If you’re shopping for a home in an upscale neighborhood like Valencia at Abacoa (Jupiter, FL), you’ll find a number of sophisticated architectural details are part of the package. You don’t have to know their names to appreciate their charm … but it doesn’t hurt. So here are a couple of terms it pays to be familiar with…because you’ll be probably be paying for them!

Porte-cochere … a protective porch

If you drive up to a house and find yourself parked under an overhang or archway in front of the garage, you are passing through the porte-cochere. This French term translates as coach gate or carriage porch. It is always a porch at a main or secondary entrance to a building, through which a car can pass, so the occupants can get out under cover, protected from the weather, before the car pulls into the garage. While it is not to be confused with a carport, it can function as one, providing additional parking under cover.

Coffered ceiling… added dimensionality

In architecture a coffer is a panel in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling. The stone coffers of the ancient Greek and Romans are the earliest surviving examples, but a seventh-century BCE Etruscan chamber tomb reproduces a ceiling with beams and cross-beams lying on them, with flat panels. Old idea…great look!

Cupola …tower of light

This is a small, dome-like structure on top of the roof, like a crown. The word comes from Italian, indicating a vault that resembles an upside down cup. Cupolas in more modern houses can appear in the center of the house above a large staircase, where they add elegance, light and air.

Butler’s pantry … charming convenience

The traditional location for a butler’s pantry is in a short hallway between the kitchen and the dining room. Its purpose is to allow easy access to glassware and silver … and to provide a surface to set out appetizers, drinks, or dessert. Butler’s pantries, or china pantries, were built in English or American homes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Delightfully convenient, they are making a big comeback.

Admirals Cove offers a wide range of magnificent homes, from a bit more modest to outrageously divine! Each one a standout, worthy of consideration on its own particular merits. But great residences are just one reason to seek out Admirals’ Cove… one of Palm Beach County’s premier addresses. Most choose it for a lifestyle based around yachting, golf or tennis.

There you’ll find six miles of inland waterways, backyard docks, ocean access, a 72-slip marina, marina shop, and marina cafe. 45 Holes of championship golf—with the newly redesigned Von Hagge course with dramatic elevations, 27 holes of challenging play on the more traditional West Course, and an additional 18-hole course on the East. And, if you’re game, 12 Har-Tru tennis courts. But that’s just the beginning.

You’ll also find superb casual and formal dining in the two Clubhouses. 32 Guest suites at The Club’s Inn for family and friends of Members. A health and fitness center, beauty salon, Wachovia private banking center as well as a spa and two golf pro shops! Overall, it’s hard to find a finer place to live anywhere in South Florida!