Luxury Cape home boasts high-quality workmanship

The exterior of the unique Cape Coral home features distinctive roof lines, a split garage and a courtyard with fountain. BARBARA BOXLEITNER / FLORIDA WEEKLY People expect to see a gorgeous luxury home along the oceanfront or riverfront, not necessarily one overlooking a direct-access canal in Cape Coral.

But high-end homes are sprinkled here and there throughout the area, not always nestled in a private community of estates. A two-story Cape Coral residence that recently sold for more than $1 million is an example of the rare yet exquisite find.

The 2006 custom build stands out in a neighborhood where there are a couple of other high-end residences, older and smaller, though not nearly the same price point. Access to the Caloosahatchee River is a jaunt around the canal corner.

"What's unique about Cape Coral and, of course, Southwest Florida, is the water," says interior designer Cherie Clark, owner of Cherie Clark Interiors, LLC in Cape Coral. "You could not duplicate what's here in Cape Coral, all the canals."

In addition to a marble downstairs floor and wood upstairs floor, the interior offers a combination of bright and light colors throughout. A German bought the Mediterranean home of four bedrooms and 5½ bathrooms sight unseen, preferring it over riverfront properties he visited. "It is absolutely a stunning house," says Steve Koffman, a Century 21 Sunbelt Realty Inc. broker and Realtor who oversees the Steve Koffman and Associates team.

"The quality of the house was the best he has seen," says Siegfried Fuchs, a Steve Koffman and Associates Realtor who arranged the purchase.

The home has a distinctive curb appeal, with single and double garages embracing a courtyard and fountain. German Margot Castritius, a licensed interior designer in the Designer on Call program at the International Design Center in Estero, has a European clientele. For that group, she says, the courtyard "is a wonderful architectural detail. They like the luxurious things."

In addition, the design experts say the variance in roof lines evident from the front-yard view is continued in the interior ceilings. "When you go in, you're not disappointed," Mrs. Clark says.

Ruth Condit of Ruth Condit Interiors agrees that the front of the home is inviting. "What is unusual is the rounded arch of the mahogany doors," she says. "It looks very European."

The palette is Old World, with rich colors in the dining and theater rooms and paler colors in other living space. With neutral colors so much the norm these days, the burst of color is refreshing, experts say. "Kudos to those people who aren't afraid of those colors," Mrs. Clark says.

Mrs. Condit, who lived years ago in England, says some Europeans may favor bright colors if they've had them at home to perk up the mood, considering they have less than desirable weather there. "They used bolder colors than they would do here," she says. "The lighter colors are cheery."

Another distinctive feature, and decidedly high-end, is the over-mantle fireplace in the seating area near the doors to the pool. "It's a very grand and ornate mantle," says Mrs. Condit.

With granite countertops, an island and top-of-the-line appliances in a subzero refrigerator and double oven, the kitchen offers all the luxury of convenience. The master bedroom is on the first floor, which is marble, and three bedrooms are upstairs, where the floor is wood.

An architect, Mr. Fuchs says the homeowner appreciated the quality of workmanship even in the details — the baseboards and trims.

Mrs. Clark says details such as different moldings and casings are an effective touch regardless of a home's price point and go a long way toward enhancing its value. "Something you could do to make your home stand out is to put in that kind of detail," she says. "Those little details will make people remember your home. You can do a lot with molding, and it's not real expensive to do."

The pool area is quite spacious, an obvious bonus for European clientele who enjoy pool life when many Floridians think the season has passed. "The outdoors and the weather are what mainly bring them to Florida," Ms. Castritius says. "If they are not golfers, they are boaters."

The area has a view of the 100-foot wide canal and features an irregularly shaped pool with two waterfalls, one against its long side. "That is absolutely wonderful for them," says Ms. Castritius. "They love the water. They love the view."

The lanai also has an outdoor kitchen and pool bath.