Architect Tim Hall and an interior designer Joe Gallo swapped their downtown townhome for a beach house – but kept their welcome mat out.
Written by MARY CORNETTA
Photography by ANDREW FRAZIER
For many, the dream of living on the beach is put off until retirement. Joe Gallo and Tim Hall chose to make it a reality now. After living together in Palm Beach, Atlanta, and Cincinnati, the couple made their way to Savannah, buying and renovating a townhome on West Jones Street in the heart of the Historic District. But, just two and a half years later, they heard the ocean calling.
Gallo says they loved the downtown home. “But it got old with tourists posing on our porch, and we didn’t have a yard for the dogs or space for me to plant.” Although he likes to garden as a hobby, by day Gallo is co-owner of Broad Street Interiors, a full-service design firm located on the corner of East Broad Street and East Oglethorpe Lane. “Owning the store and living downtown was a lot,” he says. “I ran into clients everywhere I went!”
Raised on Long Island, New York, and spending his teenage and young adult years in Palm Beach, Gallo always felt a strong connection to the water. So, when he came across a listing for a home on Tybee Island that offered views of the ocean on one side and the marsh on the other, he jumped at the opportunity. “He put in an offer on the house without me seeing it, which seems to be a common theme with us,” Hall quips.
After their offer was accepted, they put their downtown home on the market, and it sold in one day. This led them to temporarily rent on the Isle of Hope until they closed on the Tybee home. By May 2024, they began a year-long renovation to transform the 1999 beach house into a space of their own. Hall, owner of the residential architecture firm Graphite Designs, mentioned that this project was different from any they had done before. “Normally, when we work on a house, it’s typically historic, and we aim to restore it to its former glory. However, when dealing with a house built in the late ’90s, there isn’t much to restore.”
Instead, the challenge was making the most of the available space, as they had prioritized location over square footage. This home is a little less than half the size of their previous one, but the couple had no intention of stopping their reputation as the “party house,” even though they’re no longer in the heart of downtown. “We still have guests every weekend,” says Gallo. Hall adds, “He’s not kidding, sometimes we’re double-booked!”
As hosting is a shared passion, the kitchen layout was modified to create additional storage space, including one full-sized refrigerator and one full-sized freezer. Additionally, the couple made sure to also have an ice maker for parties and for filling beach coolers.
They added a long, sleek island with a waterfall Black Mamba granite countertop that runs parallel to the stove and features a matching backsplash. The material offers both luxury and effortless upkeep. “We had the same countertops in the downtown home, and we really love the way it looks,” says Gallo. “I know everyone loves white, especially at the beach, but the salt air destroys everything, and we wanted easy maintenance.”
Similarly, the couple chose to replace the home’s previous pine flooring with luxury vinyl plank, in a herringbone pattern and with a matte finish. “We’re at the beach, and this is waterproof and protects against sand and the dogs,” says Gallo.
With the exception of off-white upper cabinets, the kitchen has an overall dark, moody aesthetic, featuring a combination of blacks, browns, and grays. Hall says he loves the clean, modern look and the fact that the space is divided into zones. “When we’re having a party, Joey’s back there in the prep and cooking zone, and I’m making drinks over here, and we’re not constantly jostling. Everybody likes to collect in the kitchen at the island, but we can still do our thing.”
The contemporary color palette and design continue throughout the house and are offset by natural elements, many of which are either from or inspired by the couple’s international travels. A bamboo fan pendant light above the dining table, seagrass wallpaper in the office, and wall decor — featuring a school of hammerhead sharks, koi fish, and decorative metal tortoise shells — remind them of their time in exotic destinations like Thailand or the Galapagos Islands. “We wanted to have a beach vibe, but not the mermaids and lighthouses kind,” says Gallo.
Upstairs, they converted the attic space into an office. At the end of the hallway, which overlooks the living room, there is a glass-front cabinet holding Gallo’s collection of antique cameras, some dating back to the early 1900s. “It started when I found a few in a thrift store and then, over time, people gifted me more,” he explains. “We never had anywhere to display them until we moved into this house.”
