Le Grand Merci Beach House, Cape San Blas, Florida

We discovered Cape San Blas during a very stressful time in our lives and quickly fell in love with this area that is so different from everything we have seen elsewhere in Florida. Because the residents of Gulf County voted to prohibit the building of high-rise buildings, Cape San Blas and the St. Joseph Peninsula promise to retain the low-key, restful, down-to-earth, and family-friendly atmosphere that attracted us in the first place.

We were drawn to Le Grand Merci because of its unique combination of privacy and accessibility to both beach and bay and also because we saw the potential to turn its rustic charm into a true, French coastal cottage inspired by the many years we lived in France as missionaries. Le Grand Merci literally means, "A big thank-you." We chose this name as an expression of our gratitude to God for entrusting this property to our care. One of our greatest joys is being able to make Le Grand Merci available to some very special people working sacrificially for missionary and other non-profit organizations in remote and urban areas around the world who could never afford a vacation in this beautiful place. The proceeds from your rental help make that possible. Thank you!!!

Le Grand Merci is unique among properties on the northern part of the peninsula because it is surrounded by original, Florida short pine trees whose branches grow close enough to the ground to provide a sense of privacy unknown to most all of the other homes nearby. Once the renovations were finished, we were amazed by how its many windows flood the interior with natural light. Looking out from inside, the beautiful trees give the impression of total privacy in a secluded forest campsite while being so close to the beach that the sound of the surf can clearly be heard from our outdoor deck. In fact, our own family spent a month here before any window treatments were installed without any sense of being visible to passersby!

When we began searching for a property to purchase here on the Cape, the national HGTV network got involved in our project in a very unexpected way and featured our renovation in an hour-long episode of their Beachfront Bargain Hunt Renovation program entitled, "Cape San Blas Bliss." They were great to work with and it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our family. If you would like to view the HGTV episode of Beachfront Bargain Hunt Renovation entitled "Cape San Blas Bliss" that chronicles the story of Le Grand Merci, you can find in streaming video online via iTunes, Amazon Prime, Youtube, or HGTV.

One last thing- no matter how many times we walk through our neighborhood to the beach, we never grow tired of seeing the dolphins or of watching the sunsets!