The windows in the master bedroom were positioned to make the walls look thick, like older construction.
The breakfast area, like most of the home, features Kathy Steininger's sewing touches.
76 NAPLES ILLUSTRATED
“He really did a wonderful job,” Don says. “He took our ideas and molded his skill around them.” Throughout the year and a half it took Frey & Son Homes to build the house, skilled craftsmen—including David Nelson Masonry and Whitman Designs—implemented the Steiningers’ ideas, such as creating perfect half-circle stone arches and adding lighting fixtures that fit into their antique aesthetic. One of the couple’s ideas was to use reclaimed barn beams, so Don, who is in the construction business, made some calls. Before long, they had a semi-trailer load of beams in 40 different sizes and lengths that now make up the stair treads, fireplace mantels and kitchen island countertop. They still have some in storage. One of two large beams in the foyer was so big, it had to be brought through a hole in the roof with a crane and sling after nearly 80 hours of design and engineering. Kathy says they also used recycled bricks for the fireplace and driveway pavers, along with fieldstone. “My uncle was a brick mason,” Don says. “I grew up in construction.” Kathy added many of the finishing touches herself, including sewing the dust ruffles and window treatments. Her sewing machine is in a work area in the expanded laundry room, where she also creates mosaic work using broken antique cups and saucers for the backsplash in the kitchen, along with some shell and tile mosaic mirrors.