Before designing their own waterfront retreat, landscape architect and urban designer Matthew Horton and veterinarian Lura Jones put their creative energy into her two-story clinic — a modern marvel on south McGregor Boulevard.
Opened in 2014, the distinctive McGregor Boulevard Veterinary Clinic was honored with a General Practice Hospital of the Year award by dvm360 — the only industry award for animal hospital design.
“We broke a lot of rules about how vet clinics are supposed to be designed and built. It was designed by the two of us and was a real organic process,” says Matt, a principal at EnSite.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
The husband-and-wife duo started veering in the modern direction again for the home they were planning for a vacant property they had purchased in 2015 along the Caloosahatchee. Though they had lived in south Fort Myers since 1999, Lura and Matt had their eye on an historic neighborhood off McGregor Boulevard that was originally platted in 1929. The neighborhood includes wide sidewalks and generous public access along the river, leaving wide, unobstructed views and inviting sunset strolls and dog walks.
“We were patiently waiting for the right property to come up for sale,” Matt says. “We’ve always liked the neighborhood. It was very well done, the way they did things in the ’20s. Everyone here gets to enjoy the river view.”
Soon into the design, Lura, 47, told Matt, “I don’t want a house that looks like my office. We did that once.” He puts it this way: “She made an executive decision to build something warmer.”
They decided on modern Florida vernacular — a style echoing the wood-framed, turn-of-the-1900s originals with wide porches but with modern finishes and interiors. They applied a few concepts that Matt, 46, practices in his professional site and master planning projects and that they incorporated into the vet clinic: sustainability and colors and materials reflecting the local environment.
Modern Florida
The landscape was created with native and Florida-friendly plants that don’t require regular watering, and there’s no lush green lawn. With two sons and a passel of adopted dogs and cats, they opted for synthetic turf that holds up for many years under wear-and-tear, allows rainwater to percolate into the ground, and doesn’t require pesticide or fertilizer. The artificial turf also doesn’t spark allergies for the humans or pets. For the strip of real grass in a public right-of-away, they use an electric mower — one way the family reduces their carbon footprint.
Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
There are other considerations many embarking on this type of project wouldn’t consider, though a landscape architect does. The two-story, 3,000-square-foot home is thoughtfully built up nine and a half feet to meet flood codes, much of it from the foundation. Rainfall is captured onsite through an exfiltration system and shunted to the city drainage system, so it doesn’t flood neighbors’ yards.
They designed the vet clinic to be energy efficient with extensive windows that allow in natural light, and their own home, too. Their home features a long-lasting metal roof and plenty of glazed windows that make artificial lighting in the day unnecessary, complemented by complete LED lighting for the evenings. This reduces their carbon footprint with added benefits — a reduced monthly electric bill.
“The goal, like with the clinic, was to daylight the entire space. In the daytime, we don’t run lights. It’s unnecessary, even on an overcast day,” Matt says.
Polished concrete floors on the ground level are low-maintenance and durable, without need of replacement.
The home was built by Dan Dodrill, founding principal of the 25-year-old custom home building firm Daniel Wayne Homes.
“He was instrumental in the design process. Dan’s experience with Old Florida homes and materials was absolutely key to how successful it was,” Matt says.
They also worked with engineer Shawn Anderson, president of Select Structural in Fort Myers, “making sure it holds together for hurricanes.” It proved its mettle during Hurricane Irma, which roared through about three months before the family moved into their new, unscathed home.
Being on the river allows the family to step into the backyard and onto their dock for weekend excursions on the 24-foot Hydra-Sports. Their two sons, Cael, 13, and Renn, 11, are active with the Edison Sailing Center and captain their own Boston Whaler.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
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Andrea Melendez
The riverfront home of Matthew Horton and Lura Jones incorporates modern design features with Old Florida style.
Subtle signatures
A unique element that Matt etched into the home — which he applies subtly in all his designs — was the inclusion of “cardinal directions on the ground plane.” In other words, his design alludes to, or points out, the wayfinding directional signals on the compass: north, south, east and west. In their home, the “compass” is carried throughout the first floor, from the kitchen to the home office to the master bedroom, in an abstract way that doesn’t dominate, a subliminal hint.
Other details include a coffee bar separating a stand-alone freezer and refrigerator in the kitchen. The foyer and living room ceiling lifts 35 feet to the second floor, allowing in copious light. The upstairs landing is where a baby grand piano (a hand-me-down from a friend) takes center stage; Lura has played since she was a child and their sons take lessons. With the master suite downstairs, the boys have their own realm upstairs, which includes their bedrooms, game room and study and dedicated art loft.
Their rescue cats have their own amenity: a screened cat porch adjacent to Matt and Lura’s favorite spot, the veranda. The side porch has a TV and fireplace and relaxing views. Because the front of the home faces the river, it’s Lura’s favorite spot for her morning coffee wake-up and sunset unwind time.
“We primarily like being outside,” she says.