Romanza Interior Design Brings Chicago Couple's Custom Home Vision to Life

A Chicago couple’s vision comes to life on Gulfshore Boulevard with the help of London Bay Homes, Romanza Interior Design, and other industry professionals.  Their testimonial was captured by London Bay Homes. Here is their experience with our team of experts, from architecture and construction to interior design:

Originally from the Windy City, Rob and Cathy Funderburg decided it was time to build their second home in a much warmer climate.

“Ultimately, what made us decide that we wanted to build our home here is a unique blend: the beautiful weather, the friendly people, and there’s so many different things to do,” said Rob.

They zeroed in on a homesite in Old Naples that provided walkability to the many amenities of Downtown Naples, from shopping, dining, entertainment, and even day-to-day necessities.

“I can ride my bike to the grocery store and I love it,” said Cathy.

When the time came to build their home, they created a list of six adjectives and a bubble diagram to plan the space. They knew they were going to be working with a relatively smaller lot on Gulfshore Boulevard and wanted open exposure to the west.

“Along the way we started interviewing different architects and ended up working with MHK [Architecture & Planning],” said Rob.  “That was great experience. A very collaborative effort.”

Next, Rob and Cathy set out to find the right custom homebuilder. They interviewed a number of different custom home builders in Naples, FL and ultimately chose London Bay Homes for a variety of reasons.

“Not only did they have a great reputation and build a quality home, they also had a number of disciplines in-house, such as interior decorating, and architects on staff – to help tweak things or come up with ideas,” said Rob. “Being a builder over the years, as part of my job, I know that there can be problems that pop up. London Bay gave me and Cathy the confidence that they would be able to help us solve them.”

“We’re really pleased. Whenever any little problem has come up, they work really hard to resolve it,” said Cathy. It’s never a flat out nope, can’t do that.”

London Bay Homes’ award-winning team includes talented architects, interior designers, and client relationship managers – all working seamlessly to deliver a custom home built on time and on budget.

“Well, we really liked that they had everything under one roof because that way the communication seemed a lot more efficient,” said Cathy.

“It’s really been a collaborative effort and that’s been reflected all the way from the CEO to the people on site,” said Rob. “Everybody has been great to work with.”

Cathy also gives credit to Senior Design Director, Jennifer Stevens of Romanza Interior Design.

“She’s been terrific, she’s been very organized. Everything is spelled out. You go into the room and everything is laid out and it’s just so fun, it’s great. They actually gave us the opportunity to talk to different designers within Romanza so it wasn’t just like here’s your designer you actually got to interview people there and find the right fit for you.”

Jennifer Stevens has been a part of our award-winning interior design team for 21 years and is passionate about creating livable spaces designed to reflect each client’s individual style. Stevens’ commitment to personalization begins from the initial consultation through to execution – from determining each client’s lifestyle, family needs and hobbies to preferences regarding color palettes, draperies, lighting and more. The process is familiar to her, but each client’s individuality makes every design unique.

“One of the reasons why Jennifer has been great to work with and I’ve worked with a lot of different interior designers throughout my career she’s been very helpful in offering suggestions and ideas and being very collaborative not only with Cathy but seeking my input as well when appropriate and it’s been a very positive experience so far,” said Rob.

A positive, enjoyable homebuilding experience that exceeds a client’s expectations is what Romanza Interior Design, London Bay Homes, and its partners strive for each and every time.

“They really want you to be happy with the end result and they have a great team to make it happen,” said Cathy.

Contact us to get an award-winning experience of collaboration, expert design, and an individualized process.