Dream Homes

Tour a Quail West home fit for a crowd, a freshly updated Port Royal gem and a modern kitchen with bright ideas.

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Gold Standard

Set on more than three quarters of an acre, one of the largest lots available in Quail West Golf and Country Club, 4431 Wayside Drive was custom-built in 2016 to the exact specifications of its original owners. The four-bedroom, five-bathroom property is tailor-made for hosting friends and family, with plenty of space devoted to elevated entertaining, as well as quality sound enhancements hardwired throughout. “The seller is an audiophile,” Tom Grifferty, the co-listing agent with Quail West Realty under John R. Wood Properties, says. “Even the lanai is outfitted with speakers in the ceiling and garden.”

Inside, an open-concept layout is as appropriate for small gatherings as big bashes. The main living space features a bar, kitchen and two seating areas that make for easy mingling. Guests also like to sit and sip by the floor-to-ceiling, double-sided gas fireplace wrapped in alternating wood.

Speaking of sips, the bar, located to the right of the foyer, features a waterfall-edge Brazilian stone counter and a cabinet with glass fronts and additional drawers beneath, which conceal a refrigerator and icemaker. For oenophiles, the temperature-controlled wine room holds around 800 bottles.

A well-appointed kitchen is equipped with Wolf appliances, abundant counter space and double islands. Because the kitchen is accessible to all the other spaces, chefs are always part of the social setting.

The property backs up to the 18th fairway of the course, which spans several acres of preserve. Grifferty notes that the location combined with the home’s west-facing placement makes for fabulous views of sunsets from the lanai and inside. When privacy becomes paramount, programmable screens electronically drop over the windows.

Nature lovers will especially enjoy the luxurious wet room shower in the primary bath, which overlooks a private, enclosed courtyard. “It faces east, so in the morning, it gets all the sun,” Grifferty explains. “You feel like you’re showering outside.” Paradise found. The property was listed at $4.3 million as of July.

Renovation Spotlight

When Chicago-based Oakley Home Builders scooped up 1019 Spyglass Lane as a spec home, the team envisioned transforming the circa 1988 property into something more fitting for its Port Royal neighborhood. Luckily, the home’s exterior came with plenty of potential. “It had a kind of quaint, charming curb appeal,” Brandt Henning, of HLevel Architecture, says. “I loved the pea gravel auto court and the formal garden feel. The idea was to build on that but also enhance and modernize it.” He drew up plans to increase the sight lines to the water and modernize the interiors.

The renovation began from the outside in. The team chose to frame a new set of glass front doors with a crisp white pergola and removed dated shutters that crowded the facade. Inside, Henning wanted to brighten and open up the interiors as much as possible, which aligned with Oakley co-owner Steve Sobkowiak’s plan to update the home for today’s lifestyle. “Walking in was like walking back in time,” Henning recalls. “There was a lot of wallpaper with matching bedspreads. It was very dated and very floral.”

Sobkowiak removed several walls, which opened the kitchen to the living area, dining room and a sitting area in the back of the home. He raised the ceiling trusses and incorporated larger sliding doors to increase the room’s volume. To play off the sunlight streaming into the widened space, he lined the ceiling with white oak panels and translucent pendants that add a sense of calm without clutter. Below the pendants, a Mont Blanc quartzite island with custom white cabinetry and an ornamental hood from Oney Sheet Metal add an upscale coastal touch.

Glass front doors brighten the entryway. (Courtesy Oakley Home Builders)

A refreshed patio and pool give this Port Royal home true indoor-outdoor livability. (Courtesy Oakley Home Builders)

Prior to the renovation, the home office was dark and cavernous. Wall-to-wall green carpet mixed with floor-to-ceiling dark wood shelving and a dated fireplace in the center. Once the carpet and shelves were removed, the team opened the fireplace on both sides, so it could be better enjoyed from multiple spots. Henning also created pocket doors on either side of the fireplace for a two-point entry, and eliminated skylights that hinted at potential water intrusion. Even with the skylights removed, the office is airy thanks to light gray walls, oak floors and the crisp white painted brick on the fireplace.

Although generous in size, the patio needed extra attention. A covered standalone structure sat in the middle and obstructed views to the water. To maximize the space, Sobkowiak removed the structure and extended the roofline out, adding a firepit, television and retractable shutters that offer privacy and protection from harsh weather. “The covered area was a big shift, and one that extends the livability of the outdoor space,” Sarah Bogaczyk, Oakley Home Builders’ sales and marketing manager, says.

The team also resurfaced the pool and added a separate outdoor kitchen, which is accessible from the sitting room just inside. Now, the new owners can easily transition from indoors to out. “We added a fun little chess feature as well, for a touch of whimsy,” Bogaczyk says of the life-size game near the water line. “It’s really all about making the backyard dazzle.”

Must Have... A Standout Kitchen

To deliver a striking dose of color in this Captiva Island home, designers Denise Ward and Michelle Perry, of Denise Ward Interior Design, blended a walnut-and-quartzite island; custom cabinetry in charcoal, ceruse-finished wood; and a backsplash with faceted glass squares in varying shades of steel blue that give a nod to the waters of the Gulf.

As for that burst of color the homeowner had on her list of must-haves? Ward and Perry delivered on that with four bar stools clad in a hot-pink velvet for the ultimate flash of fun.