Home & Condo

The Detlings had plenty of time to do their prep work, since they already owned a sprawling riverside home in Bonita Bay’s Hidden Harbor when they leased back their newly purchased three-bedroom, four-and-a-half bath condo for 18 months.

"We were able to visit it as often as we liked to decide what we wanted to keep, what we wanted to replace and how we were going to integrate our favorite possessions," Wayne recalls. "Sue and I were happy with the neutral quality of the travertine floors and the pale gold fauxed walls because they seemed to be a good backdrop for our paintings, but there were several things we wanted to change."

Those changes started happening when the couple took possession. For instance, a coat closet in the hall at the right of the foyer that leads to the family room is gone. The Greenville, Ohio, couple decided the Southwest Florida climate made it unnecessary, so they replaced it with an artful niche and the carved cranes that were part of their Bonita Bay home they’d dubbed "Casa de Huevos."

"We found a huge hunk of driftwood in a downtown Naples garden center and hauled it back here," Sue says. "It seemed substantial enough to protect the cranes when we took them off their pedestals."

To boost eye appeal and enhance the natural quality of the niche, the couple commissioned an Everglades-like mural to complement the birds without detracting from them. The result is an unexpected wildlife vignette and a wider, more inviting path to the casual living area.

"We did some work there as well," Wayne says. "We eliminated a fireplace in the family room so there’d be space for an entertainment center. We replaced some kitchen cabinets and removed some to expand the view. Sue likes to cook, but she doesn’t need to be closed in while she’s at it. We also raised the lanai floor eight inches so we didn’t have to look at the top of the guardrail."

And oh, those views—eye-poppers in all directions. The green guest room, the kitchen and the family room have eastern panoramas. The white guest room, casual dining area, the formal living areas and the master bedroom look out on Estero Bay.

The new condo owners improved their inside view by shifting the dining room chandelier to a carefully determined place above their conversation area.

"As we were planning where our furniture would go, finding a spot for the player piano presented one major challenge, and repositioning the chandelier between our two étagères and over our coffee table was another," Wayne explains. "We had already decided to coffer the ceiling, so figuring out the correct position for the beams and the lighting took some doing."

"Since Jo Alaimo designed our home in Ohio, we asked her to assist us in putting together the old and the new here," Sue says. "For example, we asked her to help us plan the family room around a favorite Russian painting of ours. Although it looks like an English fox hunt, it’s actually a Russian scene.

"Jo found material for the valance that has a fox-hunt pattern, and we paired it with gold panels. Then she had an area rug designed in the painting’s tan, red and black colors. We ordered red-and-black seating and purchased a game table to put right under the painting. We like to play Euchre there when our friends visit from Ohio."

The casual dining area’s only solid wall was embellished with two, floor-to-ceiling, painted sheaves that had African personality, so the Detlings shopped at Robb & Stucky Interiors for cane and rattan back furniture to harmonize with them. Their own elephant painting is a perfect fit in between.

That’s not the only place their animal artworks are present, however. The library walls are home to several paintings with animal themes. There, the mood is heightened by jungle prints on the chair cushions. And the crane motif gets additional exposure in the deep-red wall covering of the revamped powder room.

The master bedroom’s muted green-and-taupe-colored, silk, plaid bedspread coordinates nicely with new Asian-theme wallpaper in the master bath. The plaid is just the right refresher for the bed, a holdover from the couple’s former home, which they left for the condo’s more carefree lifestyle.

"Jo brought that same refreshment to each of the guest suites as well," Sue says. "Our girl-in-a-garden painting inspired her to use green and ivory toile fabric for the bedspread and drapery in one suite, and the floral iron headboard in the other suite benefits from the ivory silk bedding she suggested."

The Robb & Stucky designer also masterminded the dramatic makeover of the foyer just last year.
"Jo helped us make our elevator lobby more interesting by dividing the space in two," Sue says. "A faux-stone arch creates the separation, and a circular rug and a runner accents the two-part effect. We put in new lighting and new furniture and added art. With a new wood floor and leather-look wall treatment, the area is much more pleasing."

Acquiring art has become a bit of an obsession for Wayne, he admits. But it’s not all gallery hopping for the recent retirees. First, there’s heading a family of four children, 11 grandchildren and a great grandchild. There’s enjoying their Chinese Shar-Pei, Blue, and their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Xant, and pursuing other activities, such as traveling and volunteering.

"Sue volunteers at Bear’s Mill in Greenville," Wayne says. "It’s a water-powered grist mill built in 1849 that still grinds corn, rye and wheat, and it’s a tourist site. The dam needs some improvements, and I’m working with some other men to find the best way to do it. And I help my family with the farming business. I still like to work."