Art Meets Palm Beach Contemporary

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To work on a residence with museum quality artwork is a design professional’s dream come true. That was the case when North Palm Beach-based interior designer Allison Paladino and lead designer Zita Rudd began reimagining the traditional interiors of this 6,000-square-foot French Regency-style residence located in Palm Beach, Fla. “When we first walked into the home, it was very traditional and over furnished with too many knick-knacks, but the owners’ art collection … well that was simply spectacular,” Paladino says.

“The living room was so large that we decided to create two conversation areas, with less but larger scale furniture,” Paladino says. “We selected sculptural pieces for accent furnishings that were bold in sensibility and did not detract from the art.” In a corner of the living room, Paladino and Rudd pose an existing red, white and black Jean Dubuffet sculpture near armchairs upholstered in a gray-blue Larsen fabric from Cowtan & Tout. They added an intriguing stacked console in polished stainless steel that they found in New York designed by Hervé Van der Straeten from Ralph Pucci International. “We are known for our very clean lines,” Paladino says. “Because our clients have this rare and distinguished art collection, we decided to design the interiors around the artwork.”

In the second seating area of the living room, Donghia sofas and chairs, a bold stainless steel cocktail table, and Liaigre’s walnut side chairs with cutout backs and pearlescent leather seats, form an intimate seating arrangement despite the room’s large scale. “Even though we like clean lines and sculptural furnishings, we also like to create warm cozy spaces,” the designer says.

It helps that the home’s architectural bones are rooted in the coveted style of French Regency. The main level is an open plan grounded by an expanse of Calacatta marble flooring. “The architectural style — crisp and traditional with classic lines, high ceilings and minimal moldings — lends itself to a more modern contemporary interior design,” Paladino says. “By taking out so many pieces and putting in the right ones, we made the space look better and allowed the art to shine.”

Providing a neutral backdrop to accentuate the wall art, the designer commissioned local artist Richard Holton of Holton Arts to custom blend a warm, parchment-hued plaster to apply to all the walls in the common areas. The “parchment” palette pulls the warmer tones from the veining in the original marble flooring, which the designer had honed to appear less shiny.

An elegant long entry features floor-to-ceiling, arched wrought-iron double doors, as well as an inset-domed ceiling. A glass-drop artisanal light fixture designed by Lianne Gold adds a contemporary feel. “It is very organic and edgy,” Paladino says. “I love the juxtaposition of the neo-classical wrought-iron grillwork on the doors.” The designer also sourced a pair of French Art Deco console tables in dark wood for the entry which showcases some of the homeowners’ finest art pieces including a work by famed pop artist Roy Lichtenstein.

The entry then widens to accommodate a gallery-like hall centered by a circular French Art Deco pedestal table topped with a Roy Lichtenstein brass sculpture. Beneath the table is an abstract Art Deco tropical-patterned area rug in a smoky-blue hue. It is just one of several custom wool-and-silk area rugs from the Allison Paladino Collection for New River Artisans that she designed for the home.

In the dining room, Sahco’s chairs in a light gray-blue hue convey an Art Deco vibe, with horizontal channeling and offset seams that fold neatly over the backs. The pièce de résistance is a custom-scaled, white-lacquer and high-gloss walnut Liaigre étagère, that displays the owners’ collection of colorful and lively Picasso pottery.

In the media room, Paladino’s key-patterned, chocolate-brown area rug and tailored Donghia sectional lend the feel of a cozy space where one would like to linger. But it also has a sleek feel — styled with brushed stainless steel cocktail tables and Geoffrey Bradfield’s unique Lucite-armed chair. An Art Deco rosewood credenza topped with pieces of tribal art adds interest. “This room is all about balance and texture … as is the rest of the home’s design,” Paladino says.

Dreamy ambiance is created in the master bedroom with a custom-designed Paladino headboard clad in a plush gray Colefax and Fowler fabric and cloud-like custom Fromental wallcovering. Here, Paladino and Rudd shifted the palette to a soft, blue-green seaglass hue with a touch of off white to provide a crisp contrast. Beveled white-lacquered bedside chests by Hellman-Chang topped by Ron Dier’s selenite crystal base lamps from Jerry Pair, lend the space a bit of an edge. Above an Ironies console, a trio of framed sketches by iconic pop artist Andy Warhol can’t help but catch the eye.

The homeowners just love the more contemporary look, and how the vibrant colors in the artwork come alive to make the furnishings appear subtle. “We transformed this once very traditional cluttered home into an open, warm tranquil space that allows the owners’ amazing art collection to breathe and command attention,” Paladino says.

Story Credits:

Interior Design
Allison Paladino with Zita Rudd, Allison Paladino Interior Design and Collections, North Palm Beach, FL

Photography
Kim Sargent, Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Renovations Contractor
Gregg Poirier, The Watermark Contractors, Inc., Wellington, FL

Text by
Charlotte Safavi

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