Flat-screen TVs, open floor plans and large outdoor areas are among the top features today’s buyers look for in a Southwest Florida home. Studying a floor plan on paper may give a buyer an idea of the home’s general layout, but a fully furnished model provides the opportunity to experience a home — from its luxury finishes and interior design to the flow of its spaces and the surrounding views.
Communities throughout Southwest Florida often offer a handful of model homes that visitors can explore. Model homes are an important tool in the buying — and selling — process, and builders and interior designers often pull out all the stops to show the many possibilities available on the home front.
First and foremost, a home’s elevation and landscaping must have curb appeal and make a good first impression, said Kathy Harwick, sales and marketing director for Harwick Homes. “But once a buyer gets inside they want to see a gourmet kitchen with all the appliances like warming drawers and refrigerator drawers,†she said. “They want an adjoining kitchen and family room, so it’s easy to entertain.â€
Emphasizing ease in entertainment is one of the reasons the builder’s most recent model homes in Mediterra have had wine cellars close to or in the kitchen. Embellishing wine rooms with decorative wood and glass doors or stained glass windows has been popular. “There’s a big emphasis on entertaining and wine,†said Harwick.
The kitchen in Harwick Homes’ newest model in Mediterra, the Mondavio, will have cabinetry with specialty finishes, granite countertops and a tiled backsplash, said Harwick. “Buyers always appreciate luxury finishes,†she said.
The four-bedroom, two-story single-family home, slated to open in January, will have a wine cellar, butler’s pantry, dining room with a buffet area and a two-story parlor living room with a dramatic spiral staircase. The model also will have two master bedrooms, a second-floor media room and decorative ceiling, floor and wall treatments throughout its 5,676 square feet of living space.
Harwick said potential buyers also want to be wowed — a feeling that will be reciprocated by their guests. Although luxuriously appointed baths and gourmet kitchens are consistently among the most important rooms to buyers, the outdoor area is also a dealmaker for those in the Southwest Florida home market, she said.
“Spending time outside is why people live here,†said Harwick. “We’re incorporating more water features into the pool area to add to the ambiance.â€
The backyard pool and spa have evolved in the luxury home and now incorporate more water features like scuppers, bubblers, jets and fountains. The features add to the experience, providing gentle “white†noise and a visual focal point.
Open pool decks and covered areas often surround the pool and water features, and provide a variety of options for sunbathing, dining or lounging.
“The Mondavio has a great outdoor area with a fireplace and a summer kitchen,†said Harwick.
The model’s al fresco spaces, which overlook the 17th hole of the Tom Fazio-designed North Course, offer places for dining and sitting. Motorized screens on the lanai help control sun and other weather elements, allowing the space to be enjoyed year-round. The model also will have a wraparound lanai on its second floor.
Expanding options in outdoor furnishings give outdoor dining and living spaces the same sophisticated look as indoors with colorful, weather-resistant fabrics and weatherproof materials that resemble wrought iron, leather and natural wicker. Fireplaces, TVs, surround sound and ceiling fans help to lure occupants and their guests outside.
Open floor plans are popular in Southwest Florida, especially in casual areas. Kitchens, breakfast nooks and family rooms are often large open spaces, whose dimensions are defined by furnishings and ceiling changes. The arrangement emphasizes interaction, whether it’s parents watching over their children while making dinner or a cook entertaining guests while preparing a meal. The openness often is enhanced with large picture windows and walls of sliding glass that open to outdoor areas.
The Taraval, a four-bedroom, three-bath single-family model home built by David Weekley Homes at Sandoval in Cape Coral, has an open floor plan in both formal and casual spaces. The foyer flows into adjoining living and dining rooms, while the kitchen, breakfast area and family room allow easy interaction between cook and guests or family. Another popular feature of the 2,910-square-foot plan is a children’s retreat located between the guest bedrooms, and the options of a second-floor powder bath and bonus room, shown in the model as a home theater/media room.
The builder’s Aviance floor plan, in Sandoval, also emphasizes versatility; its children’s retreat is shown in the model as a game room for adults. The home offers a computer center next to the breakfast area and a study — ideal for parents to monitor their children’s Internet viewing.
