This is a classic example of Old Florida architecture that works with the natural environment

The allure of Captiva Island, nestled just offshore of Southwest Florida in the Gulf of Mexico, hooked a Chicago family that longed for a subtropical vacation home where relatives and friends might gather. Upon finding the perfect lot that was long, linear, lush with vegetation and teaming with native wildlife, the couple commissioned architects Randall Stofft and John Cooney, builder Scott Weidle, and interior designer Lana Knapp to turn their dreams into reality. Even though a nesting bald eagle pair sent the construction crew into a four-month holding pattern according to Weidle, this dedicated team still delivered the expansive home — comprised of 5,700 interior square feet  plus an additional 13,700 square feet of open-air living space — within the 20-month window initially projected.

With Old Florida elegance in mind, Cooney designed this home with seamed metal roofs supported with corbels and brackets, and deep porches with wide overhangs that are all reminiscent of Florida’s early settlers’ cottages. In prelude to the interior scheme, Knapp chose to color the shutters and wooden awnings to reflect the tone-on-tone blues of the sky and surrounding Gulf waters.