Coastal Collaboration

Broker and Partner Taber Tagliasacchi of Calusa Bay Properties redefines the meaning of service as she adapts to selling luxury homes during a global pandemic. This transitional, West Indies-style spec home in Pelican Bay sold in April of 2020 — and sales aren’t dropping! Calusa Bay Properties aligns with Calusa Bay Development, Stofft Cooney Architects, Calusa Bay Design, and Knauf-Koenig Group to form a team with unrivaled success in the Pelican Bay area. “We find the best lots, design the best homes, and develop the best curb appeal. We hand pick the best of everything, and collaboratively we deliver beautiful high-end homes. It’s a formula that works!” says Matt Knauf, co-founder of Knauf-Koenig Group.

Instead of meeting the potential homebuyers at the property during these times, Tagliasacchi holds virtual Zoom showings, walking the home and eloquently “adding a narrative” to each space. “This half-acre home site affords lush, green, tropical spaces that impact the home’s curb appeal as well as the interior design. Inside, you get the benefit of light filtering through the palms’ leaves and bouncing off the colors of the flowers,” says Tagliasacchi, describing the experience to her remote clients. It is the accumulation of skillful and artful details that arise from the collaboration of this talented team that propels them to the top in Pelican Bay’s market.

Wanting to create a West Indies-style home that pays homage to the traditional architecture in the area, architect John Cooney of Stofft Cooney Architects adds open, heavy timber trusses and stone clad columns for a dramatic entryway. “Dark stain, wood beams, and coffers are typically used in the West Indies-style, but we took those interior elements and painted them white. Doing so lightens the architecture and gives more of a transitional feel to the home,” Cooney explains.

Lead designer Liz Brown of Calusa Bay Design complements the architecture with a multi-textural, sophisticated spin on coastal interior design. “Traditionally in a coastal palette you see saturated blue and white, but to elevate it we used more subtle tones,” says Brown. During the interactive virtual Zoom showing, Tagliasacchi draws attention to Knauf-Koenig Group’s craftsmanship and the feel of fabrics and textures brought in by Brown. Tagliasacchi virtually imparts the feelings of home to her clients so they can remain at a safe distance during the pandemic.

With the uncertainty of facing another mandatory quarantine, this already hot area in Pelican Bay has seen record sales. “No one wants to go through another season in the cities,” states Knauf. And who wouldn’t want to “hunker down” in a high-class home developed, designed, built, and sold by this team of unparalleled collaborators?

*Feature cover image: Clean lines and the array of windows by Andersen Windows & Doors around the home exude a pleasing, harmonious rhythm in this sprawling open-concept design. Taking advantage of views of the pool, the outdoor living spaces interact with both the interior and the exterior, extending the home’s luxurious envelope. Motorized retractable screens from Castle Services of SWFL enclose the covered lanai with a touch of a button.

This entry view blurs the line between indoor and outdoor with floor-to-ceiling windows and natural light that catches in the soft, airy sheers. The substantial quartzite coffee table juxtaposes the soft fabrics and furnishings of the room. Velvety pillows in geometric and watercolor patterns “encapsulate the look of water,” according to lead interior designer Liz Brown, while the sky-blue glass table lamps by Calusa Bay Design layer texture.

Housing up to 800 bottles, this wine vault clad in bleached walnut is a refreshing use of material that lightens the room’s feel and was a collaborative effort done onsite. Custom bronze wine racks tie in to the delicate coastal chandelier with dark iron branches and leafy details from Calusa Bay Design. With limited wall space for artwork, the multi-dimensional soft blue and silver place settings offer whimsy and interest atop this considerable dining table.

Pelican Bay is a huge beach community. The team adds a drop-zone convenient to the laundry room that is an eminent example of thoughtful detail. Custom casework by Knauf-Koenig Group in a soft two-tone palette with a hanging wall and drawer storage is set upon the beach-casual Dolce Vita Collection by Legno Bastone Wide Plank Flooring in their Pizzo finish from Naples Flooring Company.

Calusa Bay Properties includes more intimate vignette images of their listings to deepen the emotional connections with potential homebuyers. “During the pandemic, home offices are important now more than ever,” says Tagliasacchi. Here, the cased windows display tropical views that augment the textural woven grasscloth wallcovering. The tufted armchair in a woven light-blue fabric and warm finish pairs well with the bold brass pedestal table from Calusa Bay Design. Seen beyond, the resort-like pool is the perfect out-of-office retreat.

“In these grand homes, intimate niches like this truly make it a home not just a house,” shares Tagliasacchi. This custom banquet highlights the meticulous carpentry details and is a Calusa Bay Design signature. Playful, coastal textures are found in the woven rope chairs. The three sizable pendants with woven sea grass and soft linen shades hang over the custom table with an oyster-glaze-on-maple-top and a forged metal base from Calusa Bay Design.

This kitchen cannot be found anywhere else! Exclusively by Calusa Bay Design, the island and lower cabinets’ gray-on-taupe washed glaze finish elegantly displays the coastal concept. The remaining doors, finished in a simple white, lift the eye upward to view the casework details that fill this kitchen with intention. A creamy quartzite island top spans the room along with the custom patina metal hood. Reminiscent of sea glass, the silk finish recycled glass backsplash from Ceramic Matrix draws on the room’s muted colorway.

Gray Nimbus Marble tiles from Ceramic Matrix and sky white Dolomite Marble countertops fill this opulent space. The cabinetry by Calusa Bay Design in a silky-taupe finish with shutter door fronts harken back to the coastal theme. “Bathrooms are defined by resplendent materials and the adjacency of the elements rather than being exorbitantly sized,” says Cooney, describing how the vanity, makeup area, and freestanding Kohler tub from Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery offer exquisite views of the space.

Calusa Bay Design captures a sense of calm in this master bedroom through neutral tones, “We add interest through varied textures,” says Brown. The wooden bed frame showcases a beautiful grain pattern, metal accents, and woven raffia panels. The chandelier with delicate white tendrils hangs above.

Bold porcelain tiles made to resemble concrete adorn the fireplace and complement the concrete coffee table with a fluted edge. Calusa Bay Design strategically sets durable relaxing seating to enjoy the fire and views of the landscape by designer Kevin Schafer. “The objective for the outdoor living area landscaping is to provide a serene sense of privacy and separation while maintaining the incredible Pelican Bay golf course view!” shares Schafer. To complete the pool deck, natural teak and woven lounge chairs in a soft, durable outdoor fabric face the stunning pool and large tiki torches attract the eye toward the landscape and year-round sunsets.

Set against a mature landscape, this West Indies-style home exhibits pitched roofs, overhangs, and heavy timber. Cooney refines the style with a transitional interpretation utilizing bright white stucco and calming multi-tonal gray stone that foreshadows the interior colorway. Irrigated grass strips run between the large brick driveway, offering a soft step and adding interest to the exquisite home’s curb appeal.