LUXURY AND LAND

Andrea Stetson

Special to Fort Myers News-Press

Sometimes it’s not about having an address in the most posh place in town. Sometimes it’s about finding the right house, in the right location to meet your lifestyle. That’s what Chuck and Sharon Hallberg did when they sold their Port Royal home and purchased a luxury house on 1.5 acres in Pine Ridge Estates.

The Hallberg’s train their dogs in obstacle courses and jumping for competitions and the wide swath of land by their new home is perfect for this lifestyle. But the couple didn’t give up extreme luxury when they moved. The Hallbergs found a spec house that was being built by McGarvey Custom Homes.

“We loved the house immediately,” Chuck said.

Experts at McGarvey Custom Homes say this is a smart move for homeowners.

“We have been seeing that trend in Pine Ridge; more bang for your buck; more land for sure,” said Jennifer McGarvey Burch, Director of Residential Construction for McGarvey Custom Homes.

Chuck thinks so, especially since he didn’t have to give up luxury, design or attention to detail in order to get more land.

“Our other house had an open floorplan and our house in Cleveland had an open floorplan, so we were immediately attracted to this,” he said. “It is great for entertaining, great for a low key lifestyle. The dogs can come in and out. They did a fabulous job with all the lighting. We have always been a family that understood how lighting can improve and impact a room.”

The great room is full of natural lighting too. Two huge walls of glass doors fold, making a gigantic opening to the outdoors. That not only gives them seamless indoor/outdoor living, it opens up spectacular views.

“Probably the view,” Sharon said when asked about her favorite part of the house.

“I have to agree with Sharon,” Chuck added. “If it is a beautiful day outside, we are by the summer kitchen or sitting here reading a book or watching television.”

With so much land, the lanai and pool section is larger than in most homes. The under roof area has a spacious sitting and dining section and a large outdoor kitchen. There is a television and fireplace. Screens and shutters come down from the ceiling at the push of a button. Beyond is the large pool and spa. Views of the lake can be seen from all over the lanai and great room. The lanai leads to a grassy section by the lake where seating around a fire pit offers more space for entertaining. On another lawn is an open fire Asado Grill. Then there’s the large fenced in space beside the house that is set up as an obstacle course for the dogs.

The Hallbergs say this indoor/outdoor space is not only great for them to enjoy, but it’s perfect for entertaining. In the corner between the two sliders, the couple showcases a piano. Neither of them plays the instrument, but they don’t have to.

“It’s a player piano connected to the Internet so you can stream music through the Internet, and it plays the piano,” Sharon explained. “We have Norah Jones come through the speakers, but the piano would play along.”

The home has a modern look inside with flat, shiny white cabinets in the kitchen and a dark modern insert of wood to surround the television and provide a bookcase in the living room. A floating staircase with glass sides, geometric, layered ceilings and light wood floors add to this style. The clean lines continue in the master bedroom where a handmade bed includes a tall box that holds a pop up television. A wall of windows and a glass door overlook the lake and garden.

“You have a breathtaking view from the bedroom,” Chuck said. “We have a gorgeous gourmet bathroom.”

In between the bedroom and bathroom is a morning bar.

There are five bedrooms in the main house and one more bedroom in the guest house, but the Hallbergs didn’t need that many bedrooms. So they converted one into a fitness room and another into an office. The house has six full and three half bathrooms.

The second floor, that can be accessed by the stairs or an elevator, starts off with a loft.

“This is my man cave,” Chuck says.

The loft showcases his five acoustic guitars and three electric guitars that are lined up along the overlook railing and the wall. There’s his desk, another entertainment area with a couch and television and sliding glass doors that lead to a wide terrace. An upstairs guest suite also has sliding glass doors that open to the balcony.

For guests that are staying a while or want more privacy, there is an entire guest house complete with a full kitchen, living room, washer and dryer, and bedroom suite.

Including the guest house, the Hallbergs have 6,962 square feet of space under air. There is a total of 10,139 square feet of living space including the lanai and garage. Rich Guzman of RG Designs was the architect, and Arlynn McDaniel of Freestyle Interiors did the interior design. Christian Andrea was the landscape architect that created the look of this gigantic property.

Ben McGarvey, project manager residential at McGarvey Custom Homes, said the land and the house make a spectacular combination.

“It was a unique lot,” McGarvey began. “That is what drew us to buy it in the first place. “The whole house was designed to have a view of that lake. That is why the house is so far back on that property.”

McGarvey said this house fits a social lifestyle.

“We have been doing very well with our spec house with the big great room for entertaining,” he said. “It is one of their (customer’s) buttons. It’s the 90 degree sliders that both pocket back and the dining room pockets so you have all those doors pocketed and you have the big area where you incorporate all that outdoor living and indoor living. They want to have a bunch of people in their house and not feel like they are on top of each other.”

McGarvey said that’s why the house was perfect for the Hallbergs.

“That is what they like. They do like to entertain,” he said. “It’s also the overall size of the house.”

The house came furnished, but the Hallbergs added many of their own touches. They replaced art work that spanned two stories high in the entry with their own paintings. They added some of their furniture and pictures. They also put in a climate controlled wine safe.

“It really is a beautiful property,” Chuck said. “We are really comfortable here, and it fits our lifestyle.”

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