An Orlando Penthouse’s Artful Elements

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Shimmering like jewelry, the skyline of downtown Orlando glitters beyond the expanse of glass that lines this 3,600-square-foot penthouse perched on the 16th floor of Star Tower nestled in the heart of the city. “If your back is to the windows, you’re still going to see the reflection of what’s behind you,” interior designer Reginald Dunlap says. “And the reflective quality of the space is very important for the owners’ growing collection of sculpture and flat art.”  With custom chandeliers that soar 10 to 12 feet above the open floor plan to create layers of architectural detail, and graffiti murals throughout painted by Robert Burks, the designer shaped an artful interior that feels like home.

The first time Dunlap entered the spacious foyer of the Star Tower penthouse, one of four, he breezed past the “beige-on-cream” palette with pops of cranberry. It was so early aughts. “This place specifically was a penthouse but didn’t really feel like the couple that lives inside the space,” Dunlap says. Nevertheless, he persisted with his inventory and made his way through to the homeowners’ his-and-her closets. “I always think the palette of their clothes — how they present themselves to the exterior world, how they dress — is important to how they live,” he says.

What he found were racks of gray-on-gray with hints of blue, not unlike the daytime skyline of the surrounding city. Soon the vision of a double palette was minted as opposite sides of the same coin: heads it’s gray-gray, tails it’s blue and white. The two palettes merge as one with flashes of aluminum, gold and brass, prism points and crystals, clear acrylic molds and mirrored silver. These pops of gilt are to the penthouse as jewelry is to the wardrobe.

“I like the clients to feel they are seamlessly moving from their main living area to their private space,” Dunlap says. Like a continuum, the living room and master suite share the same palette shimmering with metallic accents; likewise the dining space with the primary guest suite. “The dining room pops in blue,” Dunlap says, “pulling that palette into the VIP guest suite.” The Delft blue and porcelain white accessories complement the wall covering. One could say it’s the only element left following a full gut renovation, or one might say it’s the first. Dunlap says: “If we’re going to go blue, we’re going to go all blue.”

The brass-toned quartz crystal chandelier and wall sconces warm the formal setting, while angular wall panels with fluted edges unify the dining room and kitchen. Here, the signature Delta symbol appears at the base of the Calacatta gold marble waterfall-edge island, and reappears in the VIP guest suite as wall graffiti.

Dunlap collaborated with Burks on the Pop Art accent walls. “When I want to do something insane, I go to him. I gave him the colors and gave him the Delta symbols,” the designer says. “Because the owners are becoming avid art collectors, I wanted the whole space to feel like an art experience. When you walk into this room, I want you to feel like you are in an art installation.” The Delta symbol also grounds the space in the weave of the custom blue, gray and white Mohawk carpet. Nuanced details in the adjoining seating area were purposely subdued. The opened drapes reveal a sprawling landscape to the north. By night, the view drinks in the iconic Lake Eola fountain.

“I like creativity outside of the box … things that I haven’t seen before,” Dunlap says. For the master suite, he wanted the center of the room to be brighter and more luxurious. Ripping out an underutilized media cabinet provided the latitude he needed. “We did some color blocking here,” he says of the master and a second guest suite styled with black walls, gray ceilings, and bold brass accents. The master suite’s palette of gray hues and gold to white is articulated by a freestanding fireplace that floats between the bedchamber and a study. Book-matched Panda marble slabs top a brass base fronting a secondary focal point — an acrylic chair paired with a backlit acrylic desk that breaks into fireworks by night to color the hearthside setting. The special effect is spectacularly reflected in gray mirrors strategically placed throughout the private space.

“The owners have seen my work before and gave me carte blanche to do what I wanted,” Dunlap says. “Carte blanche also creates an insane amount of creativity — no box here.”

Story Credits:

Interior Design by Reginald Dunlap, Reginald Dunlap Interior Design, Miami, FL

Project Manager Steven Kodsi, Luxe Creations Design and Development, Maitland, FL

Renovations Contractor Larry Hingle and Jon Erickson, Hingle Erickson Construction, Winter Springs, FL

Text by Marimar McNaughton

Photography by Venjhamin Reyes, Miami, FL

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