Designers Jaime Klein, Exclusive Design Group, with Jaime Galapo, Allied Kitchen & Bath

Photographer
Darryl Nobles

Back story
A couple with grown children, who have a second home in Kendall, wanted their old kitchen updated. She is an avid cook and they entertain
a lot so she requested a
hidden place for all her cooking equipment.

Wow factor
ThinkGlass countertop from Allied Kitchen & Bath and matching custom panel back splash from Innovative Services in Coral Gables.

Details
Jaime Klein designed the kitchen and Jaime Galapo implemented it. All small appliances, including a toaster and built-in espresso machine, were behind cabinetry. There are dividers for cutting boards and cookie sheets. A step stool is hidden in a toe kick. The sculptural hood is
from Miele.

Lesson
Before you redesign a kitchen, look at the inside of every cabinet and see what works and what doesn’t for how you use the kitchen.

Designer
Jody Smith, Brown’s Interiors

Photographer
Ed Butera

Back story
A couple who are full-time residents wanted to create an open floor plan in their Delaire County Club home in Delray Beach. They requested a clean, contemporary look that was easy to live with and that featured some focal points.

Wow factor
Mosaic backsplash and sculptural stainless-steel hood.

Details
Glass inserts in the cabinets above the breakfast bar give the kitchen a more open feel. The granite countertops have a lot of movement and variations in color to blend with the tile. The space includes a television, desk and a home automation system.

Lesson
An open kitchen can be integrated in a larger living space by using similar colors and materials.

Designer Clodagh

Photographer
Courtesy W Fort Lauderdale

Back story
Clodagh, the New York designer famous enough to be known only be her first name, designed a model for the W Residences in her typical clean-lined, Zen style. The W requested a kitchen that could work for entertaining, light cooking or eating take-out food.

Wow factor
The rich blue of the lacquer cabinets that reflect the color of the night sky at the beach.

Details
The Italian-made cabinets are broken up with glass panels on two of the doors. The kitchen features KitchenAid stainless-steel appliances, polished stone countertops and gooseneck faucets with Franke stainless steel sinks. The floors are eco-friendly bamboo.

Lesson
Minimalism doesn’t have to translate into sterility.

Designer/architect
Bea Pila of Bea Pila Design with Deborah De Leon of Village Architects

Photography
Robin Hill

Back story
A married couple with four children, who were building a new home on Key Biscayne, asked for a Balinese contemporary design because it embraced the water vistas and their personalities. They wanted to feel as if they were on vacation and make it totally different from their Mediterranean-style home in Beverly Hills.

THE KITCHEN

Wow factor
Deborah De Leon made a dramatic statement with her design of the large center island in white lacquer with a dark wood pedestal that matches the wenge-wood cabinets.

Details
Dark wood, used on the floors, around the doors and windows and ceiling, doesn’t overwhelm because of the sunlight and white walls. A plumbed, commercial-grade coffee maker is hidden in the cabinetry.

Lesson
Proper accent lighting under the cabinets and
in the ceiling enhance
the dark wood.

BATHROOM

Wow factor
The Waterworks oval tub from the .25 Collection, surrounded by the double entry glass doors, is reminiscent of a docked ship. The doors, which lead to the shower and the toilet, appear to glow because of light coming from windows inside. Behind the tub is another window, shielded with a horizontal wood screen for privacy.

Details
Cabinetry is custom made from white oak. Instead of a mirror, the opening above the vanity is a window to provide a water view through the bedroom.

Lesson
If people venture into designing a home from scratch, they should put a team of a designer and an architect in place from the beginning.

Designer Rob Feinberg, Allied Kitchen Bath

Photographer
Darryl Nobles

Back story
A couple with grown children who live in the L’Hermitage condo in Fort Lauderdale wanted to get rid of the tub, which they never used, and add a larger shower and a bigger closet.

Wow factor

Pebble-stone accents on the shower wall, bench and floor.

Details
Feinberg eliminated the husband’s small adjacent bathroom, which had a toilet and sink. He gained 8-by-3 feet of space from the hallway to enlarge the closet. He installed an overhead rain shower and a shower head on adjustable bar so it can be used sitting. New bamboo cabinets by UltraCraft are stylishly floating and eco-friendly.

Lesson
You can achieve your dream by creatively moving things around, even in a condo.

Designer Steven Zelman, Lichi-Zelman Style Interiors

Photographer
Barry Grossman

Back story
A single man who lives in an oceanside condo in Sunny Isles Beach wanted an elegant and modern bathroom that would cause jaws to drop without being too showy. The basics, a Duravit tub and Italian cabinetry were installed
by the builder.