As much as buyers prefer an open floor plan between kitchen, family room and breakfast room, they also want quiet private areas, usually the master suite and study, where they can retreat. The master bedroom in the Mondavio will offer private access to the verandah while its bathroom will overlook a walled privacy garden. The home’s second master suite, located on the second floor, will have zero-corner sliding glass doors opening to the lanai.
Openness is often balanced with an element of surprise — a hidden reading area, a cozy banquette in the breakfast room or a room with a specific purpose. In addition to formal living and dining rooms and a leisure room, visitors to Arthur Rutenberg Homes’ three-bedroom, three-bath Seabrook V model in Verandah wander into a recreation room, complete with a pool table and flat-screen TV. Adding to the room’s livability is its access to the home’s outdoor spaces, which include an arbor with a firepit.
The model, located in the Sabal Point neighborhood, also has two wet bars.
Unique interior design is also important to buyers, who want to see luxury finishes and furniture — a picture they can imagine inserting themselves into.
“The interior design of a model should be fun and interesting, yet sophisticated and comfortable,†said Troy Beasley, a principal in Beasley %26 Henley Interior Design, whose recent projects include Residence 403, a fully furnished model home in the Azure high-rise at Bonita Bay.
Essential in a condo home, whether a private residence or model, is that all-important first impression, said Beasley, who starts with the elevator lobby. “There are things you can’t change architecturally or structurally,†he noted. “But I like to jazz up the floor by using exotic materials that a visitor may not have seen before or by mixing different finishes. I want an interesting light fixture and fun but sophisticated wall finishes, and usually a piece of furniture, like a table, love seat, settee or modern wingback chair. Jazzy art or a big floor mirror leaning against the wall really adds to the space.â€
Throughout the fourth-story model’s 3,772 square feet of interior space, Beasley emphasized the views of mangrove islands, Estero Bay, Bonita Beach and the Bonita Bay community. He used built-in cabinetry to create art niches that frame the view from the model’s foyer to large windows in the great room and dining room. Built-ins, said Beasley, can “create interesting pauses throughout the space,†providing wet bars and even quiet reading areas.
Dens and studies, said Beasley, also have evolved in the Southwest Florida home. “These rooms generally have a dual purpose now,†he said. “I like to use a partner’s desk because the room is often a working environment for both husband and wife. I mount a monitor on the wall that can function as a computer monitor and TV. A sofa bed provides a cozy reading area plus a sleeping option for guests.â€
For years, builders and designers refused to put a TV in the living room, fearing it would detract from the room’s intended formality. “Then people realized they weren’t using their living rooms as much as they’d like,†said Jill Bresnahan, sales associate for Bordeaux Homes.
The advent of the flat-screen TV has helped solve that dilemma. Three levels of plantation shutters in the main living room wall of Bordeaux’s Shiraz, a model in Grand Arbors at TwinEagles, hide a flat-screen TV and provide a variety of shelving and storage options. Shutters are repeated in another wall to balance the look.
“People expect to see technology because of the convenience it provides,†said Beasley, who has used four flat-screen TVs on one wall for a private client.
Color also can invoke a certain mood, and one of the longtime favorites on the color wheel is soothing spa blue. “It’s one of those colors that never go out of style,†said Beasley. “It’s easy to live with and makes us feel close to water.â€
Designer Michael Valentine of Interior Elements by Valentine and Stone used a palate of cocoa and spa blue throughout the four-bedroom, 4.5-bath Shiraz’s 4,059 square feet of living space. The home also offers a number of features sought by luxury buyers, including a private master suite, large outdoor areas, an open floor plan, cold and room-temperature wine storage within the family room’s wet bar, and a built-in in a hallway vestibule next to the family room. Valentine relaxed the formality of the Shiraz’s dining room by adding faux-finished shelves filled with books and art objects.
The model also demonstrates the builder’s forward thinking. In addition to being built following green-building practices, the Shiraz has storm-resistant impact glass, storm shutters and a 15-kilowatt propane-operated generator. “Storm features add peace of mind,†said Bresnahan.
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