This house’s straight lines, expanses of white, subtle architectural detail and sparingly dolloped pops of colour are a far cry from what the designers watched in their first visit. After the team in DKOR Interiors first struck the pseudo-Tuscan house, it had a lot of vision and a lot of construction to adapt to their clients’ minimalist tastes.
The most important challenge was to fulfill six household members’ needs within the minimalist design. This included personal spaces for every family member, offices, shared spaces for gathering and play. Here is how they did it.
in a Glance
Who resides here: A Brazilian couple and their two daughters and two sons
Location: A suburb of Miami, Florida
Size: 6 bedrooms
“All these are the type of people who like open spaces and modern design,” states Ivonne Ronderos, principal at DKOR. Knowing the clients enjoyed floating design elements, the group developed a concept of suspension, highlighted by dropped ceilings, LED-lit cutouts and scenic light fittings.
The living room ceiling opens to 25 feet high with two drywall dropped ceilings on both sides and floating slats of timber in the center. LED lights in reveals accentuate the bits .
Rug: Amir Rugs, Miami; couches: Baltus; bench: West Elm
Before Photo
DKOR Interiors Inc.- Interior Designers Miami
The family and designers were working with a dim home filled with outdated finishes and fixtures with a pseudo-Tuscan theme: A lot of trompe l’oeil, superfluous moldings, earthen colors, dark timber and restricted all-natural light — in other words, the reverse of what one thinks of as fresh Miami style. But the clients “are very design informed and saw the potential,” Ronderos states. Also, the area is one where children play safely in the street, a rare find. This, the dining room.
Watch more “before” pictures
In a minimalist residence, continuity enriches the soothing sense; there are no jarring transitions and details repeat from room to room. You will observe the metal-backed shining lines around the doorways which transition down to the baseboards through your home. This reflective recess creates the walls seem subtly suspended.
A careful balance of contrasting materials can also be crucial. Contrasting wood warms up the whitened. In the powder room, the sink wall is tiled in a wood-colored porcelain tile with a linen texture.
Tile: Porcelanosa
While the home had been staged to be really neat and spare to the photo shoot, Ronderos had only visited the home the same day I spoke with her and states the family embraces the minimalism. They have added books and a couple of accessories, “but it is still very minimal,” she states. “Everything has its place.”
The daddy telecommutes, and he had a home office. Like minimalists, he’s a paperless kind of guy, so storage wasn’t a priority. Rather, he wanted an area where he could display his loved ones LEGO creations.
The table box along with other closed spaces hide office equipment. The white box of satin wood walls is broken up by two broad lines of bamboo timber behind the dining table. Bamboo was used by the group throughout the house.
Lots of storage is the trick to making minimalism work Ronderos states. The TV wall is packed with storage including media cabinets and lots of room for toys and games.
In a downstairs craft room, every drawer is customized to meet a particular storage purpose.
DKOR Interiors Inc.- Interior Designers Miami
TIp: “Make certain mirrors reflect something fairly,” Ronderos advises. “We used them to create this space look bigger.”
At first glance, you’d never understand just how much storage is concealed in here ; behind the first 3 doors on the left is hidden storage; one door hides a sink for washing hands before supper. The mirror on the right is a door that contributes to kitchen and the pantry.
“We dropped the ceiling with a show on the sides and put LED lights around it,” Ronderos states. A cloud-like Logico Lamp floats at the space between the ceiling and the table.
“Part of the idea was to have a very off-white and white colour palette with one pop of colour,” Ronderos explains. “It was important to not overdo color in order to be minimalist” The floating orange shelf in one of the dining room’s storage spaces also leads to the property’s suspension idea.
Dining table: Custom; cantilevered seats: Arravanti.
DKOR Interiors Inc.- Interior Designers Miami
In the open family room and kitchen space, fresh clerestory windows allow in the glowing Miami light, which bounces off the white surfaces.
The family gathers in this central space for TV and games. The parents can also watch the children play at the pool from here.
Sofa: Luminaire Miami; coffee table: Arravanti
Even the kitchen message center has a minimalist design, with a recessed magnetic glass panel in which the household can pin invitations, school reminders and posts. The group picked a fresh switch and socket line from Adorne that does not break up all the white expanses and integrated USB charging stations throughout the house. (These blend in so well they are very tricky to spy from the pictures).
The DAB Ilde Max Chandelier provided a way to present the pop of colour in the kitchen at a minimal manner.
A table-height extension off the island creates a gathering place. This detail is made up of bamboo and compaq quartz.
A ringed fixture in Artemide hovers just like a cellphone over the table.
Upstairs, a glossy pop of orange marks the children’ office space. Each kid has a channel along the back wall. The backsplash, revealed temporarily cleared of notes and personal photographs, is orange back-painted magnetic glass. The customized table is covered in matching crimson and the custom cabinets are finished in high-gloss white.
The eldest daughter shares her mother’s penchant for minimalism. All the kids’ rooms have trundle beds for sleepovers.
Lighting fixture: Lepere
A new modern pub, the Lucellino wall sconce from Ingo Maurer, adds a bedside touch of whimsy.
Her closet and dressing area is tucked behind a curtain of beads.
Panton New Chair: Vitra
More high gloss and glass accentuates the pop of green onto her desk. Each kid’s room has its own signature color.
In the youngest kid’s room, a floating balloon light fixture hangs beneath a ceiling covered in wallpaper by Elitis.
The group worked with closet company Mia Cucina to customize storage for every family member.
The two sons have the option of sharing a room or having singles — an operable garage door separating the two tucks into the ceiling.
The ceiling is a faux-concrete painted design with a local artist. The white breaks up and adds a look.
Another bane of presence that is minimalist: wires. Custom carpentry hides power strips and wires.
DKOR Interiors Inc.- Interior Designers Miami
The group used sinks and/or vanities in every bathroom.
Countertops: Krionhardwood flooring: porcelain tile.
The group created the owners’ existing bed minimalist by cutting the legs off and substituting them with a hidden stage which makes the bed seems to hover. Likewise, wall-mounted nightstands leave the ground space open underneath. A subtle wallpaper behind the anchors the bed and nightstand place; a ceiling Logico lamp glows overhead.
In the master bath, the mirrors elevator up to show sockets for charging toothbrushes and hammering in grooming appliances.
Vanities: Robern; bathroom: Toto
Team: DKOR Interiors: Ivonne Ronderos, Marcy Garcia, Margaret Smith, Kishia de la Espriella, Lindsay Biondo. Builder: Newman Brothers Construction