lachmee chin fd241 final layout 1 2/28/14 11:58 am page 1 · lachmee chin_fd241_final_layout 1...

000 FLORIDA DESIGN VOL. 23 NO. 1

Lachmee Chin_FD241_final_Layout 1 2/28/14 11:58 AM

MANSION IN THE SKYWide-Ranging Travels And A Love Of Things Both Old And New

Give One Couple And Their Design Team The Freedom To Imagine

ABOVE: Not the temple of Karnak, yet with the drama of powerful repetition, the centralhallway joins the reception foyer with the wine room along stone and wood flooring.Deceptive nooks hide storage for kitchen and bath.

LEFT: Beyond the receiving foyer with its sunburst marble flooring, the elevator entrywows with a 19th-century French gilded mirror that hangs on the wall and the owner’sunique argon-filled glass sculpture that, when activated, glows atop a leather base.

ARCHITECTURE Kurt J. Dannwolf, ODP Architects, Inc., Hollywood, FLINTERIOR DESIGN Lachmee Chin, ODP Architects, Inc., Hollywood, FL

TEXT Marina BrownPHOTOGRAPHY Ken Hayden, Miami Beach, FL


AFTER A “TRIAL RUN” ATliving part of the year in Miami, Fla.,this Martha’s Vineyard-based coupledecided to take the long-awaitedplunge. Expanding from one unit inthe luxury high rise, The FourSeasons, the homeowners purchaseda penthouse that had never beenbuilt out. Now, from Miami’s tallestresidential building, the pair couldenjoy views that soar over everyother penthouse in the city.

Enter architect Kurt Dannwolf,who, prior to founding ODP, was thelead architect in the firm thatdesigned this building — a uniquestructure that sports “a central corewith 40-foot spans and no interiorcolumns that permits a freedom ofdesign rarely found in condominiumliving,” he says. Dannwolf alongwith interior designer Lachmee Chintook on the challenge to transformthis new 8,000-square-foot spaceinto the owners’ vision of a “FifthAve/Park Ave-style” interior.

Dannwolf’s relationship with thebuilding’s engineers allowed for use ofthe window washer’s swing stage tohoist a table 700 feet up the exteriorof the building for installation in thepenthouse. “The effect of this pieceseemingly perched along the skylineis spectacular,” Chin says.

RIGHT: Dressed in anigre wood, the dining roomrefuses to be stuffy with the help of a vibrantwall mural — a reproduction of an AugustMacke expressionist piece. Lined draperypanels frame the view, while roller shades keepout the glare. The room’s 10-foot height offersthe chance for a rare vaulted ceiling.



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ABOVE: Delighting in colorful works of art, Ladies at Lunch lights up a living room wall, whileJansen Miller’s 1939 hand-carved Eagle offers a taste of Americana. Casamance’s geometric-pattern covered accent pillows play off the coffered ceiling above, where one of four of thehomeowners’ chandeliers from a turn-of-the-last-century estate centers the space.

Flying to Massachusetts to inventory art and furnishings gatheredover a lifetime of international travel, Chin helped select locations forthe couple’s turn-of-the-century French gilt mirrors and chandeliers, aswell as exquisite contemporary glass sculpture. A favorite piece, DanDailey’s 20-inch tall sculpture, Mystery, receives special treatment. Themesmerizing gold and blue glass effigy presides in the receiving foyer offof the elevator entrance. Set almost altar-like against royal blue fabricand mirror, the sculpture looks down a long central hall of temple-likemarble arches. Inset anigre wall panels line the main hallway, while the



As if in a library of rare books, a room filled with exceptional wines is a place to browse,speculate and anticipate. “We turned the labels outward for appraisal and pride,” architectKurt Dannwolf says. “The free-standing wine unit is the tantalizer for the larger room behind.”


ABOVE: In case the couple missed Martha’s Vineyard, the designers createda facsimile in the breakfast area/New England porch. Tongue-and-grooveceiling, hose-down flooring, even the art says “outdoors” with a slab offossil fish above a soapstone shelf. With open-jointed Ipe plank flooringand Weatherend mahogany furnishings from JANUS et Cie, the ownerscan open the recessed doors to invite the outside in.

“The building’s unique structure — a centralcore with 40-foot spans and no interiorcolumns — permits a freedom of design

rarely found in condominium living,” Dannwolf says.

floor and ceiling form synchronies — one form echoingthat of the one above or below. With confidence in anestablished collection, Chin paired a glass top and tablebase made from the balustrades of an 1860’s Frenchdepartment store with the Dailey sculpture, and a bronzeand papier mache figure entitled Witness.

In each room, wood and stone unite. The linear diningroom continues the theme with its series of squares andrectangles, interrupted only by a 19th-century Baccaratchandelier and a wall mural of an August Macke repro-duction inspired by an enchanting postcard. Beneath thesubtle gilding of an equally subtle vault in the ceiling, theultra-heavy dining room table by J. Robert Scott glows,while the turquoise and coral hues of the 100-year-oldPersian area rug reflect in the fabric of the chairs.



Rather than pendant lighting that might obstruct the view, interior designerLachmee Chin chose Delta Light’s cached lighting nestled in ceiling slots.Futuro Futoro hoods take on the role of sculpture, while Dakota Jackson’schrome-tipped counter stools from David Sutherland sit in perfect complement.


LEFT: As if belying their heft, the tiny chrome “high heels” ringing the legs of J.Robert Scott’s dining table and chairs carry their sparkle into the family room byway of delicate silver artifacts. A crushed shell cocktail table from Today’s CustomDesign sits atop the homeowners’ Persian area rug.

The far end of the family room is watched over by the yellow gaze of a whimsical goat. Behind the Donghia

slipper chairs, the view of Miami stretches for miles.

The trove of collected pieces the homeowners’ wished tobring to their new residence includes a piano and a hand-carved,wood American eagle with a gold finish that presides regally inthe living room. Here, the ceiling’s coffers are a schematic forthe posh furniture groupings below.

Down the hall, the striking wine room becomes a destination.A freestanding “select wine” unit, outlined in Mondrian-likepolished stainless beams, contains the exceptional labels.Beyond, the body of the collection that contains 1,300 bottlesawaits its moment.

In the “Rolls Royce” of Smallbone of Devizes kitchens,quartzite countertops and Calacatta marble backsplashes vie


Pretty as a picture, majestic water views frame the sculptural tub. Nearby,Opustone’s exquisite onyx colors the back wall of the shower. “It really isa masterpiece of nature that truly creates the master bath,” Chin says.

with the custom millwork for attention. Distressed leather counter stools with chrome “high-heeled”legs add a touch of luxe. Adjoining the kitchen, Dannwolf turned an outside balcony into a quaintinterpretation of a New England porch.

Fluted anigre coffers and Ipe wood flooring softens the family room, where Nuhouse chairs withottomans bound in wrought iron sit on geometric legs. At the far end of the room, a fanciful goatpainting colors the space near a pair of silk-covered slipper chairs from Donghia. .

Almost as if following their artistic bent in the master bath, the couple chose a hand-carved marble,soaking tub, a la Botticelli’s Venus. It sits atop a burnt caramel marble dais where a sunset creates itsown art. Inside the shower, onyx seems to swirl like a watercolor painting of its own with rain-showerand wall mounted fixtures.

While the couple now divides their time between the North and the South, it seems certain thatin addition to their transplanted treasures, new ones to be acquired will offer happy provenance andprospect from Miami’s eclectic verve.



lachmee chin fd241 final layout 1 2/28/14 11:58 am page 1 · lachmee chin_fd241_final_layout 1...

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