cape coral bergmann monochromatic home front
Photography by Venjhamin Reyes

Inside Cape Coral's Most Sophisticated Monochrome Home

Dwayne Bergmann transforms a new build into a seamless family haven, where subtle metallics and luxurious textures elevate the gray-dominant design.

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At night, windows flanking the entryway of this new Cape Coral build hint at what’s beyond the front door. Two giant canvases in navy, gold and sage green rise above matching trapezoidal consoles with Calacatta Gold marble tops. “It’s very balanced,” interior designer Dwayne Bergmann says of the diptych art vignette. “The left and right sides are complete mirror images.” The marble provided the jumping-off point for the home’s tight palette of whites and grays, where lustrous finishes add depth and dimension.

The Fort Myers-based designer—who worked with the Chicago-based homeowners to finalize the house plans and select all the architectural finishes—grounded this sophisticated, shimmering palette with warm metallics and organic textures. At the center of the home is a generous great room with 12- to 14-foot ceilings. Coliseo Blanco floor tile—bright-white porcelain with a light gray marbled effect—runs throughout the main areas. To balance the tile and add warmth, Bergmann incorporated wood tones, warm metallic accents, and cozy textiles, like velvet and faux fur into the design. In the entryway, the walls sport a decorative plaster finish that lends texture and depth. “We added about five layers of color, including silver, champagne and bronze, to get a rich effect,” he says.

The main directive for the five-bedroom home was to create a comfortable escape, where the couple and their grown children and significant others could all gather for vacations and holidays. Now, in the living area, a giant, comfy sectional, upholstered in a bouclé-like performance fabric, easily seats 10.

“They wanted the entire family to be able to sit, watch movies and hang out,” he says. “The sectional became the entire furniture plan for the room.” He had a big ottoman done in the fabric. More seating is stowed in the asymmetric media wall, which adds texture with porcelain quartz around the television and fireplace, light oak vertical accents and textured wallpaper. “We built out the surround to create a focal point,” Bergmann adds. 

On the other side of the space, the kitchen incorporates two finishes of cabinetry—a high-gloss white and a light gray-washed oak. “All-white would have been too stark,” he says. “Having just this accent of wood provided the warmth we needed and created a counterpoint to the media wall.” Interlocking squares of gray-veined statuary marble form the backsplash, the traditional feel of which balances the more contemporary cabinetry. Wooden-legged stools with watercolor-patterned upholstery around the island echo decorative elements from the living area.

The primary bedroom is a stunner, with an entire wall done in dove-gray velvet running in floor-to-ceiling channels. “We wanted to use linear details to add a luxurious effect, but in a monochromatic way,” Bergmann says. On either side of the bed, nine-light pendants are suspended from the ceiling, emphasizing verticality. Drapes, done in the same whisper gray as the walls, visually disappear to invite in the view of the canal, and in front of the windows, a pair of accent chairs with pleated keyhole backs offer a chic place to read.

Bergmann also worked with each of the children to personalize their rooms while working within the edited design palette.

“Each person had input on style choices for their space, from the color and selection of tiles to the furniture and bedding,” he says. “There’s a continuous flow from room to room, but some are more saturated or lean more masculine or feminine.” To enhance the architectural appeal and infuse the new build with character, they incorporated decorative wall moldings in the bedrooms. In some rooms, the moldings take on familiar forms, such as board and batten, while in others, they feature edgier, more angular designs.

Of note are the bathrooms: The homeowners and their children are in the plumbing business, so the bar was high for these sometimes-overlooked spaces. In the primary suite, Bergmann designed nearly symmetrical his-and-hers vanities framed in driftwood gray wood with a soffit across the top and fully mirrored backs. “I wanted to bounce the lighting from one side to the next to play on the crystal effect and give it a sense of opulence,” he says. All of the children have en-suite bathrooms matching their rooms’ decor. And, every bathroom is outfitted to the nines with top-tier technology: Toto toilets with smart bidets, heated seats and air dryers; automated, zero-entry showers that can be controlled by smartphone; and sensor-activated under-cabinet lighting. “These additional features are common in primary bathrooms but rarely throughout the entire house,” Bergmann says.

In a region where tropical colors often dominate, this Cape Coral home makes a compelling case for restraint. Here, shades of gray create a seamless backdrop for multigenerational gatherings, making Chicago’s winter winds feel worlds away from their sun-soaked Cape Coral hideaway.