At Home with The Gordon Family

A saying featured on a placard in the Gordon family’s home reads: “Life is messy, not perfect.” With four active children—Noah, Isla, Lucy, and Wells, as well as a labrador-mix rescue pup named Riley, David and Carolyn Gordon readily admit best-laid plans often go awry. Yet, they have learned to roll with them, happily reporting their home is widely known as “the fun house.”

“Everything in this home is functional, sentimental, or fun,” says Carolyn. The single-level home provides comfortable shelter for this group of six (plus Riley). Hallways are lined with family photographs while shelves play host to meaningful relics of the past. Every male relative, shares Carolyn, “either raced, launched, or flew something—from cars to rockets to hot-air balloons,” as she explains the plethora of things around the home that go.

The inhabitants of this house came to be, thanks to Randy Kurtz. He and his father, Ron, started Kurtz Homes—a custom home building company—in Naples in 1982, after moving from Iowa. Randy’s daughters, Elizabeth and Carolyn, grew up in a home on Vanderbilt Beach just north of The Ritz-Carlton, Naples. Although Carolyn thought the town was boring when younger, she says, “I had zero to complain about.”

Carolyn met David Gordon while attending college in North Carolina, where David is from. The two dated and made frequent visits to Naples—often over holidays. On one visit, David decided it was time to ask Randy for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Assuming David’s nervousness during their one-on-one meeting was because David wanted a job, Randy eagerly offered a position. David now references that meeting as a “two for one,” where he received Randy’s blessing, as well as employment. David now serves as president of Kurtz Homes. 

In 2019, David and Carolyn bought a 2,500-square-foot home in Livingston Woods, built in 1996, out of foreclosure. Acquiring the home came with challenges. The family, who have a strong faith in god, decided, says Carolyn, “if it was meant to be, it would be.” And it was. When they took ownership, the Gordons completely remodeled, adding among other features, repurposed wood floors and new kitchen cabinetry. They did all this with the intention of adding on in the future. This spring they broke ground on a 1,200-square-foot addition.

For as much as the house provides a comfortable and safe space, the outdoor amenities take center stage. Friends eagerly accept invites to dive into the pool, cruise in a replica of a Ford Shelby Cobra, or ride along the wooded trail via go-kart or motorcycle. With a playhouse, swings, and room to romp, “birthday parties are always a big hit,” adds Carolyn.

A variety of creatures reside on the property, from frogs to fluorescent-green lynx spiders to owls and mourning doves. On some mornings, when Carolyn drives the kids to school, several Clydesdales in a nearby yard emerge from the early mist. Carolyn remarks, “The atmosphere is surreal.”

While it is hard to believe this picturesque and rural setting is just a few miles from white-sand beaches and soaring high-rises, the Gordon family proves that country living—in the heart of Naples—is a realistic dream. 

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