Eagles Preserve
Elegance
The Nanfelts Create a New Look for their New Home
alking through the door of the Nanfelt’s new home is a bit of surprise. There are no boxes or bags, all the pictures are hung, and there is an inviting sense that they are ready for visitors to stop by and stay awhile. Peter and Jerry Nanfelt are no strangers to moving. This couple lived for almost 20 years in Indonesia where they served as missionaries; then it was on to Nyack, New York, where they lived for 10 years while Peter was working and serving at the headquarters of The Christian and Missionary Alliance; and then finally Colorado Springs, Colorado, for the past 18 years, when they followed the national office of the CMA to its new location. This summer, after Peter’s retirement as president of the organization, they made their final move to Shell Point in Fort Myers, where they have set up housekeeping in a beautiful two-bedroom, two-bath residence in Eagles Preserve. Jerry is a natural born decorator. Her real name is Carolyn, but her middle name is Jerry and that’s the name that people used when she was growing up. With an eye for space and color, she enjoys pulling things together and working with what she has to make a house a home, and in their new home in Eagles Preserve she has scored a home run. “We were really excited to be moving
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Shell Point Life | October 2007
into our new home,” said Jerry, “and this time we decided to start fresh with a new look that suited our new lifestyle.” Taking their favorite things from each of their previous homes: sculptures and carvings from Africa and Indonesia; family photos and Thomas Kincaid paintings from their home in New York; and majestic mountain
scenes from their home in Colorado, the couple added new and exciting pieces to create a truly eclectic environment that speaks of their new life in Florida. The interior design is both beautiful as well as functional and starts just inside the front door with a black cabinet reminiscent of an antique apothecary cabinet. Although the area has plenty of overhead light, a burnished red lamp with gold accents and shade casts light over the red pottery accents that adorn the top. The secret to this terrific find is that it is actually a practical two-drawer filing cabinet that hides all of Jerry’s folders that she uses at her desk that sits just around the corner in the kitchen.
Near the entrance is also the breakfast nook which features dramatic cherry red walls trimmed in crisp white trim. Updated ladder back chairs provide seating at the round breakfast table and a corner hutch stores pottery and other useful items. On the wall is a small watercolor created by their daughter Tammi as a gift from all the children to their father when he was named president of the CMA in 1998. The hallway becomes an art gallery for three bold floral prints encased in modern black wood frames. These vertical prints add drama and bring the bright colors at the entrance into the main center of the home. Although the rest of the walls throughout the living room and dining room are a subtle creamy gold, the lively cherry red of the morning room is introduced into the living area with a plush upholstered sofa in the same bright color. Two upholstered accent chairs provide additional seating and a leather ottoman will be arriving any day now to take its rightful place in the center of the living room where anyone can put their feet up to watch the large screen TV, which is tucked away in a medium high cabinet that Jerry purchased on a furniture expedition to North Carolina. Many Florida kitchens feature light colors. The Nanfelts chose a sophisticated color scheme that included white cabinets accented by brown and black flecked countertops. The dining room features a traditional hardwood table stained a medium brown
with comfortable upholstered chairs. But, just to keep things from getting too traditional, Jerry used a glass hurricane filled with sand, white shells, and a white sea urchin-shaped candle as a centerpiece. Yellow and red flowers in a glass urn on an iron stand fill the corner and complement a treasured framed cross stitch. The master bedroom features another dramatic color scheme of bold navy blue and crisp white. The queen sized bed is covered in a blue comforter accented with a white Battenberg lace dust ruffle. A blue wing back chair provides a comfortable place to read and a white desk and chair sit directly in front of the window for writing letters or enjoying a quiet time as the sun goes down. The second bedroom is a combination of guest room and home office and both functions have been successfully accomplished in a wonderful masculine design that includes a guest bed set off-center in the room covered with a cream colored
quilt topped off with casual brown throw pillows. Instead of a head board on the bed, which would have taken up space both visually as well as physically, Jerry used an oversized print in a wide horizontal frame. Although this room is ready for guests who might visit occasionally during the year, its daily purpose is to serve as Peter’s office and library. A large desk sits under the window and wooden bookcases line the other wall. The look is cozy and inviting while also being highly functional. Although Peter and Jerry are enjoying their time at Shell Point, Peter is only semi-retired and still works as a consultant for the CMA. So, when he returns from his frequent business trips, this office provides him with a working environment that suits his needs. When this busy couple has a moment to relax, they can spend it on their enclosed lanai which overlooks the 14th link of Shell Point’s verdant golf course and a large lake lined with native grasses and a small sandy edge that is the chosen spot for the local alligator who likes to sun himself in the late afternoons. “This was a major source of entertain-
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We just love it here. We couldn’t ask for a better place to retire.
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ment for our grandkids,” chuckles Jerry. “We have a pair of binoculars out here and they would watch that gator every day.” The lanai features a relaxed tropical style with bamboo and rattan furnishings covered in a durable light blue fabric embroidered with a small repeating palm tree print. Matchstick blinds in the side window and a sisal rug trimmed with a black border on the floor add texture and island flavor. “We just love it here,” she concluded. “Our neighbors are such wonderful people and we have enjoyed getting to know them. There are three couples on our floor and we all got together one day and took a tour of each of our homes. It was fun to see the difference in how each of us had decorated our homes and now we are like old friends who get together to enjoy each other’s company. We couldn’t ask for a better place to retire.” Shell Point Life | October 2007
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