design from start to finish. “Kelly made it easy,” says Caryn. “Working with Kelly is a true collaboration.”

“I understood Caryn’s design aesthetic and could work closely with the builder on the exterior and interior,” says Kelly. One design element especially important to Caryn was utilizing natural materials. Kelly notes she was interested in featuring real wood to “gracefully age and get better over time.”

“One of my favorite things about the house is the cedar shake,” says Caryn of the exterior siding. “It reminds me of the farmhouse look.”

They have also incorporated the 1800s farmhouse Tom grew up in rural Pennsylvania, which had no electricity when his family first moved there in the 1970s. Tom’s mother was preparing to sell the home because his father had passed away and they came across some original bricks stacked up in the basement. Tom knew he wanted to incorporate the bricks somehow in his forever home. They are now part of the outdoor fireplace. “It’s a conversation starter,” says Kelly. “The family has come full circle and it’s really special.”

Family is very important to the Karinshaks and Kelly notes it was central to Caryn’s vision for her home. She wanted it to be a place where her grown children would want to come back to and bring their friends. “This is an entertaining house and a hub where everyone can come together and be comfortable,” says Kelly. “In designing every room, that concept was top of mind.”

Kelly named her company after her beloved childhood pet, a cat named Grey. “Animals are important and should be considered in design decisions,” she says. “We make the investment up front for durability and for real life. Dogs are going to chew and kids are going to spill.” The Karinshaks have two dogs.

Every color, accessory and piece of furniture in the home reflects its beautiful natural surroundings. The family enjoys the stunning views and wanted to build upon the marsh, the sky, the water and the sunsets. “The home has an open concept flow,” Kelly adds. “The featured blues when you walk in are lighter and as you transition room to room, the blues become darker the deeper you get into the home.”

The overall vibe is serene and low key.

One room especially fun to design is for future grandchildren and is now utilized by a niece and a nephew, as well as family friends. “Most of the home has a coastal theme, but this one has hints of nautical,” says Kelly. “There are sailboats in their backyard and Caryn wanted to echo that. We have rope accents and boat cleats on the custom-made bunkbeds.”

The pool area was designed with entertaining in mind, featuring plenty of seating and providing a resort-type experience. The flooring is sand blasted marble, another natural material. Unique elements include bowls that produce fire placed on columns and a swim-up bar with glow-in-the-dark tiles on the built-in stools.

The summer kitchen was a labor of love. When selecting the tiles, Caryn had so many favorites, she decided to incorporate them all. “The effect is a patchwork quilt of each one unique and hand-painted in Portugal,” says Kelly, who laid them out first and numbered every tile to ensure the overall desired effect before it was installed.

This attention to detail and commitment to telling the story of her family shine through in every room. When the family returned to Florida and moved into their home in July 2023, 21 years later, it was the right time. “We put our heart and soul into the home,” adds Caryn. “We feel so blessed.”

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