Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

Each suite is designed with a sitting area. In the master suite, an elegant four-post bed paired with a breakfast table and views of the lake create a resort-style feel.

By Diane S. Morales, Caller-Times

May 28, 2006

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

Adirondack chairs beneath the backyard pergola aim directly at the lake and homes across it. Frank Cameron’s home sits on .61 acres. The lake empties into Estes Flats and Aransas Bay.

Frank Cameron, 57, has been living la buena vida, or the good life, for quite a while. An early retirement sent him to the great outdoors, hunting and fishing to his heart’s content.

The details: Address: No. 4 La Buena Vida Drive, Aransas Pass Price: $1,386,000 Square feet: 3,816 Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 4 full, 1 half Built: 2005 Information: Cheryl Casterline, Rockport Properties, (361) 463-1660. Open house: 2 to 5 p.m. today.

“But the problem with retiring at 43 is there’s nobody to play with at recess,” Cameron said.

When he wasn’t bagging elk or fly-fishing, Cameron dabbled in another interest — architecture — building and designing his own homes in Houston, Colorado, and most recently, Aransas Pass.

The computer control systems business owner turned homebuilder owns Mercator-Edgewater Inc., a residential design and construction company.

Cameron came back to Texas two years ago for family reasons, and the fly-fishing isn’t bad either. He spends his time between the mountains of Colorado in the fall and the saltwater of Aransas Bay in the summer, but Colorado is truly where his heart belongs.

Cameron’s yellow stucco and tile roof is a vision of Mediterranean style elegance in the gated community at La Buena Vida.

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

Black granite counters contrast with the off-white maple glazed cabinets in the kitchen. Windows above the copper kitchen sink offer views of the lake.

Queen and sago palm trees dot the landscape, while a decorative concrete brown driveway spreads under a portico and alongside a separate garage, shimmering with a lake and Aransas Bay on the horizon. Arches above exterior windows and on the upstairs covered balcony soften the home’s façade.

The decorative etched concrete continues inside the home and in the master suite. Past the white pillars in the entry, a formal dining room sits across an office space of equal size. Beige walls and white crown moulding and chair railing dominates the home’s color scheme.

“I have an elegant museum style of building houses,” Cameron said. “I like clean lines and functional spaces.”

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

Sunlight peeks through the windows in the formal dining room with views of the front yard. The room is directly at the left of the home’s entrance.

Cameron selected the paint colors, floors, granite counters and everything else in the home’s design and décor. Clear pine-framed windows, repeated throughout the home, offer views to the front yard in the formal dining room and office.

Inviting spaces

Cameron’s favorite space is the living room where 22 foot-high ceilings add an airiness that isn’t overwhelming or intimidating. A fireplace made of Leuters limestone from West Texas topped with a black granite mantle is the focus of Cameron’s attention when he’s lounging in the room. It’s not so much the fireplace, but an oil painting by Rockport artist Al Barnes depicting a fly-fishing scene that sends his thoughts to the water.

Overlooking the living room is a gourmet style kitchen with Viking appliances, a dual fuel range, wine cooler and white Thomasville cabinets. Black bull-nose granite counters and back-splash with flecks of copper complement the kitchen’s copper sinks.

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

Frank Cameron said the home’s design is reminiscent of Mediterranean style homes from the 1930s. “The main theme of this house is it’s a vacation home,” he said. “It has three suites with full bath facilities and it’s mostly for entertainment.”

“I used the kitchen maybe once to warm up a loaf of French bread,” Cameron said.

Next to the kitchen is a breakfast room with a trio of windows overlooking the lake.

French doors in the living room open to the patio, a pergola and 115 feet of waterfront and a private dock complete with a cabana.

Guests welcomed

Cameron designed the house primarily as a vacation home with guest bedrooms as junior suites decked with sitting areas and full-sized bathrooms. The junior suites overlook the front yard with access to the covered balcony. Each bathroom’s contemporary design includes glass vessel sinks, glass shower doors, decorative tile work and granite counters with flat-front cabinets and drawers.

A windowless media room is located upstairs as well.

Eddie Seal/Special to the Caller-Times

More black granite is repeated in the master suite, but with flecks of silver and gray. All of the bathrooms have glass shower doors and glass vessel sinks.

Down the oak stairs and around the living room is the master suite with views of the lake. A quaint area near a trio of windows serves as a casual dining or sitting place. In the master bath, black and gray granite counters, iridescent dual vessel sinks and gray cabinets simplify the space with class.

“People who live here mostly want privacy, space,” he said.