When you move to Naples FL, you more than likely dream of long afternoons on the beach, the coastal breeze cooling your sun-kissed face as you read your favorite book or spend the day paddle-boarding along the water.
When Melissa Allen designed the interior of London Bay Homes’ Chelston model in Old Naples, she wanted to capture the essence of the Naples lifestyle and allow the homeowner to feel as though they were on vacation every day.
The Chelston model home was designed to look and feel like a home that’s far from the city, while actually being very close. The home is located just blocks from the Gulf of Mexico’s white sandy beaches and just moments from the fine dining and elite shopping of downtown Fifth Avenue South. This location was perfect for designing a West-Indies architectural style and a British Colonial interior design for the two-story single-family home. The moment you step foot into the home, you get the feeling of paradise with natural walnut wood floors throughout the main living area on the first floor of this 4,227 square foot home. The neutral flooring is combined with an off-white background to enhance the bright and fun colors used in the design. Melissa Allen has made the West Indies home pop with vibrant colors such as rain forest citrus, teal, coral, butter, and eggplant. The combination of a neutral background and the energetic tones of the accent colors really capture the island feeling, a feeling that is enhanced through the rest of the home.
The Chelston embraces the carefree Naples lifestyle with three bedrooms and three-and-one-half bathrooms, as well as a study, formal dining, kitchen, breakfast nook, and a great room that serves as the perfect open gathering space for friends and families alike, especially with the large transom windows that let in natural light to invigorate the home. Melissa’s favorite design achievement in the home is the ceiling in the great room and dining room. Originally, she had put grass cloth on the ceiling, but the seams showed when he light hit it, so she came up a unique design to fix the problem. She worked with the construction team to come up with a grass-look veneer plaster that they ended up naming after her. The finish is even around the air vents and light fixtures so it all blends in. The whole process took 10 days to complete.
Another design feature that Melissa lists as one of her favorites is the kitchen, featuring white painted cabinetry, a white-ice glass tile backsplash, and a built-in hutch with a white body and dark-stained upper inset cabinetry. The dining room features another one of Melissa’s favorite pieces in the home: A dining room tables that features a glass top that sits on two large pieces of blue glass shaped like two C’s pushed together. The contemporary look of this table adds an unexpected twist to the British Isles design of the home.
Moving through the home, you’ll arrive at the study featuring white shiplap boards on the wall and a light décor. The view from the desk is the water feature near the home’s front door, a detail that was planned ahead of time to ensure proper placement.
Then, there’s the second-story which features 1,245 square feet with two bedrooms with private full baths and walk-in closets, and a loft with a wet bar and under-counter refrigerator. The loft features a table that looks like silver driftwood located behind the couch, while the coffee table is decorated with large balls made of oyster shells. The two rooms have opposite design schemes fit for adults and children with one bedroom featuring a white base with fun splashes of green and orange in the design and a long thin pillow with an alligator print that livens up the space further. The other bedroom is more conservative with white and gray tones throughout the space.
For the master bedroom, Melissa wanted to feature an eye-catching piece, found in the king-size canopy bed with gauzy sheers that matches the dark wood dresser and floor in the master bedroom. The dresser’s wavy front gives it a coastal look. The bedroom also features a master bathroom that Melissa calls a “showpiece” with a dark walnut floating vanity with marble countertops, a glass title backsplash, porcelain tile flooring and walls, and a freestanding tub. This serene, Zen-like atmosphere is accentuated with sliding glass doors in the shower that open to a secluded private garden offering an outdoor shower, pebble stone flooring, a wall fountain and decorative plants.
“You get a glimpse of the outdoors from the glass and the mirrors,” Melissa described. “We wanted to see outside. We wanted the tub, the shower, the bathroom to be all one unit, and you walk around the corner and you have an outdoor shower. You don’t really see that until you walk through. I like the glass. When you are getting ready for your day being able to look outside and see the environment it’s peaceful and all that natural light is in there.”
If showering outside isn’t how you like to spend your time outdoors, there are multiple exits in the home that lead you to the majestic outdoor living area. The first is through double doors in the master suite that lead you to a private patio adjacent to the raised spa. You can also reach the outdoor living area through the pocketing sliding glass doors in the great room and the sliding glass doors in the breakfast nook. The outdoor area is also an excellent venue for social gatherings with outdoor living and dining areas with resort-style chaises, a fully equipped summer kitchen, and a custom linear pool accented with moon-hued brick mosaic glass tile with a dark Tahoe blue interior. Although the Chelston is surrounded by other houses, you’ll never realize it because the backyard features Areca palms that block the view of those houses. Elephant ear plants add more greenery and fill in the spaces between the palms for ultimate privacy. The outdoor space is accented with trellises, a freestanding fountain, and a secluded fire pit and features motorized screens by the sitting areas to ward off bugs or the sun. Every detail was carefully planned to ensure the most was made of the space that was provided.
“What is nice is even though the lot is small we really took advantage of all the outdoor living areas,” Allen said. “I love the linear pool. “At one end you have the fire pit and at the other end you have the spa. I like the linear look. We took advantage of it all.”
Melissa Allen’s design of the Chelston model home earned multistate Aurora Awards, including the Golden Aurora Awards Best in Show, Best Bath in a home over $2 million, and Best Interior Merchandising of a Home. Romanza Interior Design also won a Sand Dollar award for the interior design of the Chelston.
Contact Romanza Interior Design for more information on the coastal contemporary design of the Chelston model home in Old Naples and for more design inspiration for your current or future home. You can also download our brochure to learn more about Romanza Interior Design.