The primary suite takes up the remainder of the second floor. To the right is the bedroom, adorned with baskets from the couple’s trip to South Africa, and framed, handwoven mudcloth textiles displayed above the headboard. Where there was once an open wall looking into the downstairs space, now stands a storage cabinet and a steam fireplace. A gallery wall of photographs of moths holds a sweet significance for them. “They are the one thing that has come with us in every home,” explains Hall. From their private balcony, the couple enjoys uninterrupted views of the ocean. “At night when we’re up here, we see cargo ships, as it’s part of the shipping channel. We watch dolphin tours, it’s amazing,” says Gallo.
Then, there’s the walk-in closet that, like the office, uses reclaimed attic space. In the back of the closet, a stackable washer and dryer is designated for their clothes and linens. A second washer and dryer downstairs is reserved for guests and beach towels. Track lighting illuminates a customized IKEA system that the couple souped up with new legs and knobs. Their clothing is mixed together, but not everything can be swapped. “Life would be that much more beautiful if we shared a shoe size,” Hall jokes.
The primary bathroom has under-gone a stunning transformation. An awkwardly angled bathtub was removed and replaced with a matte black soaking tub, now centered under the window. A private water closet has taken the place of the former shower, while the vanity was relocated. What was once a stark white bathroom is now a dramatic, elegant space adorned with gold accents, including floor-to-ceiling textured palm leaf wallpaper that was installed by the homeowners themselves. “This was my very first time putting up wallpaper, and I’m super proud of it,” says Hall. Gallo quickly adds: “I taught him how to do it.”
On the first floor, a den doubles as a secondary guest room, thanks to a pull-out sofa. A geometric-patterned accent wall is paired with one of their favorite Sherwin-Williams paint colors, Manor House. The true centerpiece, however, is a striking original Salvador Dalí painting given to Gallo as a form of payment for a design project he did for a client.
The nearby guest bath also carries personal history. Its wallpaper reminded Gallo of the couple’s trip to India, so they enhanced it with framed photographs from that journey. A white onyx light fixture provides a soft glow, while ceramic tile made to look like wood paneling lines the shower. “We didn’t want a full shower door, so we found a gold-trimmed panel online.”
Next to the bath is the formal guest room, filled with more unique and sentimental decor, including a jade Chinese urn gifted to Gallo by his late aunt.
While Gallo says his favorite part of the house is the balcony off the primary bedroom, Hall is partial to the screened-in porch. With its haint blue ceiling, mango wood coffee table, grill, and covered TV, the space creates an inviting hangout. He loves the way the glass doors open completely, blurring the line between inside and out. If the couple isn’t dining at the kitchen island, they’re enjoying their meal outside with a view. “This is our living room, especially in the fall,” says Gallo.
Both he and Hall used their individual expertise to refresh the exterior. They added board-and-batten siding, new fencing, fresh paint, a set of pineapple finials to the roof deck, and Scottish cross railings for a subtle coastal feel. A trellis was installed to highlight the once-overlooked entrance. “It was hard to see where it was originally, and we really wanted to celebrate the front door,” says Hall.
Despite the elevated finishes and thoughtful design, practicality remains at the heart of the home. “Everything had to be functional since we’re at the beach, and we entertain a lot,” says Gallo. Or, as Hall concludes, “It is 100% designed to be lived in.”
Details
- Neighborhood: Tybee Island’s North Beach
- Year Built: 1999
- Square footage: 1,700
- Number of bedrooms: 3
- Number of bathrooms: 2
- Time to complete renovation: 1 year
- Architect: Tim Hall (homeowner)
- Interior designer: Joe Gallo (homeowner) and Pat Portera, Broad Street Interiors
- Contractor: Broad Street Interiors
- Flooring: Bradley Morris Flooring
- Paint: Luks Painting
- Wallpaper: Foyer custom mural by Thibaut; media room, guest bedroom/bathroom by York Wallpapers; primary bathroom by Wallquest
- Interior glass doors: Eightdoors
- Glass folding wall: NanaWall
- Kitchen design: Broad Street Interiors
- Kitchen appliances: Fisher and Paykel
- Kitchen custom cabinetry: Kitchen Tune-Up
- Kitchen stone: Vitoria International
- Primary bath design: Broad Street Interiors
- Primary bath contractor: Rich’s Quality Services
- Landscape design: Homeowners
- Electrician: Power Solutions
- Furniture: Exclusively furnished by Broad Street Interiors
- Furniture brands: Four Hands, Century, Polywood
- Lighting: Hudson Valley Lighting
- Ceiling fans: Modern Forms
