Designing a home for an interior designer comes with its own kind of pressure, and its own kind of reward. Holly Shipman brought decades of design experience to this bayfront project, and the collaboration produced a home that feels both elegant and genuinely livable from the first floor to the last detail.

La Garza Court sits on an offset stretch of the Turtle Bale pedestrian path in Alys Beach, a site that gave the design room for a dramatic corner entry rather than a straightforward front door. The result draws on Cape Dutch architecture, with a sculptural parapet and a fourth floor terrace that becomes the home's real payoff.

The Alys Gazette recently sat down with the founders of our firm to talk through nearly three decades of partnership, the early days of building in Alys Beach, and the philosophy that still shapes every project. Here are a few of the highlights.

Silver Sea Court sits at the intersection of two pedestrian paths in Alys Beach, a corner lot that most designs would treat as a constraint. Douglas Bock Architects treated it as an opportunity instead, building a home with a dramatic, multi-sided entry and Venetian influenced interiors throughout.

Plumago Lane pairs the quiet discipline of Alys Beach's coastal architecture with a few well-placed departures. Pale blue shutters and gas lanterns set the tone outside, while a Moroccan light fixture and a lush central courtyard carry the same spirit through to the interior.

Designed for a returning client, this Rosemary Beach home uses a central courtyard to organize how the family moves through the property, gathers outdoors, and transitions between the main house and a fully independent carriage house apartment.

Facing Palmera Park on South Charles Street in Alys Beach, this home by Douglas Bock Architects makes the landscape the centerpiece — with a soaring window wall aligned to the park's twin palms, a private courtyard, and a rooftop terrace overlooking the Gulf.

When our clients came to Douglas Bock Architects with a vision for their Alys Beach home, they had one clear intention: build the ultimate entertainer's retreat. The result is Turtle Bale Path — a Moroccan-influenced home where courtyard pools, rooftop terraces, and globally curated interiors come together in one of the Gulf Coast's most architecturally distinctive communities.

There is a moment when you approach Palmera Park — the house on South Charles Street in Alys Beach that faces the park of the same name — where the architecture announces its intention before you even step inside. The facade is composed and deliberate, organized around a two-story window wall centered precisely on the twin rows of palms that line the park.

Douglas Bock Architects designed Sea Garden — a sprawling Gulf-front estate in Alys Beach, FL, built across two lots with courtyards, a guest apartment, and sweeping Gulf views. Sold for $13,300,000 in 2021.

When a home sells for $17,500,000 and sets a new sales record for Rosemary Beach, it's worth asking: what makes it extraordinary?

The answer lies in the details — and in a bold architectural vision that bridges two centuries and two Gulf Coast traditions.