Dream Homes

Tour a metropolitan-inspired manse on the beach, a modernized Miromar Lakes estate and a shower with a view.

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Gold Standard

Reportedly poised to become the highest-priced property ever sold on Vanderbilt Beach in Naples, this home is fit for, well, a Vanderbilt. The sprawling, 7,500-square-foot, four-story custom build at 260 Channel Drive sits just 1,000 feet from the beach and is designed to feel like a high-gloss Manhattan penthouse with over-the-top features at every turn, along with sweeping views of the skyline and bay. “The original owners planned for this to be their forever property, so they put in finishes and details you wouldn’t normally see in this area,” John Egan, one of the listing agents with William Raveis Real Estate, says.

Just about every element in the home, designed by Bonita Springs’ R.G. Designs and built by Zynda Custom Homes, tells a story, including the 12-foot-tall stainless steel front door—a replica of the steel doors found at Tiffany & Co. at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, which the wife loves. The door opens to an entryway with white Thassos marble floors and stainless steel and glass details on the staircase and ceiling. The cool tones prevalent in the main living spaces are complemented by a Macassar ebony wood panel behind the TV and matching wood-accented cabinetry in the kitchen, which is also outfitted with Miele and Gaggenau appliances and a two-tiered lighting fixture from Wired Custom Lighting above the breakfast area. Just beyond, Solar Innovations folding glass doors lead out to the wraparound terraces.

The elevator—which has Swarovski crystal lighting—deposits you in the posh primary suite, which encompasses the entire fourth floor and includes two walk-in closets, a glass wall and doors, and a private balcony. The home has four additional bedrooms and a home theater that’s outfitted with more Swarovski crystal lighting, a 3D anamorphic projector with a 120-inch screen and Bang & Olufsen speakers. The five bathrooms are tiled in Bisazza mosaics, with various geometric patterns. Outside, wow-factors include a three-car garage with frosted glass doors, a covered boat dock with a lift, and a 13-by-46-foot infinity pool.

Whether it’s a Vanderbilt or just someone who aspires to live like one, the new owner of this property will be “someone that truly understands and appreciates all the fine details this home has to offer,” Egan says. The estate was listed for $13.9 million as of December.

Renovation Spotlight

A stellar view of Miromar’s Lake Como sealed the deal for the buyers of this five-bedroom, six-and-a-half-bathroom, 7,400-square-foot home at Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club. They were also smitten with the Mediterranean-style exterior—built by Gulfshore Homes in 2007—but less excited about the overly dark and heavy interiors. “The couple wanted to update everything to a much brighter and more contemporary feel,” vice president of Gulfshore Homes’ Matt Shull says. He oversaw the 11-month renovation in collaboration with Unique Hite Designs and Bonita Springs-based Freestyle Interiors & Design.

The flip started with the primary bathroom, where the

Exterior alterations were minimal. “We took some of the heavy stone off, lightened up what was a bulky entryway and changed the front door,” Shull notes. Inside, it took serious work to say goodbye to the dated Tuscan aesthetic, starting with the primary bathroom. The team paired large-format 2-by-2-foot white Nextone porcelain tile with Cabico high-gloss cabinetry and Dekton countertops to achieve the gleaming new look. The oversized 2.5-by-5-foot walk-in steam shower is finished with StonePeak Plane polished porcelain tile. A freestanding Oceania bathtub sits in the center of the room, awash in natural light thanks to two new picture windows just below the ceiling.

Other standout spaces include the double-height great room, which features a floor-to-ceiling fireplace previously faced in ornate stone and now clad in natural walnut and Dekton stone. The formal dining room was transformed into a wine room with Jerusalem stone floors and black polished accents, along with a mirrored ceiling and 300-bottle, glass-enclosed wine wall.

The black-and-white color scheme provides a solid backdrop for glittering details, like this raindrop chandelier in the primary bath. (Courtesy Spacecrafting Photography)

The existing kitchen “had a great line of cabinetry,” Shull says, so the homeowners opted to refinish them and add Cristillo quartzite countertops. The more extensive changes to the space were about configuration. The team squared off an angled wall to maximize the lake views and added a large pane of glass. The outdoor kitchen also got a facelift, with new cabinetry and tile. Shull says the owners wanted a place where they could walk in and instantly get that resort feel—a mission they more than accomplished with a palm tree-lined pool that seems to extend into the lake beyond.

Must Have A... Shower with a View

In this eighth-floor, four-bedroom, four-bathroom beachfront condo at Seapoint at Naples Cay, the homeowners wanted to capitalize on their prime location—theirs is the northernmost building in the neighborhood with unobstructed views of the ocean and Clam Bay. “They wanted to transform this bathroom into a space that was both functional and truly jaw-dropping,” Kelley McAndrew, an associate designer with W Design Interiors, says. “Now, you feel like you are showering on the beach.”

As part of the primary bath overhaul, the team swapped a garden tub with a deck for a 72-square-foot, zero-entry shower, modifying the condo’s exterior to maximize the shower size and obtain floor-to-ceiling views of the water. McAndrew says removing the tub and adding this windowed shower was a gamechanger. Now, the bath area is as pretty as its views, with its iron-framed enclosure, Michelangelo Zebrino porcelain by StonePeak on the walls, a matching tiled mosaic on the floors, and his-and-her Kallista showerheads. At night, the shower glows with a wall-to-wall niche with LED lights and, of course, the moonlight reflecting off the Gulf.