Ceramicist Leslie Kern has no interest in keeping up with the Joneses. In fact, if the Joneses or anyone else on the block have something special, that’s reason enough for her to avoid it. “I don’t want to fit in and look like everyone else,” she says. “As an artist, I feel everything you choose makes a big statement. You can blend in, or you can say, ‘I’m my own person, and I have my own vision.’ I know what I like, and creating a space I want to live in is important.”
That’s why Leslie focused on making the Estero home she shares with her husband, Andy, so special. Surprises abound around every corner, whether it’s a colorful portrait of John Lennon or a one-of-a-kind powder room sink made by Leslie’s own hand. Contemporary chandeliers add sparkle and walls are rich with texture from a variety of eye-catching tiles. While the home is highly personal now, crafting the space around her distinct design sensibilities required a team effort.
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Photography by Venjhamin Reyes
estero meyer artist home seating area
The design departed from the Stone Import Solutions Candango Grigio tiles, which were artfully installed around the fireplace (previous spread). “I told Andy if we ever got a new home, this tile would be the basis for all the decor,” says homeowner Leslie Kern, who had found the material at Naples’ Ruben Sorhegui Tile years earlier.
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Photography by Venjhamin Reyes
estero meyer artist home fireplace tile
When the Kerns found the three-bed, four-bath home in The Brooks five years ago, it was more Old World Mediterranean than modern luxury. “Andy was absolutely not a fan,” she recalls. “The first time we walked through it, all we could do was laugh. It was really dark, there was a massive Tommy Bahama double fan in the family room, the kitchen was choppy and brown, and there were heavy fabrics everywhere you looked.”
Still, even Andy had to acknowledge the neighborhood was perfect. The cul-de-sac location was ideal, and the golf course views from sliding doors on both sides of the house were fabulous. They pulled the trigger on the property and tapped luxury builder Gulfshore Homes, and designer Brooke Meyer, of Gulfshore Interior Design, to erase the Mediterranean air and make way for something supremely singular. Together, they embarked on a heavy remodel, changing the home’s layout and updating nearly every surface. “Leslie was very involved—more so than 99% of my clients,” Meyer says. “She was really drawn to an industrial aesthetic with a little Asian flair. It’s what she called ‘industrial zen.’”

Photography by Venjhamin Reyes
estero meyer artist home kitchen
Interior designer Brooke Meyer called on artisans to realize the Kerns’ vision for the thoroughly original home. Naples’ Jeremy Jones Custom Finishes designed the European white oak mitered beam ceiling, which juxtaposes the kitchen’s powdered brass and copper range hood, high-pressure laminate cabinetry and Dekton countertops.
As a ceramicist, Leslie had definite ideas about the tiles she wanted in her home, starting with Stone Import Solutions’ mosaic-like Candango Grigio, which she had discovered five years earlier at Naples’ Ruben Sorhegui Tile. “I told Andy if we ever got a new home, this tile would be the basis for all the decor,” Leslie says. Meyer was quick to make it the focal point of the living room. “I realized if we installed it around the fireplace, it would become a really cool feature with the windows flanking it,” the designer says. “It undulates out and... because it’s three-dimensional, I asked my carpenter to put some trim around it for a termination point.” She paired the sculptural wall, layering in sleek leather furnishings, a mirror-topped coffee table and a graphic rug.
In the kitchen, Dekton countertops and backsplash shine alongside a custom, powdered brass and copper range hood; crisp white, high-pressure laminate cabinetry; European white oak mitered beam ceiling details by Jeremy Jones Fine Finishes; and a table that extends out from the island for in-kitchen dining. “The kitchen is freaking perfect. Everywhere you look, you’ll find something special,” Leslie says. “It’s fantastic, but it’s also very calm and luxurious. It’s amazing how it all came together.”
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Photography by Venjhamin Reyes
estero meyer artist home foyer
Art from the ceramicist homeowner’s 30 years of creating and collecting fills the space. An Ophear pointillist John Lennon hangs above the dining room sideboard. Meyer elongated the entryway wall with a bronze mirror and a suspended, reclaimed wood ledge by Jeremy Jones, flanked by porcelain slabs.
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Photography by Venjhamin Reyes
estero meyer artist home dining
The primary bedroom wasn’t a top priority for the redesign, but the team emphasized the en suite bathroom. There, Leslie and Meyer created a spa-like retreat, complete with an array of beautifully lit smooth stones beneath the floating vanity, suspended lighting by Hubbardton Forge and an outdoor shower. “My husband showers out there 90% of the time,” Leslie says. “That’s the only place in the house where we made a mistake—we didn’t put two shower heads, so we have to share.”
Selections from the couple’s art collection show up in the primary bathroom (a canvas by modern American realist painter Robert Sarsony) and every other room in the house. In addition to ceramics, Leslie has studied photography, painting and graphic design, amassing a variety of eclectic pieces over the past 30 years.
And while the placement of every artwork, fabric, finish and accessory is intentional, Leslie stresses that comfort reigns above all else. The home is meant to be lived in, not just admired from a distance. “There are days when I wake up, and I can’t believe how beautiful our home is,” she says. “I still have days when I say to myself, ‘Oh my God—we’re just two schlubby kids from Maryland, and we get to live here.’”
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Photography by Venjhamin Reyes
estero meyer artist home wet bar
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Photography by Venjhamin Reyes
estero meyer artist home floating vanity
Leslie refers to her aesthetic as ‘industrial zen.’ Meyer captured the vibe in the home bar (left), with its hammered copper sink and metal mesh cabinet. The couple’s en suite bath emphasizes architectural lines and a spa-like look, with a floating vanity above illuminated stones.