Many Florida homes have shutters for protection. One Bay Hill home uses them as a design statement, with the black, wood-grained panels altering the look of the house and the pattern of sunlight inside.
The home, which also features a nearly 100-foot-long marble swimming pool and many windows, won first place in this year’s annual Parade of Homes Orlando contest in the “custom home” category.
The 3,987-square-foot house is now on the market for nearly $4 million, according to GrowthSpotter.
“Depending on the time the day and how the sun’s rays hit the house, if you have some of the shutters closed, it creates a little light design of the sun’s rays coming through. It changes the atmosphere and the mood of the whole entire home,” said listing agent Mark Anthony with ROI Ave.
“People are calling it the 50 Shades of Grey House Orlando, and it has nothing to do with a movie, by the way,” Anthony explained with a laugh. Instead, it is about those shutters that can seem to “gray out” the house and the light from the windows.
“You have tons of windows, and it’s very light. You can see from the front to the back, and it’s amazing, especially when all lit up at night and you’re driving by or walking through the home, it comes out super, super cool,” he said.
But the house does have something in common with the movie: sex appeal.
“The idea with the house is pretty much how do you bring a concept of sexy into architecture and bring it into a home’s structure?” Anthony said.
The home’s designers did it by including soft textures and many curves, in everything from countertops to mirrors, all while maintaining a bit of edginess.
The home’s exterior is covered in aluminum slatted panels meant to look like wood. The gray slatted shutters repeat the finish on the garage door. (Photo by Development Media Solutions)
Wall-to-wall sliding glass doors allow the living space to flood with natural light. (Photo by Development Media Solutions)
Closing the shutters changes the lighting and mood of the home. (Photo by Development Media Solutions)
The counters and mirror in the primary bathroom are curved to mimic the shape of a woman’s body. (Photo by Development Media Solutions)
The backyard is highlighted by a 100-foot-long all marble swimming pool. (Photo by Development Media Solutions)
Show Caption
1 of 5
The home’s exterior is covered in aluminum slatted panels meant to look like wood. The gray slatted shutters repeat the finish on the garage door. (Photo by Development Media Solutions)
The home is listed for $3,999,995, down $200,000 from where it was listed about six months ago.
“It reflects the market. The developer said, ‘Hey, let’s reduce the price a little bit to gain a little bit of traction on the home,’” Anthony explained.
But it’s still $1,003 per square foot.
“They understand it’s a unique house and the price per square foot is a bit higher compared to other homes out there. The way they build their homes is a little bit different than most, but they wanted to be a tad bit more competitive.”
Everything is high quality, and the house sits on a large .42-acre lot, Anthony said, and though it isn’t on the water or the golf course it is still in a very desirable location.
“Bay Hill in Dr. Phillips, I call it like where you have old money and new money all blended together. Bay Hill is where they do the PGA golf tournament. It’s a very luxurious and prestigious neighborhood.”
ROI Ave. built the four-bedroom, four-bath house on spec and then entered it in the Parade of Homes. Anthony has been on the marketing and sales side of things since the beginning.
“The idea really was to kind of bring something different to Orlando,” he told GrowthSpotter.
The design is one-of-a-kind, he added, and the buyer has to promise they will not try to replicate the house.
Anthony’s favorite spot inside the house is the master bedroom suite. “It overlooks the pool area. It has that Zen feeling, and who doesn’t like to have huge closets,” he said.
That pool it looks out on spans the length of the house is made from marble imported from Brazil.
The whole house looks like a piece of art, one that should appeal to a buyer “in tune with art, design and fashion,” he said.
The ideal buyers, Anthony added, are people who “want something that is one-of-a-kind, that is not cookie-cutter and kind of reflects their lifestyle and their status of life and something that no one really has out there.”
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at Newsroom@GrowthSpotter.com or (407) 420-6261. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Originally Published: September 13, 2025 at 7:00 AM EDT