From Simple to Sublime
hausScape Creates Art Deco Edge
Story by Debra Kronowitz | Photos by Simon Hare and Michael Stavaridis
When an Aventura couple first visited
hausScape in the Miami Design District, they wanted to update their
early 1970s-style kitchen in their three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath,
high-rise condo. Their kitchen had been well-maintained but needed to be
completely revamped.
After perusing the showroom, the couple noticed a bold-colored sofa, and
that’s when the idea of home remodeling surfaced. They invited
hausScape’s Luis Bebchik to visit their space, and soon enough, a simple
kitchen redesign had turned into a vast home remodernization project.
“It was really a 1970s-style home with the lacquer and mirrors; South
Beach artdeco-inspired,” said interior designer Joy Brokaw of Interior
Options in Philadelphia. “The client really wanted to redo the kitchen
and in looking at things, they realized the entire home should be
updated.”
A fan of art deco, the client pulled together a design team that
included Bebchik, Brokaw and Miami-based contractor Armando Montana,
owner of Allstate Engineering. Dustin Benge of Miami Art Group Gallery
in the Design District was brought in after the renovations to help with
the art. The design team, charged in keeping the art deco tone, was
assigned to modernize and add glamour to the 2,400-square-foot area. The
idea was to create a soft art deco edge – something fun and upbeat.
Although the space was not reconfigured, it was a challenge to create an
open, airy feel in a sometimes too tight space. For example, in the
galley kitchen, the team faced the
challenge of modernizing, creating and building a workable, efficient
space. “It was a typical early 1970s kitchen with a fluorescent-lighted
ceiling,” recalled Bebchik. To improve matters, hausScape installed a
custom-made Binova kitchen with anthracite gray, high-gloss lacquer and
white cabinets. A gray Terrazzo tile, Silverado Black,
from Coverings is used throughout. The ceiling was recreated into a drop
ceiling to match the dimensions of the new kitchen. A breakfast nook was
created at one end of the kitchen.
Here, hausScape created a table that appears to jut out from the
natural, dark oak veneer paneling on the walls. A flat panel TV floats
against the wall. “We basically integrated the breakfast area with the
kitchen space,” said Bebchik.
A glass backsplash by Ann Sacks was installed, along with a Binova
custom kitchen table, custom kitchen banquette and seating by Segis.
Decorative lights by Holtkotter were configured above the breakfast
table.
In the dining room, Montana and Bebchik removed the original mirrored
ceiling and redesigned it with a rectangular channel that houses
recessed lights, giving the impression of a floating ceiling. The design
team also removed the curved linear patterns and created straight lines
that flow from room to room. A rectangular table and chairs by Roche
Bobois is used as the focal point. |
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The living room’s décor was
designed to reflect a vibrant color palette of orange, gray
and lime green. “He fell in love with orange when he was at
the showroom,” said Bebchik. The owners chose the L-shaped
LeoLux Antonia
sofaand matching motorized reclining chair in indigo orange.
Behind the couch stands a sculpture by Boca Raton artist Ari
Hirshman. Named Here They Come,
the art work consists of 14 individual bronze heads on
skinny steel bodies that stand from 3.5 feet to 6 feet high.
“Facing the same direction, the sculpture looks like a group
of people heading in one direction,” said Benge.
A second sculpture by Hirshman, The March, is
made of bronze and steel, and is along the same line as
Here They Come.
A black media unit designed by German designer Peter Maly
for Behr carries out the high-gloss lacquered look. A flat
screen TV shares space with the owner’s collection of
antique posters, as do the other walls throughout the home.
The home also features silk flower and tree arrangements by
Design District designer Emilio Robba. Brokaw incorporated a
classic Artemide floorlamp, end tables and cocktail tables
by Roche Bobois, and a custom area rugwith red and lime
green accents by Marc Phillips.
“The clients love to push the envelope,” said Brokaw. “The
punch of color sets the mood against the gray floor, and it
goes great with the antique posters hung throughout.”
The bar area is a continuation of the kitchen and living
room. The Terrazzo flooring was applied to the kick area of
the bar counter to integrate it with the space. Custom bar
stools, designed by Interior Options with Edelman Leather,
incorporate cowhide skins with fur in a zebra pattern. To
complement the bar stools, Benge chose Couples Harmony, a
zebra painting by Mexican artist Luis Sottil, above the bar.
“Animal prints were used a lot in art decointeriors,” said
Brokaw.
A glass cabinet painted with a burgundy floral pattern by
Rifra was installed in the powder room. Montana reconfigured
the plumbing to accommodate for a high-gloss lacquer cabinet
and counter bowl by Rifra. Like the master bath, the sink
and cabinets “float.”
Every space in the home was redesigned to reflect an updated
Miami art deco theme. Like the art deco style of the 1920s
and 1930s, this home reflects its own distinct flavor and
style. “Although three completely different art deco themes
are used in the home, it works. The steel and bronze play
well with the flooring, the antique posters work very well
and the colors are great – everything flows room to room.
It’s simplistic, nothing competes,” said Benge. |
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