{"id":9298,"date":"2026-04-28T10:01:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.luxuryhomemagazine.com\/thepalmbeaches\/blog\/?p=9298"},"modified":"2026-04-28T10:01:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:01:59","slug":"the-great-artemis-one-couples-quest-to-preserve-a-john-volk-masterpiece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.luxuryhomemagazine.com\/thepalmbeaches\/blog\/2026\/04\/28\/the-great-artemis-one-couples-quest-to-preserve-a-john-volk-masterpiece\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great Artemis: One Couple\u2019s Quest to Preserve a John Volk Masterpiece"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”9305″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” qode_css_animation=”” css=”.vc_custom_1775235973186{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1775235987840{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]Written by Lawrence Ulrich | Photos by Nickolas Sargent<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30″][vc_column_text]As luxury developers continue to replace older estates with new construction in Palm Beach\u2019s competitive real estate market, a growing number of homeowners are choosing historic preservation over demolition. Among them are Diana and E. Llwyd Ecclestone, who earned the prestigious Robert I. Ballinger Award for their meticulous three-year restoration of a 1929 Italianate oceanfront home at 190 S. Ocean Blvd. In a market increasingly dominated by turnkey luxury mansions, preserving architecturally significant Palm Beach homes has become both rare and meaningful.<\/p>\n

Recognized by the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach, the project highlights the enduring value of historic estates designed by renowned architects like John Volk. \u201cThere needs to be a reverence for our great architects of the past and their work,\u201d says Danielle Del Sol, President and CEO of the organization. As demand for Palm Beach luxury real estate continues to grow, maintaining the island\u2019s architectural heritage remains essential to preserving its character, charm, and long-standing appeal.
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And now, Luxury Home Magazine<\/em> takes its readers on an exclusive look at the roughly 21,000-square-foot house. We also spoke with Scott Snyder, who masterfully oversaw the estate\u2019s epic makeover.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou find fewer people today who have the time, love and interest to renovate these properties,\u201d says Snyder, one of Palm Beach\u2019s most sought-after designers. \u201cBut the house has made it through nearly 100 years, and now it will live for another 100 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30″][vc_single_image image=”9307″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” qode_css_animation=””][vc_empty_space height=”30″][vc_column_text]The Ecclestone\u2019s home was originally designed by John L. Volk, the Austrian-born architect whose hundreds of area projects include the Royal Poinciana Plaza and its Playhouse, a long-dormant landmark now redeveloped as Glazer Hall. It was built for Vincent Bendix, the automotive and aviation pioneer whose inventions include the electric car starter. A 1932 story in The New York Times reports Bendix selling the home for $275,000 \u2014 a lot of money in a post-Black Friday economy \u2014 to Mrs. Edward F. Albee, the widow of a vaudeville theater tycoon and maternal grandmother of future playwright Edward Albee.<\/p>\n

By the time the Ecclestones bought the six-bedroom house in 1996, Snyder says, it had fallen into rough shape: Battered by oceanside elements, and as dark and somber inside as a Mediterranean monastery.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very straightforward with clients, and Diana is a more-contemporary person, so I said to her, \u2018It looks like your great-grandmother would live here,\u201d Snyder says.<\/p>\n

The couple named the house Villa Artemis, a nod to the Greek analog of Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt. And so began an epic odyssey to preserve the home\u2019s historic past, while bringing into a lighter, more-livable 21st century.
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We believe very strongly in protecting and preserving Palm Beach,\u201d Diana Ecclestone says. \u201cAnd one of the things we truly love about this house, is that it really is the \u201cold\u201d Palm Beach. <\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=”30″][vc_column_text]Enlisting architect Jeffery Smith of Smith Architectural Group, the couple settled on six small additions, including an enlarged second-floor master suite. A handsome loggia that backs a courtyard and vintage fountain was redesigned for today\u2019s year-round Florida living. With the push of a button, glass sheets ascend from below ground to fill a trio of loggia arches, for a choice between open air or air-conditioned comfort.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to dig out below the courtyard, which was quite an engineering feat on Jeff Smith\u2019s part,\u201d Ecclestone says. [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30″][vc_single_image image=”9302″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” qode_css_animation=”” css=”.vc_custom_1775236212102{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”][vc_empty_space height=”30″][vc_single_image image=”9303″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” qode_css_animation=””][vc_empty_space height=”30″][vc_separator type=”normal” color=”#bababa”][vc_single_image image=”9424″ img_size=”728×90″ alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” qode_css_animation=”” link=”https:\/\/www.lawrenceleyderman.com\/”][vc_separator type=”normal” color=”#bababa”][vc_empty_space height=”30″][vc_column_text]A formerly awkward open walkway between upper-floor wings was enclosed, carving out space for an exercise room and sitting room. A refreshing new swimming pool and guest house are accessed via an underground passage below the street, amid gardens by landscape architect Morgan Wheelock. Ecclestone says it was the first such private seaside tunnel in Palm Beach; this in a time when \u201cwicker wheelchairs\u201d \u2014 propelled from behind, typically by hotel employees \u2014 were a popular means for winter tourists to traverse the shoreline.<\/p>\n

Mica-flecked French plaster or pearlized capiz shells gleam on walls, reflecting newly abundant natural light. Plumbing, electrical systems and lighting needed replacing. Original fireplaces were renovated. [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30″][vc_single_image image=”9300″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” qode_css_animation=””][vc_empty_space height=”30″][vc_separator type=”normal” color=”#bababa”][vc_single_image image=”8783″ img_size=”728×90″ alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” qode_css_animation=”” link=”https:\/\/justtilenmarble.com\/”][vc_separator type=”normal” color=”#bababa”][vc_empty_space height=”30″][vc_column_text]Snyder, who began a half-century design career as a Pennsylvania entrepreneur, venturing to New York on buying trips, now traveled to Europe to curate antiquities, upholstery and furnishings. For one room, Snyder commissioned an antique-reproduction desk and armoire, inlaid with mother of pearl, from a talented furniture maker in Syria. A Sotheby\u2019s auction in Monaco yielded a striking pair of red Chinese pagoda beds, once owned by the late banker Edmund Safra and his socialite wife, Lily Safra.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome things need to be quiet, but some things need to have a little spice,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

A historic renovation at this scale would test the patience, and budget, of the most committed homeowners, and that of their architects, decorators and unsung-hero contractors. But after three years of exile \u2014 we\u2019re not talking a remodeled kitchen here \u2014 the Ecclestones finally saw their property returned to its former glory. Only better.<\/p>\n

Snyder had set up a welcome luncheon in the loggia. The designer was naturally anxious, but the multi-hour tour that followed assured him the team had triumphed.<\/p>\n

\u201cScott brought us into the house, and I literally burst into tears,\u201d Ecclestone says. \u201cEvery room, every corner we turned was so amazing, so beautiful. And Scott just hit every note perfectly.\u201d
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Visit Luxury Home Magazine of The Palm Beaches<\/a> to discover more design ideas.<\/p>\n

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