The mosaic-tiled window boxes on two front windows send a hint to those approaching that this home in Naples, Fla., will not be standard fare.
The interior does not belie that first impression.
Gleaming Saltillo floors. Leather seating. And a houseful of art and crafts that keep the guest's eyes traveling from one fascinating piece to another. It's a textbook example of a beautiful home.
The composer of the scene is Clara Beron, a native of Colombia who has been working on perfecting the 1978 home since 1993.
Connecting with artisans in the Southwest and south of the border was no problem for Beron. She has always been in contact.
"When Ernie and I were first married, we traveled all over South America, because he was an executive for large, multinational corporations," she said. "Because we stayed long enough in each country for me to get to know the artisans, I began to buy and sell locally made art."
Beron explained that when her husband tired of the corporate life, the family moved to Miami and launched an import business, wholesaling in this country the hand-made items she was used to trading in South America.
After four years of renting a house in nearby Pine Ridge, the couple yearned for a home of their own. They found what they were looking for in a four-bedroom, four-bath home close to where they were living. That was in 1993.
Although it had a good floor plan, they kept working to make the new home better.
"With dogs and kids, we needed practical floors, so we had Saltillo installed in every room," said Beron. "We converted the garage to a family room (1995). Then, a year later, the living room was extended out about seven feet, and the kitchen, which was the size of a closet, was remodeled and expanded."
From the gallery/foyer, visitors can go left, to the wood-columned family room, or right to the formal living room that Beron prefers to call a party room.
In the latter, a caramel-colored leather sectional beckons guests and the dog dwellers, Sophie, a laid-back Basset Hound, and Sinbad, an energetic boxer.
Sofa sitters unwilling to share cushion space with the canines can lounge in two leather-and-wood chairs Beron designed and had made in the Dominican Republic when she was first married.
Light flowing through the small-paned patio sliders and a molding-trimmed Palladian window shines equally brightly on paintings by Ecuadorian artists and a sculptured wall that displays art and artifacts.
"The little panel on that wall is part of a door from a small shop in Bogota, Colombia," Beron said. "The proprietors could open the glass part to see who was there and keep the wooden part shut."
Interesting doors in both doorways of the party room add to the room's character.
On one side, paneled doors with stained glass insets, rescued from a demolition project in Colombia, lead to the master bedroom. Beyond a small sitting area furnished with Dominican Republic rattan is a sleigh bed and Southwest armoire.
The master bath is tiled in bright green and blue Mexican mosaic tile.
"I designed the tile patterns for the vanity tops and wanted bold colors," said Beron. "I like to feel energized when I enter this room."
In the family room, the leather sofa is accompanied by a bishop's chair from Bogota and an armoire by a Southwest artist who is a favorite of Beron's. "I have David Marsh's work in almost every room," she said.
It is his table in the dining room, which used to be a laundry room before the renovation, and his cabinet pieces in the kitchen.
Beron, who said she loves to cook, likes her narrow dining room table because diners can be more intimate.
"You can put serving platters on the buffet on the back wall, or on the kitchen pass-through counter (which is Mexican granite). That leaves the table more attractive, with just a centerpiece and tableware."
When she planned the kitchen expansion and renovation, she extended the granite counter through her new kitchen windows.
"The back yard gets plenty of use for entertaining," she said, "so it's practical to have that counter into the kitchen."
As part of the remodeling, the pool cage was removed and the pool area was tiled with decorative patterns. A courtyard lattice-roofed to shelter her orchids is a shady place for guests to gather and enjoy the sound and sight of the stone fountain from Mexico.
Beron, an avid gardener, has an herb garden to supply her cooking activities and robust tropical plants she prefers to cultivate in pots.
"That way, you can move them to a better spot if they are not doing well," she said.
Such thoughtfulness extends to the entire decor. Skylights added critical light in the family room and party room. Using a diagonal floor tile pattern in the family room and an octagonal tile in the kitchen differentiates these spaces from the square-tile pattern in other areas of the home. Using decorative tile insets further defines the spaces and precludes the use of area rugs.
Beron, owner of Casa Condor, a retail import crafts business, said she loves sharing her passion for ethnic arts and crafts.
Is she finally finished remodeling?
No, she says with a smile and a gleam in her eye.
Maxine Ginsberg writes for the Naples Daily News in Florida.