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Harwick Homes and Collins & DuPont Interior Design teamed together and were inspired by the California countryside in creating the Calascio model. Located in the upscale Naples community of the Estuary at Grey Oaks, you will find it nestled on the 5th hole of the Estuary championship golf course offering panoramic views of the lake. This spacious home offers 4 bedrooms plus den and 4 ½ bathrooms under 4942 square foot of air conditioned space and over 7300 total square feet. Outdoor living is grand for entertaining family and friends with over 1200 square feet of covered lanai complete with a summer kitchen, fireplace, swimming pool and raised spa.

The Calascio is offered furnished and available for immediate occupancy. For more information please contact the Estuary Sales Center at 239.261.3148. For your new construction, remodel or renew of your home, contact Collins & DuPont to assist you in turning your space into timeless designs of gracious living at 239.948.2400.

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Naples Casamore Broker Grand Opening Event

June 9th kicked off the first of many planned Broker Happy Hour events at the all new Naples Casamore. The developer team for Gulfshore Development II, LLC are Daniel Whitefield, Grigory Levinzon & Ryan Lang, who were all in attendance for the broker grand opening event on site located at 1754 Gulf Shore Blvd North just south of the Edgewater Hotel in Olde Naples. Also in attendance along with Collins & DuPont Interior Design were Rothchilds International Realty the project and marketing agents, BCB Homes the builder, and Stofft Cooney the architect for the private enclave of 12 detached grand estate homes, each with it’s own private boat slip and in-ground pool and spa.

The Collins & DuPont model at Naples Casamore will open in February 2011 and will feature a Luxury Coastal design theme. This theme fits the community and its location in the heart of Olde Naples. The model is the largest of three floor plans available and will face the canal and boat slips. Pricing starts at $3,995,000 with total square feet of 5941 to 6413. For more information please contact Rothchilds International Realty at 239.687.3226 or visit the web at www.naplescasamore.com.

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Collins & DuPont Interior Design is pleased to announce that we will be hosting “Celebrity Design Contributors” for our blog from designers around the United States.

This month we are proud to feature our first contributor, Ms. Cheryl Draa of Marietta, Georgia. She is the owner of
Cheryl Draa Interior Designs. Please enjoy her article on “Summer Trends” which was inspired by her spring visit to the mini market in Atlanta and Joe Ruggerio.

This post was written by Cheryl

Summer brings a whole new attitude adjustment in home interiors. I find that as the sun shines even brighter, it brings on an attitude of leisure and the feeling that life in general moves at a slower pace. I find myself desiring to be surrounded with fabrics that have a luscious hand and are easy maintenance, both inside and outside of my home. I entertain more frequently and want the home to feel fresh and vibrant, echoing my guest’s laughter and the clanking of dishes. I’ve found some new fabrics that contribute to that look and the feeling of comfort that I want my guests to experience.
I had a preview recently of fabrics that are exclusive to the design trade. Kravet and Lee Jofa have beautiful embroidered linens and cottons that have an exquisite hand and luscious colors. The texture is fabulous, with the embroidery overlayed on the linens. The new designer fabrics are crisp, clean looking and ready to coordinate an existing look by adding window treatments, or even just to freshen up a neutral sofa with new pillows that include fabulous trims. The summer trend for the interiors seems to be an embroidered stitch, whether an extravagant floral or fern (bringing the outside inside) incorporating many colors, or even just a wavy loop stitch over a clean but vibrant linen. Key interior summer trends are linen and embroidery, which showed up on the entire collection.

I recently had a preview of Joe Ruggerios new fabrics for Sunbrella. He was inspired by his travels in foreign countries, including Japan where he picked up on the vibrant “Japan Blue” that is so intense. He translated that intense blue into several of his outdoor fabrics. The color options in the outdoor fabric line have never been better. Along with the blue mentioned above, there are cool greens, and calming beiges in many textures and patterns. There are so many fresh colorings and new designs available in outdoor fabric that it makes me want to recover all my outdoor cushions! (And put out some of those embroidered linen pillows on my enclosed porch). I know that with the Sunbrella name behind them they have a warranty against loss of fabric and color strength from sunlight, mildew and “atmospheric chemicals”. Imagine a fabric that you can really hose off if your barbeque lands on it! No more worrying about the dog landing on the sofa, or a small child’s dirty feet!! Key term for outdoor summer trends is ease of maintenance and fresh new color. Look around your outdoor living spaces and see which cushions need new life to them. The fabrics can also be made into panels that can be hung from outdoor (meaning weather proof) hardware giving privacy or filtering the sun as needed.
Now let’s tie the trends all together. Imagine a velvet sofa on the interior of your home…with the Sunbrella warranty. Even though the velvet is an outdoor fabric, it has the soft touch needed for indoor usage allowing us to entertain without constantly fearing what may land on it. (I had this fabric in my hands, never guessing at the beginning it was an outdoor fabric). Then imagine you have a beautiful embroidered linen that is loosely drawn across the windows to filter the sun as you read the morning paper, your back pressed up against the down pillows in a coordinating embroidered linen, when suddenly, the dog bounds across the room jumping up on you, spilling your coffee all over the velvet. No worries. You just pick it up and wipe with a damp cloth, because it is a Sunbrella fabric. Now you are ready to entertain inside or out in a beautiful home.
The main summer trend I predict…..no worries….because you planned ahead and used the right fabrics. Now is the perfect time to start working with your interior designer on the outdoor ease of living everywhere in your home. Plan now for a fresh start to a worry free summer….and in Florida, outdoor living is year round!

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This post was written by Katherine

A dirty secret of any interior design studio is how many of discontinued fabric and wallcovering samples end up in the garbage.  It’s always hard to find a creative reuse for these samples, no matter how beautiful they are – after all, you can only make so many throw pillows before they take on a life of their own – and take over your sofa!

I recently read about the School Resource Center at the Lee County Schools Foundation, located on Second Street between Jackson and Hendry Streets in downtown Fort Myers. The dedicated staff at the School Resource Center collect corporate and individual donations of school supplies, art supplies, books, and classroom materials.  Lee County teachers can “shop” for free, getting much needed supplies for their classrooms and their students.   Most classroom teachers purchase supplies for their students on their own dime, so the Resource Center fills a great need.

When Collins & DuPont’s resource library had a sizable number of fabric sample books to discard, I thought they might enjoy a new life in classroom art projects.  This afternoon, I’m taking our second car load of sample books to the Resource Center. The teachers are happy, our design librarian is happy, and we did our part to “reduce, reuse, and recycle!”

To make a donation, or for more information, call the Resource Center at 239-337-0433.