Dr. Joe Ceravolo renovated his late parents’ 1950s-era house — creating an open floor plan with a kitchen fit for a chef — at 244 Orange Grove Road on the North End of Palm Beach.
Christine Davis
Special to the Palm Beach Daily News
Periodontist Dr. Joe Ceravolo was 12 years old in the early 1970s when his family moved into their home at 244 Orange Grove Road on the North End of Palm Beach.
His late parents, Dorothy and Joseph James Ceravolo Sr., held on to the house as they grew older. When their health began failing a few years ago, their son updated their 1950s-era home and moved back in to help care for them.
“We totally renovated the house from the roof trusses to the electrical, plumbing and new cabinetry,” Ceravolo says, adding that his team included designer Michael Perry of MP Design & Architecture and Brent Yohe of Yohe’s Lawn Care and Landscape. Aqua Building Group was the contractor.
“We added on about 1,000 square feet, which included the entire master bedroom suite,” says Ceravolo.
Ceravolo, whose dental practice is in Palm Beach Gardens, inherited the house after his parents’ deaths in 2021. It’s a repository of fond family memories, he says, so deciding to sell it was bittersweet.
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But he and his fiancée, Anne Fitzpatrick, will soon marry, and the two want to start fresh and choose a home together.
As such, his Bermuda Colonial-style three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath home — with 3,955 square feet of living space, inside and out — is offered for sale at $12.75 million. Broker Linda Olsson of Linda R. Olsson Inc., Realtor, holds the listing.
The midblock house occupies a quarter-acre lot, 10 streets north of the Palm Beach Country Club.
“The house was built in 1952, with the multiple small rooms — bathrooms, closets and kitchen, etc., with an additional bedroom off the carport. (It was) a traditional setup at the time,” explains Ceravolo.
“My thought process was to make the house more of an open environment with a chef’s kitchen and a large master suite with a bedroom-sized walk-in closet. And now, there are two guest bedrooms and an office. I didn’t want to cram four bedrooms and make everything smaller. My goal was to make larger rooms.”
A powder room and the office flank the foyer, with the great room, dining area and kitchen centrally located. The primary bedroom addition is to the west, as are the two-car garage and laundry room. Two guest bedroom suites are on the east side of the house.
The great room, the main bedroom and a guest suite access the pool, patio and gardens.
Design details include vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors and built-in cabinetry.
The updated kitchen is fitted with white cabinets, high-end stainless appliances, quartzite countertops and subway-style tile backsplashes.
“I think people are looking for a larger kitchen where guests can gather when entertaining, and I wanted the kitchen to be comfortable for what I like to do,” he explains.
The renovation also included the installation of a natural-gas tankless water heater and a new hurricane-rated Kolby windows and doors. The house meets floodplain requirements and has wiring to accommodate a generator, he adds.
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While Ceravolo and his fiancée have not ruled out a home or apartment in Midtown, he still loves the North End.
“Growing up as a teenager, the streets on the North End were full of children, and when we all went to college, the number of children in our neighborhood decreased dramatically. But now, I see more families with children coming back.
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“I think the North End, with less traffic and more privacy, is returning to be more of a neighborhood community. Also, Orange Grove (Road) residents have deeded beach access only for them at the end of our street, and we have the Lake Trail entrance at the other end of the street.”
He adds: “Of course, I miss the wonderful family times we had at this house, but it’s exciting to be moving on, and finding a new house for my fiancée and me.”