Situated on one of four Sunset Islands, a quartet of islands located at the heart of Miami Beach that features perfect views of the sunset, lies owner George Lindemann’s approximately 7,000-square-foot, unique fantasy home — “a true labor of love” that embraces his young family while showcasing his vast contemporary collection of art and furnishings. “George is the chairman of the Bass Museum’s board and he is an avid contemporary art collector with a singular vision,” interior designer Frank de Biasi says. “He also has four kids, dogs and a very active lifestyle.”
Fearless when it comes to decorating, art, color and art placement, Lindemann’s home is a museum and amazing. While he lives a fairly formal life, he wanted his home to be flexible for his children. Enter architect Allan Shulman who refers to the style as “a regional vernacular, which in Miami Beach is modern and tropicalist.” And it’s pink. It’s a kid-friendly house thoughtfully designed with a very sophisticated appeal.
“The art is built into the fabric of the architecture,” Shulman says. “It’s really a three-dimensional sculpture, where art is in dialogue with other art, and you participate in that.” Organized in an “L” shape, Shulman created a Latin American-inspired entry sequence. “Through a screened gate that veils the home from the street, the zaguán, a covered sculpture garden, opens to a courtyard built around a gigantic live oak tree,” he says. Lush landscaping steps up to the entry, and once inside, the living room, backyard and bay views open up.
Inside, three elements unify the social spaces: an open floor plan, one-room deep; a rainbow of hues to color the interiors; and gallery-like partitions, rather than walls, to provide places for exhibitions. “Rather than divide rooms, the partitions float and they can be circulated around and explored from all sides,” Shulman says.
An open expanse bathed in sunlight, the home exemplifies de Biasi’s approach to designing interiors “as a site-specific installation where the owner’s familiar pieces, collectible furnishings and objets d’art create the vision,” the designer says. In the living room, an organic, carved-oak game table and chairs, as well the gilt fiberglass gold cocktail table and “Triad Chairs” seated in sheepskin are by the famed Wendell Castle. The north wall is crafted from fumed eucalyptus, where British sculptor Anish Kapoor’s bold, enameled steel disk provides an artistic focal point above a 1940s Art Deco fireplace.
For continuity, marble terrazzo flooring flows through to the dining room, where a more formal yet whimsical story evokes a wonderland quality. Bay views provide the perfect background for sculptural furnishings including the “Abyss” table with its bronze top and phantasmagorical tendril-like legs by Paris-based artist and designer Mattia Bonetti. Chairs echoing the artist’s interpretation of Louis XVI style are upholstered in Aubuson tapestry and kid-proofed with cotton slipcovers. “I’ve been blessed in my life to be around talented people,” Lindemann says. “I have been a collector of Wendell’s work for nearly 20 years, as well as being a friend … and it’s the same with Mattia.”
The striking marble installation shapes a wall of beauty on one side and a stunning stairway on the other. Designed by British artist Martin Creed and comprising 37 species of marble, de Biasi calls it the “pièce de résistance” of the home. The language of color continues in the informal and comfortable family room, where four Art Deco-style lounge chairs are covered in soft terrycloth shades of sherbet. A round cocktail table centers the social grouping atop the multi-colored area rug that allows for a psychedelic circulation pattern to define the space.
Nearby, the kitchen surprises with contemporary stylings accented with playful hues. Glossy white and French-blue lacquered cabinetry lines the walls, stainless steel tops the counters, and an effervescent pink-tiled backsplash draws the eye through the space. “Since I’m obsessed with ceramics, I took the liberty to make bubbles scale the backsplash — they look like they are floating,” de Biasi says.
While it would seem that combining art, interiors and architecture into one gorgeous sculpture would be difficult; it was not for this talented team. “Frank is a pro at taking unrelated things and tying them together to create interiors that look like they were meant to be,” Lindemann says. “And with an artist’s eye, Allan designed the house so that the objects and views capture the imagination. Yet at the same time, it’s a very academically correct, modernist-inspired home that stands out on its own as an amazing piece of architecture.”
Story Credits:
Exterior and Interior Architecture by Allan Shulman, Shulman + Associates, Miami, FL
Interior Design by Frank de Biasi, Frank de Biasi Interiors LLC, New York, NY
Interior Architecture by Susan Michie, Frank de Biasi Interiors LLC, New York, NY
Builder Coastal Construction Group of South Florida, Inc., Miami, FL
Landscape Architecture by Andres Arcila, Naturalficial, Miami, FL
Photography by Emilio Collavino, Miami Beach, FL
Text by Christine Davis
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