Romanza Interior Design honored with Silver Aurora Awards

Romanza Interior Design has been named an Aurora Award honoree in four categories in the annual Aurora Award competition presented by the Southeast Building Conference and Florida Home Builders Association, which honors architectural design, interior design and planning excellence.

The Naples luxury design boutique received the awards for two custom estates built by London Bay Homes located in the downtown Naples area.

Awards included Best Interior Design of a Home priced $1,000,001 to $2,000,000 and Best Kitchen Merchandising of a Home priced over $800,000 for the Watlington, a custom single-family home located at 41 5th Street South in Old Naples, just minutes from the Gulf of Mexico and Fifth Avenue South.

Part of London Bay Homes’ Naples Collection, the home was designed around a flowing open concept floor plan with numerous entertaining destinations – including a formal dining room and three fire features.

Finishes and furnishings selected by Jennifer Stevens, Romanza’s senior design director, include specialty ceiling and wall treatments, wire-brushed ash flooring in main living areas, and wood tones mixed with polished nickel, glass, capiz, graphite, aged silver, metallic pewter, chrome and shimmering crystals.

“This home has generously sized spaces, which are enhanced by soaring ceilings with backlit beams and the glimmer of metallic and reflective surfaces,” said Stevens. “The great room is spacious and has ample upholstered furniture and case goods providing comfortable seating for entertaining and conversation. There is also a large TV anchored by an oversized, floating media cabinet adjacent to pocketing glass doors to the outdoor living area.”

The connection between large indoor rooms and outdoor areas enhances the Watlington’s entertainment quotient. The great room flows out to a covered living area and open-air pool and patio spaces.

Adjacent to the great room, the kitchen includes a butler’s bar making hosting dinner parties a breeze. Appliances include adual-fuel range, steam oven, Sub-Zero refrigerator, microwave drawer and refrigerated drawers. Stevens has selected Pompeii extra white and statuario quartz countertops and has designed a backlit, floating drywall ceiling detail. It also has a large island with a cantilevered countertop, textured large-format Porcelanosa tile backsplash and a combination of grayed rift oak and high-gloss white cabinetry.

The Watlington offers four bedrooms, a study and a second-floor bonus room within 4,182 square feet of living space.

Romanza also received the Silver Award for Best Interior Detailing for a Home priced over $2,000,000 and Best Bath Merchandising of a Home priced over $800,000 for its luxurious Port Royal estate located at 4395 Gordon Drive.

With an open great room plan that showcases views of Cutlass Cove and the beautiful greens of mangroves on Keewaydin Island just across the water, the estate also provides a private dock – perfect for a 29-foot boat with Gulf access through nearby Gordon Pass.

Boasting 4,648 square foot of living space and four en-suite bedrooms within two stories, the home features West Indies-Coastal architecture and interior design that pushes luxury living to new levels.

The home’s sophisticated design blends honed stone and wood plank flooring, accent panels of exotic woods like sapele, anigre and walnut, and distinctive reglet details on walls and door frames to create a uniquely contemporary style that unifies the foyer, great room, wine cellar and study.

Lighting design paints rooms in different moods, highlights art and complements the airiness of a wood and tempered glass staircase.

Stevens’ interior palette eschews the expected white-on-white in favor of neutral taupes and ivories and accents of green and tan inspired by the home’s lush landscape design.

Memory points include a custom wine room complete with temperature-control settings to accommodate approximately 300 bottles. The room is finished with walnut paneling, stainless steel, dramatic recess lighting showcasing the wine collection along with glass doors.

Spanning half of the second floor, Stevens and the Romanza team came up with a concept to have the bed in the master suite face a wall of glass sliding doors showcasing the cove and mangroves.

Stevens custom designed a chenille and leather upholstered full-height headboard and incorporated motorized blackout shades that can be accessed from the bed.

One of the master baths offers luxury marble and high-gloss cabinetry, Calcutta Borghini countertops and an oversized shower with a freestanding bench; a separate soaking tub positioned under the windows overlooks Cutlass Cove.

A second bath in the master suite offers rich granite countertops, floating wenge wood cabinetry and finely veined limestone surfaces on floor and shower walls. The shower offers rolling barn-style glass doors, body sprays and wall- and ceiling-mounted showerheads.

The home’s location near downtown Fifth Avenue and Third Street South also provides a wealth of options for dining at award-winning restaurants like Sea Salt and Jane’s or window shopping at Marissa’s Collections while taking in daytime festivals, live entertainment and nationally-acclaimed theatrical productions by the Naples Players or Gulfshore Playhouse.

Homebuyers can also take advantage of membership eligibility at the exclusive Port Royal Club and the nearby Cutlass Cove Beach Club.

Chosen from the elite pool of Aurora Award winners, Grand Awards will be announced on August 17 as a highlight of the SEBC, the southeastern regional conference and trade show for the real estate development field.

Honoring businesses in architectural design, interior design and planning, the Aurora Award competition drew 400 entries in 70 categories within the 12-state region stretching west to Texas and Louisiana, north to Virginia and also including the eastern Caribbean.

Romanza Interior Design is a full-service, boutique firm with an award-winning team of interior design experts who use innovative ideas and the latest trends in design to capture the spirit of each homeowner. Whether creating a new dream home, updating or customizing an existing residence or simply adding finishing touches, Romanza delivers an inspired design that’s a true reflection of the homeowner’s personal style.

For more information, call 239-596-1613 or visit www.Romanza.com.