Wow factors
Glass mosaic tile behind the sink and tub. A cutout in the wall covered with textured glass provides a focal point and more light from the adjoining room.

Details
The onyx countertops are lighted from underneath, and are topped with handmade Murano glass sinks. A flush mount ceiling fixture is Eurofase Lighting’s Martellato. The oil-on-canvas original is Zen Stones by Horacio Sandoval from the Kevin McPherrin Gallery in Boca Raton. The shell design mirror from Jerry Pair, originally bought for another room, was perfect for over the vanity.

Lesson
Light creates ambience and is the soul of interior design.

Designer Mitchell Freedland

Photographer
Dan Forer

Back story
The wife wanted her 400-square-foot bathroom in their home on the Intracoastal Waterway in Miami Beach transformed into
a private retreat.

Wow factor
Designer Freedland found a pair of marble slabs for behind her Neptune Macao Whirlpool tub to create a striking
focal point.

Details

He added a television hidden in the two mirrors and a music system. Six display niches were designed around the tub to enhance it as a focal point. An 8-by-6 foot shag rug breaks up the white marble flooring. The light fixture, “Fun 11 Pendant, Pearl” by Verner Panton from Design Within Reach, is made of mother-of-pearl discs.

Lesson
Keep it consistent, simple and clean so it is comfortable.

Designer Mary Alice Kubit

Photographer
Dan Forer

Back story
A couple who live in a 30-year-old home in Gables by the Sea in Coral Gables asked for a remodel of their 10-by-10 foot bathroom to create a feeling of cool, shimmering water and the serenity of a spa.

Wow factor
A carved and tempered glass sliding door with floral design that resembles Lalique, from Soliart
Glass in Miami.

Details
Glass tile wraps completely around the toilet and shower. Cabinets, in high-gloss zebra wood, have
a quartz tabletop to
resist stains.

Lesson
The design is clean and crisp. To get the look, use less layering of objects and simple lines. Eliminate moldings and go right
to the ceiling.

Designer Susan Morgan, Susan Morgan Interiors

Photographer
John Stillman

Back story
A couple with two children requested an expansion of the kitchen into the covered porch in their Crane Creek home in Palm City. The wife wanted a big, commercial-style
cook’s kitchen.

Wow factor
Focal point of stone mosaic tile under the range hood, which was covered with cabinetry
to hide it.

Details
Light was brought into the kitchen with lots of windows, a glass door and a combination of light and dark cabinetry. The island was designed with two levels so the children could sit comfortably. Countertops are granite and some of the cabinets have seeded glass fronts. Appliances include a Wolf range, Sub-Zero refrigerator, Bosch dishwasher, beverage center and wine cooler on the island
and pot filler.

Lesson
Don’t be limited by
the original footprint
of a room.

Sources

Clodagh: Clodagh Design, 670 Broadway, Suite 300, New York,
NY, 212-780-5300,www.clodagh.com.

Deborah De Leon: Village Architects, 104 Crandon Blvd. #424, Key Biscayne 33149, 305-361-5335, www.villagearchitects.com.

Jaime Klein: Exclusive Design Group, 1600 Spanish River Road, Boca Raton 33432, 954-270-2120.

Jody Smith: Brown’s Interiors, 4501 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton, 33431, 561-368-2703, www.brownsinteriors.com.

Rob Feinberg and Jaime Galapo: Allied Kitchen & Bath, 616 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Fort Lauderdale 33311, 954-564-1611, www.alliedkitchenandbath.com.

Mitchell Freedland: Mitchell Freeland Design, 6 E. Third Ave., Vancouver, BC V5T1C3, 604-733-3600, www.mitchellfreedland.com.

Mary Alice Kubit: Mary Alice Kubit Interior Design, 10001 S. Dixie Highway, Miami 33156, 305-335-6230. 

Susan Morgan: Susan Morgan Interiors, Palm City, 772-285-7692, www.susanmorganinteriors.com.

Bea Pila: Bea Pila Design Studio, 2610 SW 28^th Lane, Miami 33133, 305-856-7916, www.bpiladesign.com.

Steven Zelman: Lichi-Zelman Style Interiors, 3430 N. Andrews Ave., Ext, Pompano Beach, 33064, 877-716-1563 (toll free) or 954-726-0899, www.lichi-zelmanstyle.com.