Sophisticated lady

Perhaps no other couple has left such a stylish stamp on Sarasota as Ed and Alyce Kalin. Their furniture store Kane’s (later renamed Kalin’s) was largely responsible for what became known as the Sarasota look — bold, yet refined, opulent, tasteful, and very high end. A stroll through the showroom on the South Trail was one of the town’s guilty pleasures — so much to look at, to be inspired by, to drool over.

You get much the same feeling when you’re in the penthouse the Kalins designed and furnished back in 1998. It’s a grand space, one of two penthouses in Sarabande, a prestigious downtown building. The ceilings are 12 feet high, the floors are gray granite bordered in black, and enormous windows frame what may well be the best view in town. But what makes it unique is that it reflects the same sophistication the Kalins brought to their store.

The furniture is classic and traditional. Rooms flow into each other seamlessly, like the famous “vignettes” at the Kane’s showroom. There is nothing extreme to jar the eye, though a spectacular Asian breakfront, full of Chinese pottery and figurines, is there to provide the Kane’s trademark — a bold statement piece for the wow factor. 

Colors are soothing. The sofas are off-white, and though they are facing each other, they don’t quite match. Small end tables dot the room, perfectly balancing the mass of the sofas. A painting by Jon Corbino sits on an easel, while large abstracts by Syd Solomon (there must be eight Solomons—the quintessential Sarasota artist—spread throughout the apartment) add a nontraditional element that only reinforces the level of quality of everything at which you’re looking.

If Kane’s showroom was Alyce Kalin’s studio, the apartment is her masterpiece.

Probably no other local business has been so in sync with Sarasota’s growth as Kane’s. When the store opened in 1950, the town was small, off the beaten path and much more low-key and beachy than it is now. The Kalins steered the taste of the newcomers to something more glamorous. Rattan furniture was replaced by period-inspired designs of excellent quality. And the advent of air conditioning made a more formal look practical. All these new possibilities were presented not just at the store, but at the countless model homes that Kane’s decorated over the years.

The Kalins lived in Lido Shores before they began to think about moving to the mainland. One Sunday afternoon, they happened to stop at a trailer on the site where a new building called Sarabande was going up.

“We looked at the floor plan,” Ed Kalin recalls, “and we knew it was for us.”

What they were buying was the south penthouse. It was large (4,600 square feet) but manageable, with four bedrooms, a formal dining room and three terraces. But perhaps the biggest attraction was the fact they could design the yet-to-be-built interiors to their liking.

Ed is the first to give Alyce credit for their home’s look. “She’s the one who made it so beautiful,” he says. When she died in 2006, she was widely acknowledged as one of the most elegant women in town. Her clothes were famous; she was at the top of every best-dressed list. And she knew her fashion. She ran the Gilded Lily boutique, and the show she put on with Dutch fashioner design Edgar Vos was written up in Women’s Wear Daily. 

“Alyce spared no expense,” Ed says. “She shopped all over to get it just right. And she also got what she wanted most of all — a great big closet.”

The closet is still there. It’s the size of a room, meticulously organized, and though it’s mostly empty, you can still see Alyce’s labels (“Armani,” “Missoni”) attached to the shelves.

Ed Kalin recently turned 95. The apartment has become too big for him. “I love it here, but I get a little lonesome.” 

He won’t be lonesome long. He’s busy moving into the Sarasota Bay Club and is delighted with his new life, planning the many activities in which he’ll get involved. He still goes to work most days — he commutes via Uber to his office downtown — where he continues with his real estate wheelings and dealings.

The apartment is now for sale. It may well be the only 20-year-old apartment in town that needs no updating. The look is timeless and it has been meticulously maintained. It’s a part of the town’s social history — but most of all a tribute to a remarkable woman whose passion for design helped make Sarasota one of the most elegant places in Florida.

Unit 161 at 340 S. Palm Ave. is priced at $4.2 million. For more information, call Michael Moulton, of Michael Saunders & Co., at 928-3559.