Fort Myers Home Enjoys Contemporary Makeover

1 of 6

Southwest Florida wasn’t exactly a new frontier for Sandra and David Rees when they decided to lay roots here. The Canadian natives had grown up visiting the area and have various friends with vacation homes throughout the region. So, once retired from their respective careers, the couple decided Fort Myers would be the ideal Gulf Coast location for a residence where they could escape Toronto’s harsh winters.

After narrowing down their choice to Palmetto Point, the Reeses purchased a 3,500-square-foot, Mediterranean-style, three-bedroom house in the boat-friendly community and then enlisted interior designer Dwayne Bergmann and his design associates, Lea Taliercio and Lynne Panneton, for a complete renovation.

“I usually like things to be simple and traditional,” says Sandra, “but once I was in Florida, I thought: ‘I’m going to push the limits.’”

Pushing the limits meant pushing out the structure’s Mediterranean style for something more au courant. “We gave the designers free rein,” adds Sandra. “I told them we wanted a contemporary look with shades of black and blue, they presented their ideas, and off we went.”

After multiple discussions with the couple about how they wanted their home to function,
Bergmann and his team had a solid starting point. “The look we came up with was urban farmhouse meets Southwest Florida coastal, and they were on board,” says Bergmann. “Everything else fell into place after that.”

In terms of construction work, the house was completely reconfigured. Walls came down to optimize the site’s canal views and the kitchen was shifted from the center of the structure to one side to take advantage of expansive windows and make room for a substantial island.                                                                  

To incorporate Sandra’s desired colors, the designers turned their eyes to men’s fashion collections for inspiration and took note of the way brands such as Tom Ford mix navy and black to denote timeless elegance. The palette pairing works effortlessly throughout the residence and the most prevalent example of this is in the kitchen, where the blue-and-black composition gets even bolder with the addition of walnut finishes.

After some weather and pandemic delays, Bergmann and his team completed the project in about two years, most of which the Reeses spent up in Canada in eager anticipation. “When we finally walked through the home’s front iron doors, the finished space took my breath away,” says Sandra. “It was everything we had discussed. It felt like coming home.”

Story Credits:

Interior Design by Dwayne Bergmann, Lea Taliercio & Lynne Panneton, Dwayne Bergmann Interiors, Fort Myers, FL

Builder MAB Homes, Fort Myers, FL

Text by Kelley Marcellus

Photography by Venjhamin Reyes, Miami, FL

Open to see Interior Design Sources: