No ocean? No problem. A Naperville man has built his own paradise

For many, the “Margaritaville” Jimmy Buffett captures in his 1977 song likely conjures up images of the Florida Keys or maybe a South Carolina coastal beach.

A two-story, brick colonial on Barkdoll Road in suburban Naperville? Not so much.

But don’t tell that to 65-year-old Phillip Schutt, a longtime Buffett fan who has spent years transforming his home into a tropical paradise, complete with surfboards, a handmade lobster trap and even a pirate skeleton taking refuge in a trash can.

He has dubbed his home “Naperitaville.”

“Jimmy Buffett proved coastal living is not just a location but a frame of mind,” said Schutt, who works as a portfolio manager of stocks and bonds. “My home is a testament to that form of escapism.”

His garage alone has more than 90 items embodying that carefree lifestyle. Signs, some purchased, some homemade, adorn the walls with appropriate messages like “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere” and “Sunny Drinks For Shady People.” A yellow model plane with a 7-foot wingspan similar to Buffett’s “Hemisphere Dancer” seaplane hangs from the ceiling.

And it’s not just Schutt’s garage that’s reminiscent of paradise. His sunroom is decorated in a coastal farmhouse style, and the deck is full of nautical and beach-themed items. Below the deck is a stone patio built as an homage to the coastal town of Charleston, South Carolina.

Schutt said he first discovered Buffett back in the late ’70s and early ’80s.

“A friend of mine turned me on to Jimmy Buffett and, boy, that was the time back when we used to use not sunscreen, but sun maximizer,” Schutt said. “The whole beach thing was kind of fun and exciting, and Jimmy sort of represented it, and so I became a big fan.”

Schutt also said he has always been into building things — a trait he picked up from his dad, who was born during the Great Depression and, like Schutt, was a “stock-and-bond guy.”

“We used to go to the house, and he used to break the toilet and make me fix it. That’s the kind of dad I had,” he said. “I did pick up the love of working with wood and other stuff. And I just like the finality of it, where you figure out a project, and you put it together, and then it’s finished.”

That piecing it all together, he said, is almost better than the final product.

“When it’s done, it almost seems anticlimactic,” Schutt said. “It’s building them. It’s dreaming about it at night. You know, ‘Is it glue? Is it screws? Is it nails? How does it go together? Is it going to be square? Can you use a square? Can you make the corners?’”

And it’s that love of building that kick-started Naperitaville. Schutt used to work in sales and wanted to display a stuffed monkey similar to the one he would give to customers. He wasn’t sure where to put it initially before deciding to build a lifeguard chair for him, one of the first items for his oasis.

“It used to sit on the deck all the time,” he said. “People would say, ‘Hey, where do you live?’ And I go, ‘Well, my backyard faces Naper Boulevard. … Sometimes there’s a monkey in a lifeguard chair.’ They go, ‘I know that house.’”

Over time, he kept adding more things. Some, like a giant handmade treasure chest, have been retired, and others do double-duty, like the horse trough turned cart with wooden wheels that doubles as a cooler when he’s hosting parties.

Some of the items he buys, like the model plane reminiscent of the one Buffett used to own.

“He used to fly around the world in this seaplane. I saw (this plane) in the liquor store … between Naper and Washington on Bailey Road,” Schutt said. “I thought, ‘I got to buy that.’”

After missing out in four eBay auctions, he finally secured one with a $300 bid.

“I told my wife, ‘I’m going to put a number so high we’re not going to miss this next one,’” Schutt said. “She goes, ‘You’ve been trying so hard. Go ahead.’”

After building and collecting all these items, Schutt realized he had not only amassed a whole coastal-themed house, but created a space that reminded him of the Margaritaville idea inspired by Buffett.

“Naperitaville came second because all of a sudden I looked at Margaritaville — it had the exact same amount of letters. And the T in the middle for Naperitaville would work with a palm tree,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s almost the exact same word.’”

Other than for a YouTube video showing off his decor, Schutt said he rarely shares his slice of paradise. He doesn’t give tours and nixed the idea of building an island-themed bar, deciding it wasn’t for him.

At the end of the day, all he needs is a little escapism, which he gets despite his home being in a landlocked state hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean.

“I can transport myself there through the music and through the other stuff, and I think that’s what Jimmy was all about — taking you to your happy place — and that’s what this stuff does for me,” he said.

cstein@chicagotribune.com