Art and Soul

Story by LIBBY BOREN McMILLAN • Photos by VALERIE ROCHE

When Fort Myers resident Steven B. Turner spontaneously suggested that he and wife Mollie go house-hunting one Saturday morning, she was surprised but motivated. Even though the home they were in was only a couple of years old, “We were already thinking to ourselves, ‘This is boring. We have nothing to do to it,’” Mollie says. “It just wasn’t as much fun as an older house.”

That weekend expedition turned up an unusual multilevel home, just off the Caloosahatchee River on a wide canal, surrounded by mature trees and with all sorts of architectural surprises inside. A couple of transactions later the Turners — including sons Tim and Sam, Max the dog and his feline roommates Spike and Beauty — moved into the house that now reflects all their passions: family, fishing and boating, creating and collecting art and simply relaxing together and with friends.

“We spend so much time at home,” Mollie says. “This is where we get ourselves together. It’s a nurturing place.”

It’s a fun place, too.

“All the kids come here and play,” she says. “We love that.”

FUN FOR EVERYONE

Visiting children always have plenty to do: When not skating out front, they spend hours on a trampoline in the private backyard. An open-air swimming pool is always waiting; otters visit the docks, and a peregrine falcon often hangs around. Four bright green iguanas, one 5 feet long, also live in the backyard.

Inside, a downstairs game room already has a pool table, video games and an arcade-style dance machine, and the Turners are enhancing it in a surfer theme, a tribute to Steve’s former days as a pro. Although he doesn’t ride monster waves anymore, he skateboards with Sam all the time. “I do 8- to 9-foot half-pipes with him,” he says.

Friends with the skateboarders featured in the film “Lords of Dogtown,” the energetic Turner stays in shape in a home gym that’s adjacent to a three-car garage and the rod repository he calls The Fishing Room.

The home is filled with colorful art in every medium and style, including Steve’s watercolors, mixed media and woodworking creations. Mollie’s sister has contributed her work, too, as have Steve’s father, watercolorist Bill Turner, and faux artist Tracie Thompson, who worked on interior walls. A pencil and ink by Costa Rican artist Ernesto Mays hangs in a special spot over the antique game table.

Mays, the father-and-son Turners and several other artists are featured in Steve and Mollie’s new Sim Gallery of Fine Arts in The Promenade at Cape Harbour, where Steve also has office space. His Bradford & Co. design firm conceptualizes both buildings and interiors (Cape Harbour’s Promenade itself is one of his designs, as is Rumrunners restaurant nearby).

Back at the house, a Samoyan devil chair holds court from the living room floor, while three carved Thai ladies relocated from Naples’ Arhaus reign from a prime spot just below the 22-foot-high cypress plank ceiling.

The Sim Gallery tag lines— “Funky to exquisite. Fine art for everyone’s taste. You’ll know it when you see it.” — clearly echo the owners’ personal design aesthetic.

“We like to mix things up,” Mollie says. A glance around the house makes her point: There are antiques, ethnic and contemporary art, serious watercolors and playful accents. “We find what we like and we make it fit,” she explains. “If we love it, then we will find a place for it.”

ROOM FOR EVERYTHING

Mollie’s love for books and reading inspired Steve to transform a second floor dead space into a library. He also designed and built cabinetry that hides a television and showcases more art in the den.

The entrance to the kitchen features a blackboard with a quote about living in the moment. One can’t help but wonder how the busy Turners catch their breath to find the moment they’re in, but unlike most of us, they are infused with energy by all they take on.

“We just added new doors to the kitchen cabinetry,” says Steve, “and we added the island, new countertops and paint.” The results are modern but welcoming, with a casual vibe.

COLORS FROM THE TROPICS

A tiny Caribbean painting served as inspiration for the home’s entire palette, Mollie says in reference to the coral exterior, green shutters, “bluish porches” and outdoor ceilings that are painted pink. Turquoise decks reflect the light in a lovely way, she says, adding, “Even if they’re difficult to maintain, it’s worth it.”

Nine or 10 wooden fish, works by another artist that caught the fancy of this creative couple, adorn the walls of several rooms. Full-length windows, in wooden casings with plantation shutters, let sunlight pour in when it’s wanted.

Upstairs surprises include an intermediate level with small office and a terra-cotta-hued half-bath in a Mexican theme.

A stone vessel sink perches on a wood plank countertop that Steve distressed and stained. Accents include Talavera wall hangings and an antique sombrero.

The master bedroom is a work in progress, but the accompanying bath is nearly finished. In pale green tones with white accents, it will probably host a claw-foot tub before long. An angular but cozy private porch comes off the master suite and is a favorite spot for Steve and Mollie to relax. A larger cantilevered deck faces the canals and affords a river view. Every bedroom, in fact, has the luxury of a private porch, which the cats interpret as a quick getaway point for “scouting in the wild.” The boys have what is fondly called The Skittles Room, in eye-popping shades reminiscent of its namesake candy.

ON THE WATERFRONT

A beautifully designed and well-protected outdoor living area near the docks is a family favorite for relaxing. Steve also drew up the home’s docks, which include two lifts, one for his flats boat and a larger, 17,000-pounder for the 32-foot craft he just purchased. “I go 130 miles offshore,” he says of a hobby perfect for this water-loving Aquarius, who rigs his rods on a big table in The Fishing Room.

Turner has a new pool deck on his to-do list, as well as an outdoor kitchen — in addition to all his design projects, including a client’s home in the Hamptons, the duo’s new gallery, personal art projects, two sons, three pets and life’s little surprises.

Perhaps all the color at home infuses this family with energy.

Before we say goodbye, Sam shows off his full front flip on the trampoline.

“Tim is the reader,” says Mollie of the older Turner son. “He takes after me.” She’s obviously doing far more than reading, however, as projects in and around the Turner home move swiftly along, not unlike the river currents pushing past stands of bamboo in a yard filled with laughter and bright green iguanas.