For families settling a home in Old Naples — a cottage on the avenues that's been in the family since the 1940s, or a new house two doors down from one — with a free walk-through, a written evaluation, and a plan that fits the streets, the season and the closing.
the front room
Old Naples — the grid of avenues between the Tamiami Trail and the Gulf, from Fifth Avenue South down past Third Street to the Pier and the residential streets beyond — is about fifteen minutes from our shop, and we're in it constantly. Walk-throughs can usually be arranged within a day or two.
Old Naples is the oldest part of the city, and the streets still hold the cottages and Florida vernacular houses of the 1910s through the 1950s — some kept by the same families for three generations. Next door, more often than not, is a house built in the last few years on the lot where another cottage stood. The estates are as different as the architecture.
The old houses hold old Naples: furniture that came down by train or by Tamiami Trail when the road was new, early Florida paintings and prints, pier and fishing photographs, the china and silver of a family that entertained in a small dining room, and paper — deeds, postcards, club programs, hotel ephemera — that the Naples Historical Society and collectors of Florida history care about. We take our time in these, and we'll tell you what should be kept, what should be offered to the Society, and what will find a buyer.
The new houses were usually furnished by a designer within the last decade, and hold the pieces the owners brought from a previous life — which is where the value tends to be. We'll say plainly which is which.
Narrow avenues, alleys, limited parking, and — in season — a lot of traffic between Fifth Avenue and the beach. We plan pickups for early mornings and off-peak days, use vehicles that fit an alley, and coordinate with neighbors who are, in Old Naples, invariably watching. Many properties here are single-family with no HOA, so a traditional estate sale is legally possible; whether it's wise, on a street with no parking and a lot of foot traffic, is another question, and we'll give you an honest answer. Our private route — walk-through, written evaluation, then buyout, consignment or auction — keeps the public out of the house entirely. The routes compared.
Old Naples lots change hands to be rebuilt more than anywhere except Port Royal, and a closing on a teardown is absolute: the house comes down, and everything in it has to be gone. We build the plan backwards from that date, buying the general contents so the house empties on schedule and placing the genuinely good pieces where they'll do best, even if they sell after the bulldozer has been.
Early Florida furniture in cypress and pine; Victorian and early 20th-century pieces that came with the first families; sterling flatware and hollowware; paintings and prints by Florida artists; nautical and fishing antiques; rattan and wicker of real age; maps, photographs and ephemera; and, in the newer houses, the fine furniture, silver and art of the northern home. Jewelry, watches and gold go to our sister shop, Naples Estate Jewelry, in the same visit.
Aqualane Shores, Port Royal, the Coquina Sands and Moorings stretch of Gulf Shore Boulevard, and Park Shore are all the same trip. See Port Royal, Park Shore, or all the areas we cover.
The same four steps we use for every estate — with the drive, the gate and the building's rules already factored in.
Where the home is in Old Naples, roughly what's in it, and any dates that matter — a closing, a lease end, a flight home.
We come to the house, free of charge. Out of state? We can work from photographs, or with a neighbor, realtor or attorney who holds the keys.
What's there, what it's likely worth, and your options for each piece — buyout, consignment, auction, keep, or donate. The routes compared
Pickup, paperwork, gate and building coordination, auction submissions and payment — with a record for the estate file.
With a walk-through, before anything is thrown away. Old Naples houses hold things — early furniture, Florida art, photographs, paper — that are easy to mistake for clutter. We'll tell you what's worth keeping, what the Historical Society might want, and what will sell.
Legally, usually yes — most Old Naples lots have no HOA. Practically, parking and traffic make it hard, and neighbors tend to object. We don't run sales, but we'll give you an honest opinion and a referral if it's the right fit. Our own route keeps everything private.
Yes. We buy the general contents outright so the house is empty on the date, and place the genuinely good pieces where they'll do best — even if those sell after the closing.
Good early pieces — well-made, with age and original finish — are collected and sell well in Naples. Later reproductions are used furniture. We'll tell you which you have.
We'll set aside anything of local historical interest during the walk-through and put you in touch; the decision, and the gift, should be the family's.
We buy single pieces and entire estates — antiques, silver, art, and furniture. Honest evaluations, free of charge and free of pressure.