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Featured in Home & Design Magazine

HOME & DESIGN MAGAZINE: REIMAGINED RETREAT


Architect Stofft Cooney Architects 633 Ninth Street North, Suite 300 Naples, FL 34102 239.262.7677 stofftcooney.com

Luxury Home Builder Knauf-Koenig Group 5640 Taylor Road, Suite 3 Naples, FL 34109 239.592.9900 kkgbuild.com

Interior Designers Calusa Bay Design 5121 Castello Drive, Suite 2 Naples, FL 34103 239.325.2800 calusabaynaples.com

Written by Kitt Walsh Photography by Amber Frederiksen

John Cooney, partner at Stofft Cooney Architects, is very selective when it comes to working on renovation projects. “We do additions and alterations as they are arguably the future of our industry, but I prefer to work on renovations of homes that either we’ve previously designed or are specific requests from our preferred clients,” explains Cooney.


But in the case of this Pelican Bay home, with 3,500 square feet under air, now boasting five bedrooms and four-and-a-half baths, Cooney not only got to work with one of those preferred clients, but was also happy to undertake this project because he was inspired by the opportunity to introduce an up-and-coming style into the community’s market.


“Calusa Bay Development is a long-term client of mine and the house had very good bones,” says Cooney, who reimagined what was originally a typical 1980s Pelican Bay build into a stunning Old Florida beach cottage.

“Many people who toured our Pelican Bay listings were asking us for a ‘new style’ option,” explains Taber Tagliasacchi, Broker, Calusa Bay Properties. “It’s the first beach cottage we’ve done in this community, and it certainly won’t be the last of its kind.”


ABOVE: This Pelican Bay home, with 3,500 square feet under air, now boasting five bedrooms and four-and-a-half baths, was reimagined as a stunning Old Florida cottage. Painted with Sherwin-William’s Front Porch, the Hubbardton Forge bubble glass globe sconces, metal roof, and lush native landscaping all add to the classic beach cottage charm.


BELOW: Overlooking the front garden, the study offers a sunny respite. The Vanguard sofa, clad in gray textured linen, and the contrasting swivel chair with its abstract dots fabric, provides seating. A Bungalow 5 white lacquer end table offers storage, a Currey & Company lamp adds dimension, and a pair of sweater wool poufs invite visitors to put their feet up. The playful geometric area rug is by Dash & Albert.

Every interior and exterior finish was redone, new doors, windows, and a new metal roof installed, and the entire backyard and pool redesigned.


“When we do a remodel, we want it to look like a new home. If we design an addition, it should look like it’s always been there,” explains Cooney. “I’m very glad we took on this renovation as we made significant changes that resulted in a huge impact. I think the home turned out very well.”


BELOW: A three-tiered chandelier of blue coco beads and natural fibers by Made Goods sets a marine tone in the home’s charming foyer. Silver-blue grasscloth wallcovering by Phillip Jeffries tops the white beadboard moulding. Legno Bastone Wide Plank Flooring in Giuseppina finish from the LaFamiglia Collection sourced and installed by Naples Flooring Company, is beneath a locally-sourced driftwood table and a 100% wool rug Batik Moroccan by Loloi in shades of blue. The custom Davanti doors are stained a restful gray.

The home gave Matt Knauf, owner of Knauf-Koenig Group, and the team with whom he’s worked on a dozen projects, a chance to do their first renovation together in the venerable Pelican Bay neighborhood.


“After so many years, we have working together down to a science, but this is the first time we’ve been able to take the house down to the studs and build it anew on the existing footprint in Pelican Bay,” says Knauf. “By raising the trusses and ceilings and installing a brand new pool utilizing the latest technology, we were able to create a fantastic beach cottage.”


BELOW: A Theodore Alexander sectional clad in a linen-cotton blend reminiscent of the beach, boasts a high streamlined arm for a modern twist in the comfortable great room. The coffee table has a parquet driftwood top on a brushed silver base and complements the small driftwood end table with black metal campstool legs. Nesting side tables in a burlwood finish are by Vanguard, as is the chambray linen- upholstered chair with its waterfall skirt. Ceramic lamps of cerulean blue feature a pebbled texture.

Knauf himself, who doesn’t just rely on project managers to ensure each detail is done correctly, oversaw every aspect of the extensive renovation.


“I’m out in the field every day,” says Knauf, “and I’m told that is the biggest draw to attract clients to our company.”


Such oversight is part of the other team members’ approach as well. Randi Scott, managing director and Liz Brown, lead interior designer of Calusa Bay Design, worked hand-in-glove with each other and equally tightly as part of the entire creative team.


BELOW: Dual black metal pendants by Visual Comfort shine down on the snowy White Beauty quartzite countertop of this ingenious kitchen. The gray washed island offers not only prep space, but also seating for guests at woven-back stools from Orient Express. A stunning gray-blue herringbone backsplash of glass tiles from Lunada Bay adds sheen below the professional hood and above the Wolf range from Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery. In the space just beyond, Calusa Bay Design custom cabinetry hosts the Sub-Zero wall ovens from Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery, and creates a butler’s pantry with full bar and handy shelves backed by shiplap.

“We handled everything from paint colors and flooring to furniture and accessories, reimagining a home from beginning to end,” says Scott. “As a boutique design firm, we often work with private clients. But when we work on spec homes, as we did here for Calusa Bay Development, we are thrilled to be part of this great team.”


BELOW: A linear chandelier by Currey & Company offsets the tongue-and-groove ceiling, angled on only one side, in this charming dining room. Light, warmed by the chandelier’s gold interior, shines down on a custom table with seating for six. Captain chairs by Century, upholstered in natural linen with waterfall skirts, stand at either end of the table and side chairs by Vanguard are cunningly upholstered in a leopard print in shades of blue.

“We collaborated with the architect and builder and made this home into a modern, open concept plan. The house gave us lots of options to stretch our talents and shine,” says Brown. “We are very pleased with the updated, yet classic, beach cottage we created and so was the developer.”


BELOW: Creating a show-stopping shower wall is an elongated mosaic of aqua and gray Lunada Bay glass tiles with Kohler fixtures from Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery in this stunning master bath. Calusa Bay Design custom cabinetry in a paint-and-glazed gray finish hosts twin undermount sinks set in a countertop of Mystery White marble. The natural shell stone floor is both soft and durable and adds to the spa-like ambiance.

This home is offered for sale by Taber Tagliasacchi, Calusa Bay Properties.


BELOW: This elegant master bedroom is lit by a locally sourced bronze Moroccan chandelier. A Hooker Furniture bed in a driftwood finish has an upholstered headboard detailed with reeded wood for a shadow effect. Nightstands are of black lacquered faux Belgian linen by Made Goods and the porcelain hexagonal lamps are from Visual Comfort. The tone-on-tone 100% wool area rug is by Loloi. Twin Four Hands button tufted chairs flank a mint Emissary ceramic garden stool.


RESOURCES:

Andersen Windows 100 4th Avenue Bayport, MN 55003 800.426.4261 andersenwindows.com

Calusa Bay Properties 9128 Strada Place #10115 Naples, FL 34108 239.287.0777 calusabayproperties.com

Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery 38 Goodlette-Frank Road South Naples, FL 34102 239.963.0087 fergusonshowrooms.com

Legno Bastone Wide Plank Flooring 2684 Horseshoe Drive South Naples, FL 34104 239.206.1898 legnobastone.com

Luxe Lighting Group 4755 Mercantile Avenue, #1 Naples, FL 34104 239.238.4548 luxelightinggroup.com

Naples Flooring Company 900 5th Avenue South Naples, FL 34102 239.263.1213 naplesflooring.com

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