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A Taste of Russia in Trendy Miami
Sam Robin Designs Turnkey Home
Story by Debra Kronowitz
Photos by Cory Weiner and Simon Hare
Foreign investment in the real estate market of
South Florida is nothing new. As the
South Florida market skyrocketed, the area saw an influx of
Latin and South American buyers. Today, Miami is seeing more
Russian investment. With a booming economy, Russia’s real estate is among the
world’s most expensive, making property in the United States a bargain.
Though relatively small in number, wealthy Russians represent an
important, yet little-known demographic, for
U.S.
real estate. Unlike other foreign investors, they are younger,
reflecting Russia’s new
wealthy class; and they are sophisticated and know what they want.
MIRAX Group — Russia’s largest
real estate company — purchased 13 single-family homes in the new
urbanism-style Aqua community on
Allison
Island. Aqua is Craig
Robins’ gated community situated on the waters of Indian Creek in Miami Beach. The units are
being marketed as fully furnished turnkey residences to MIRAX’s
clientele. MIRAX hired local interior design visionaries to design the
interior and finishes, start to finish. Sam Robin of Sam Robin Inc.
worked on a 5,000-square-foot, five-bedroom, seven-bathroom, four-story
home.
“I had four months to complete the project. That’s not
a lot of time to conceive, manufacture and install. So everything we
made was custom made. The challenge was in creating an environment for
the Russian market that adapts to the Florida lifestyle,” Robin said.
That was easier said than done. The Russian market is more formal and
traditional. Robin mixed formal and casual elements throughout, creating
a “casual elegance.” Her impeccable taste
is clearly on display.
A color scheme of chocolate brown,
taupe, iced blue, turquoise and off-white is used throughout.
In the foyer, a 20th century Ethiopian processional Coptic
cross from Jalan-Jalan sits on a
Tony table from the Bradley Hughes Collection. A fluted chandelier
from the Baker Signature Collection hangs above, while a thick shag rug
from Luminaire lies below.
The living room’s base tone is light-colored furniture with dark
chocolate walls. The defining piece is a custom leather tufted round
ottoman that complements a custom tufted sofa and chaises, all designed
by Sam Robin. At one end of the room sits a wenge coffee table by Sirio
and above hang two Moroccan chandeliers by Myrbroni. |
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Two custom leather side tables act as
the base for a pair of 20th century mercury glass lamps.
Robin also brought in
Ernie cigarette tables, a
Frances
antique mirror table top and a
Sophie antique
mirror coffee table, all from the Bradley Hughes Collection.
A taupe shag rug from the Luminaire and a 1940s French
ceruse sideboard by Jean de Merry are clearly on display.
Taupe raw silk drapery adds richness and the sense of
formality.
“The room has a sense of traditional with a sexy
edge,” said Robin. The
dining room table is from Directions and the surrounding
antique chairs are upholstered in turquoise linen velvet.
The space is small, so to expand the feel of the room, Robin
painted wide horizontal brown and white stripes on the
walls. A framed 12-by-10 mirror sits on the floor near a
100-year-old seasoned Italian walnut
Ugo console by
Sirio, the designer’s furniture line. Other features include
an antique hand-carved marble Buddha from Jalan-Jalan, raw
silk drapery by Espinosa Drapery, a custom ceiling fixture
by Just Lamps and Shades by Carotto.
In the kitchen Robin repainted the cabinets and added
Carrara
backsplashes and floors. In the adjoining breakfast a loungy
great room feeling was created by installing a large L-shape
custom tufted sectional sofa, counter bar stools fabricated
by Sharron Lewis, a large black table and a custom media
wall unit built by Architectural Woodworks & Cabinetry in
West Palm.
In the
hallway among the second floor bedrooms, Robin created an
L-shaped TV lounge to hang out in. The space features a
custom dark brown velvet sofa and a leather rocking chair
from Poltrona Frau. The TV sits on top of a vintage credenza
by Tommi Parzinger and Steve Miller’s
X-Ray Flowers
cover the walls.
The unit’s two guest
bedrooms, like the master bedroom and child’s room, have
sound systems and Bang & Olufsen TVs. Ornare installed
custom white glass and mirrored sliding closet doors in two
of the bedrooms and customized all the a/c doors throughout
the house. The child’s room
features a twin bed, custom desk with file cabinet, a
backlit bookcase, a nightstand, a wood sculpture from Wilson
Williams Woodturning and a
Glo light fixture
from Luminaire. A mural of the Russian Federation was commissioned
from Murals Your Way.
A fifth bedroom was converted to an office with a French
Deco feel. An antique Palisander executive desk from the
Wooster Gallery in
New York
and an antique French Deco desk arm chair from the Modernism
Gallery are featured. Robin designed built-in cabinets with
leather studded doors and black leather guest chairs. A silk
carpet is from Kala Looms, Inc.
The
master bedroom suite occupies the
entire third floor. The room features a wenge framed
off-white suede tufted headboard wall with a custom king bed
and two shagreen nightstands, all designed by Sam Robin and
fabricated by Sharron Lewis. An off-white linen velvet sofa
sits in front of the bed on an ice blue silk carpet from
Kala Looms. Vintage marble lamps on top of each nightstand
are from the Belvedere Collection and a marble coffee table
is from dkVOGUE. Other features include TV and sound systems
by Bang & Olfusen and flowing raw silk drapes with linen
sheers that soften the room.
The
his/her walk-in closets by Ornare were designed specific to
the space. The Pelle
line features white lacquer panels with wenge wood backs and
leather handles. Inside, there are white lacquered pull-out
shelves installed for shoes. Robin chose the color
combination to complement the stained wenge wood floor.
“I wanted to create a relaxing special
retreat for our client, something soothing and healing,” she
said.
The master bath features double sinks and German
fixtures, as well as a whirlpool bath and separate shower.
Robin designed a custom
Carrara
and wenge vanity table with hanging polished chrome
mirror. Adding to the luxury, a TV and sound system was
installed.
Off the fourth floor lounge is a private terrace. Here,
Robin used a U-shaped banquette and a high outside table and
stools. The landscaping is by Enea Garden Design and mixes
bamboo with French and
Belgium
zinc planters filled with orchids. Inside, a custom X bar
and Cascata bar
stools from Sirio are used. Robin stained the existing
cabinet and had the doors upholstered in leather with studs.
A custom wood cabinet with glass shelves over the mirror was
added to help define the space and complete this great
entertainment area.
“The interior has great energy,” said Robin. “It
worked. We try to create spaces that are wonderful backdrops
for great experiences to unfold.”
Robin accomplished the goal to appeal to an affluent Russian
market. At press time, the unit had sold. |
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