Olde Naples, where every project answers to history.
Olde Naples is the historic core of the city — pier-front lots, intimate garden courtyards, the walkable village rhythm of 1st through 5th Avenue. Properties here are smaller, the architectural vocabulary is established, and the design discipline is restraint. The best Olde Naples landscapes look like they have always been there.
Designing in a historic district.
Olde Naples is governed by a historic preservation overlay that shapes everything from setbacks to plant palette to exterior materials. New construction is rare. Most projects are restorations, additions, and landscape interventions on properties that have stood for fifty or seventy-five years.
Our approach is to read the property carefully — what is original, what is later addition, what should stay, what should disappear. The goal is never to make Olde Naples look new. The goal is to make it look like the property has always been this way, only better cared for.
What we design in Olde Naples.
Courtyard gardens
Walled interior gardens, fountain rooms, secret seating. Olde Naples lots reward the kind of garden the street never sees.
Compact pool design
Pools sized for the lot, geometry that respects historic setbacks, finish materials chosen to look weathered from day one.
Pier-front landscape
For properties with bay access — dock integration, salt-tolerant planting, designed transitions from house to water.
Historic plant palettes
Royal palms, frangipani, plumeria, citrus, jasmine — the species that have always been part of the Olde Naples palette, used the way they have always been used.
Preservation review navigation
Submittals to the historic preservation board, careful documentation of existing-versus-new, drawings that read clearly under review.
Common questions.
Do you work with the Olde Naples historic preservation board?
Yes, on every Olde Naples project. We prepare submittals in the format the board expects, document existing conditions carefully, and design for first-pass approval.
Can you design for smaller Olde Naples lots?
Yes — restraint is the discipline Olde Naples teaches. We design more carefully on a smaller lot, not less.
Will the design respect the historic architectural character?
Always. The character of the neighborhood is the most valuable thing about it. Our work supports it.
What does an Olde Naples project typically take?
From first site walk to final installation, typically nine to fifteen months. Historic review adds time on the front end.
“Olde Naples has a memory. We design into it — keeping the canopy, the scale, and the quiet that make the neighborhood what it is.”
Eleven consecutive Best of Houzz awards · 2020 HGTV People's Choice Award, Cape Coral
Bring the property to us.
If your home is in Olde Naples, we would be glad to begin a conversation. Rob personally reviews every inquiry.
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