Neutral Colors and Clean Lines Prevail in Sanibel Island

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Native Texan Laura Wood-Smith is a self-described “beach girl” who decided in 2021 that it was time for her and her spouse to try something new. After all, their kids were grown and on their own, so why not live life on their terms? Before they knew it, they had sold their house on Lake Travis and set about finding a new home on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

“My father used to live in Bonita Springs, and when he was still alive, we used to take day trips over to Sanibel Island and we’d marvel at how lush, green, and beautiful it was,” recalls Wood-Smith, who had set her sights on the low-key island as a potential retirement locale. But finding a dream home in the area was a lot more complicated than she anticipated. It was “next, next, next” until the day they walked into a four-bedroom, four-bath, 4,785-square-foot residence that took their breath away. The place was ideally situated, bright in tone, and required no renovations. Best of all, it came already decorated in a style ideally suited for the new Floridians.

“Our agent asked me if I wanted to look at anything else and I said, ‘I don’t think so,’” says Wood-Smith with a laugh. “This had it all.”

As luck would have it, the residence had been previously designed by Dwayne Bergmann and Mary Sica for clients who then decided to move on and sell it fully furnished. Wood-Smith immediately responded to the elegant aesthetic and neutral background enhanced by organic textures, wow-factor lighting pieces, and geometrical accents.

“The original directive was for a serene living environment that would keep lives simple and comfortable,” says Bergmann. “There’s nothing too formal or stuffy, nowhere you can’t sit or engage with the tactile features of the rooms.”

The residence is a contemporary design lover’s dream. In the living room, hard-edged stone and steel coffee tables are softened by a sofa’s plush velvet throw pillows, which cry out to be touched. In the dining room, a petrified wood table base is lightened by a glass tabletop and playfully patterned curtains. Horizontal lines lose their harshness in rooms with stone walls and animal prints. These mixes may be unexpected for Sanibel Island, but in Bergmann’s and Sica’s hands, they come together effortlessly.

After so many disappointments, Wood-Smith was delighted with what she saw. “At first, we felt intimidated by how bright the house was because everything we’d known before in Texas was marked by dark wood and heavy limestone,” she says. “But now, when I open the blinds and I see the foliage and the bay, and the pelicans and ospreys flying by, I think, ‘This is home.’ It’s everything I dreamed of.”

Story Credits:

Interior Design by Dwayne Bergmann & Mary Sica, Dwayne Bergmann Interiors, Fort Myers, FL

Text by Paige Bowers

Photography by Venjhamin Reyes, Miami, FL

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