Bill Earls Realtor

Bill Earls Realtor

111 Fifth Avenue South, Naples, Florida 34102 

More exciting news!  One of my favorite of the newer homes in Old Naples has just gone on the market~ the personal family residence of architect Eugene Martin, it commands attention with its Beaux Arts facade,  facing both Fifth Avenue South and Gulf Shore Boulevard.  Kudos to top real estate professional, Bill Earls, for listing yet another iconic and grand, yet family oriented property!  The most enticing thing about this house is that one can walk to the beach (across the boulevard) or just one block to the famed restaurants of Fifth Avenue, including Bice, Tulia, Hob Nob, La Bazenne, etcetera~or take the jitney to the Port Royal club !  Enjoy!  DF *****

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111 Fifth Avenue S. Naples, Florida 34102

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Naples in Haute Living

Naples, Florida

Naples beach

Naples, Third Street South

Here comes Summer!  The Europeans love Naples in the "off-season" and perhaps you can see why from looking at these images...and I was perusing Haute Living today and came across this post about "Florida Get-Aways" - which mentioned Naples, and compared it to Southern California...Enjoy!  DF ***** 

Before or After?

Albert Hadley, Naples, FL 1999

Of course, I absolutely loved the old Albert Hadley cottage, and spent many fun times there- sometime between 1997 and 1999...it was the BEST ! My clients, David and Tom - bought it from AH, after I had introduced them.  Below is the current MLS shot of his former living room, which perhaps has become a "Naples-ized" version...

2014

Billy and I are just back from a jaunt to Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach, so stay tuned for some shots I took while there!  XXOO DF *****

Everything Old Is New Again

Dean Farris Interior Design

Just like my friend Jennifer Boles's new book, "In With The Old" my thoughts turn to the way fashion goes in circles...my old Parsons table, a gift from Albert Hadley, sits on top of Mario Buatta's new book- which is totally fabulous- I keep going back to it- especially since Patricia Altschul's Charleston house has appeared on BRAVO tv- (her son Whitney is the producer of the show called Southern Charm) and two of her homes in New York are featured in the Mario book.  The chair to the right in this shot belonged to Naples designer Holland Salley, who came to town in 1953, with his wife and two sons, to start his business.  He eventually bought the old Smith Furniture Company, and changed the name to Holland Salley, Inc.  When I first arrived here, in the mid nineties, Mr. Salley still had his Port Royal home, which he called "Salley's Alley".  Coincidentally, my friend and fellow designer, Kelli Smith, has now moved her design office into Holland's first location, on Fifth Avenue South.  The small tortoise bamboo table next to the chair, reminds me of another icon and inspiration, the late Angelo Donghia.  Angelo loved using the small bamboo chairs as accents in his east 70's townhouse...I do see all of this coming back into the whirl, since as we all know, what goes around, comes around.  Perhaps chintz will make a big comeback too- our friend, Pat Scharf, from Duralee, seems to think so, and Duralee recently acquired Bailey and Griffin, and have re-colored some of the old classics.  Enjoy!
DF *****  

Old Naples Charm

Former Naples Cottage of Albert Hadley

I had a most enjoyable ride downtown this morning- adjusting for the extra hour- and knowing that today is Billy's birthday, I wanted to get back to my place in time to get ready for a later celebration in his honor.  I meandered down 11th Avenue South, which has some of the most concentrated cottages, one more charming than the next.  When AH lived here, I was a frequent guest, and had some fabulous times soaking up his amazing, mercurial, and magical atmosphere.  There was always a wonderful aroma of fresh oil paint, the floors had been painted, and that unique old house coolness.  The dormer window, at top left, contained a new shower he had Johnny Harris, the contractor put in, and I once had the pleasure of taking a shower there, right in front of the window!  It seemed perfectly natural at the time.  Recently, Billy and I attended a requiem mass for dear Johnny, at the elegant Trinity-by-the-Cove Episcopal Church, in Port Royal, which is just south of Old Naples.  It wasn't long ago that Mr. Charles Faudree, the famous "french country" specialist had given a talk at this church, as part of the Naples Antiques show.  Mr. Faudree died in November of last year.  I had planned to attend his presentation, but ended up giving my tickets to a client, (the one who had hired Ruben de Saavedra and Michael Greer).  I do think that even Albert would be amazed at all of the new houses going up in Naples.

  
Here's a shot of a typical side street  in Old Naples, leading to the beach.  I love the classic "old south" look of these streets- and the real estate professionals really love them, as you can imagine.  It's triple A location, although these are not waterfront lots.

Here's a newer house, built on a private side street, across from my friend Art Canada's old house.  Art is a builder, and one of the most prolific of the Old Naples real estate investors.  I thought the siting of this one was very well done- and I like the longish driveway too.  I see so many interesting things, (and people) when riding downtown, and in the Moorings, this morning, I saw a beautiful young woman in a dress and heels, walking her two French bulldogs.  I also saw four Bentleys and two or three Maseratis... as the private jets came in for their landings.  Simply fabulous!  Cheers!  DF *****

What Makes A House Personal?

The Hamstra house was featured in "Florida Design"

Bronze Aligator door knocker, Old Naples

Shades of Louisiana, Old Naples

Beautiful Old Naples street leading to the beach

"Florida Deco" entrance gates

I've always loved houses, for as long as I can remember. We lived in a small very sweet house in Georgia, in an older, established neighborhood, and I have fond memories of spending my childhood there, near Peachtree Terrace, in Albany.

I often dream of houses at night, houses that don't actually exist, but are conjured in my vivid imagination, while sleeping. This morning, as usual, I took my bike ride in a downtown, southerly direction, and quickly took these random shots, of homes and streets that are on my "route". It was overcast, and a Summer storm was brewing - so these shots are not as crisp as I prefer. According to the social register (consult dilatory domiciles) - there are more SR families with second or third homes in Naples than in Palm Beach, and these pictures I took really don't capture the secret charm that Naples proper exudes. I only mention this by way of making a point that there is a certain "Naples taste level" - and a very high one it is.

Not only do we have old family names, we also have titled aristocrats, and a realtor I know here has a daughter who dated Prince Albert of Monaco. Also, the governor of Florida (Rick Scott- R -) has a home here as well. My decorative painter is currently working, along with three other painting contractors, on a house near the Gov's that sold for forty million dollars. Enjoy these house shots, and have a great week! DF *****

Tequila Sunsets

It's great having the positive energy coming from the water, and living just across from the beach, I caught these amazing shots of the sunset, watching it is a Naples tradition, and people from the neighborhood come and bring their cocktails and watch the sun make its peaceful and elegant descent into the horizon...enjoy these shots! I also took two more of my new apartment, which I really like due to its overwhelming sense of simplicity, reminding me of Albert's cottage on 11th Avenue South, as well as my old place on 14th Avenue South, further down in Old Naples... Dean *****