Florida Design – Eisenberg Residence.
Volume 17 #4

Text by: De Schofield

A Journalist’s Trove of Tribal Artifacts And Sculptural Pieces Convey a Personalized Décor Against A Setting Of Strikingly Stunning Vistas

AS WINSTON CHURCHIL ONCE said, there is nothing wrong with change if it’s in the right direction.” These are words one homeowner took to heart when leaving the Washington, D.C. residence that she shared with her late husband and two-adult sons and moving to this Coral Gables, FL condominium.

Encouraged by her many friends in the area, most notably Dr. Donna e. Shalala, University of Miami president and former Secretary of Health & Human Services under President Clinton, she made the move. “Donna introduced me to interior designer Phyllis Taylor and we got on famously from the beginning,” the owner says. “I liked her approach, particularly the fact that she was undaunted by all the pieces I’d collected.” The homeowner, a former journalist who has travelled extensively, acquired a trove of objects and art from around the globe, including an array of African and Japanese pieces.

The new residence, a spacious 5,500- square-foot penthouse-level apartment on the water, offered everything the owner desired in terms of location, size and view. Its spectacular three-sided vistas overlooking Biscayne bay, Key Biscayne, Coral Gables and the Miami skyline with ample terrace space,, affords the kind of indoor-outdoor lifestyle that she envisioned.

Taylor and project designer Ernesto Concha Somenji reformatted the home to suit the owner’s request for an open plan that showcased the view. In addition to installing new flooring and ceiling treatments throughout, Taylor replaced divider walls with custom-designed sliding panels that afford both privacy and flexibility. She then suggested a classic, contemporary décor imbued with an Asian sensibility and a tribal rhythm in response to the owner’s distaste for clutter and color. The result is a subtly glamorous, inviting palette that embraces order through its clean lines, rich textures and fine architectural detailing.

The living room personifies simplicity and serenity, energized with bold tribal influences. A neutral palette calls focus to the view, with a rich, Chinese cinnabar featured as the accent hue. The space is grounded by quarter-sawn, white –oak flooring, while overhead, Taylor’s custom designed grid-on-grid ceiling adds a strong architectural element. “We placed the furniture within the primary grouping to afford a view outdoors and created a secondary grouping to the side,” she says.

An Asian/African theme prevails in the nearby dining room, where an earth-toned area rug defines the seating grouping with the signature grid pattern repeated in the ceiling. The tables and chairs composed of reclaimed materials play off the room’s focal point, a moveable basket-weave screen that affords the flexibility of opening up the space for entertaining or closing off the adjacent kitchen and breakfast area for intimate gatherings.

In the master bedroom, three bamboo window panels framed in Sapelli wood open to reveal a wraparound view. The antique Japanese chest at the foot of the bed was retro-fitted with a pop-up television to afford a clear view past the chest when the TV is not in use. Taylor designed a raised platform of Sapelli and white oak, installed 18 inches above the floor, that incorporates the bed, headboard and end tables in one seamless furniture element. Asian details reappear in the master both with a soaking tub, a Chinese desk and Japanese cabinets.

Taylor transformed the home’s bare walls into a warm and welcoming environment. A winner of Condominium/Apartment Design Excellence Awards, it is perfect for what the homeowner desired. “What I really wanted was a quiet, comfortable backdrop,” the owner says. “This truly feels like home.”