Coastal Modern Embraces the Outdoors in Palm Beach

One Talented Design Team Adds Life And Personality To The Interior Spaces Of A Palm Beach Home By Modernizing And Connecting To The Outdoors

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When previous clients of design and architecture firm Workshop/APD asked principal Andrew Kotchen to “update” the interior of their 10,000-square-foot Palm Beach home, the project turned out to be a full interior renovation. The firm had also recently renovated the couple’s Nantucket home and was pleased to do the same in Palm Beach. In studying the one-story home, originally built in 1988, Kotchen and his team wanted to celebrate the home’s beautiful bones while modernizing the interior and connecting it to the exterior. The home, which Kotchen describes as a “well-proportioned white modernism,” had dark wood interiors and moldings that the design team paired back to a more streamlined contemporary look to harmonize with its original architecture. “My intention was to give the interior spaces more life and create a tranquil atmosphere framed by the home’s landscaped, courtyard views,” he says.

Step inside, where Kotchen’s team brought a comfortable yet refined aesthetic to the home using a palette of white, beige, a range of blues — about 30 shades — and gold tones with a focus on layering natural textures to reinforce the coastal modern feel. Throughout, Workshop/APD’s team opted for European white oak flooring, black accents, stones, wood tones, and a great deal of decorative and recessed LED lighting to highlight the couple’s art collection and breakup the home’s boxy feel.

The design team created a sophisticated entry to set a visual stage for a relaxed environment with wonderful views of gardens filled with sculpture, an expansive patio and the pool beyond. One of the home’s biggest design challenges was the sheer enormity of the natural, light-filled living room that is perfect for frequent entertaining as well as family relaxation. This little-used space easily transformed into a social hub by creating vignettes that are intimate yet engage with each other. “We also wanted an open circular feel in this room, and were conscious of the flow and the indoor-outdoor circulation that is accessible through the pocket glass doors,” he says.

Now the home’s rooms feel open and alive, thoughtfully flowing into each other and the outdoor living spaces. The idea for the dining room was to connect to the outside entry courtyard. A dreamy artistic focal piece by contemporary American painter Ross Bleckner was acquired for the space and sets off the room’s decor with highlights that pop against a dark background, picking up the trim of the Mondrian-inspired “Omamond” cabinetry designed by Davide Tagliabue.

The design team created a masterpiece of design and function in the eat-in kitchen with the introduction of three unique, sculptural islands made of polished Cristallo quartzite. For the family, each island serves a different purpose: one for entertaining, another for prep, and a third for serving. “Both husband and wife like to cook, and they have children and a new grandchild who come to visit often,” Kotchen says.

In the master bedroom, a custom-framed Hermès scarf in the soft baby blue, green, pink and red — a personal favorite of the wife — inspired the design and color palette. Similarly, a pair of earrings the wife wore to an early meeting with the designers inspired the stunning light pendants above the bedside tables. “The client is very fashionable, and while she wanted a clean modern look for the bedroom, she was excited for the space to reflect her passions,” residential design director Michael Ellison says. Just outside, the home’s patio incorporates comfortable and stylish social spaces amid the existing landscaping.

Given carte blanche, the designers were able to reimagine a home where
the clients had lived for 15 years. With a beautiful interior theme that echoes the well-appointed outdoor living area, the homeowners still have their expansive home and are thrilled that they now use all of it daily. “The residence offers a unique perspective on the ways architecture, interiors and landscape can coordinate in this beautiful coastal climate,” Kotchen says.

Story Credits:

Interior Architecture and Design by Workshop/APD, New York, NY

Contractor Pete Hineman and George Ford, Seabreeze Building LLC, West Palm Beach, FL

Landscape Architecture by Steve Parker, Parker-Yannette Design Group, Jupiter, FL

Text by Linda Marx

Photography by Read McKendree, Westerly, RI

Open to see Interior Design Sources:

SOURCES

Rear Exterior

Dining table, chairs and chaise

lounges – Janus et Cie, New York, NY

Accent tables – Dedon, New York, NY

White and black sculptures – Owners’ Collection

Living Room

Sofas – Minotti, New York, NY

Club chairs, cocktail table, sofa fabric and bench fabric – Holly Hunt, New York, NY

Chair fabric and ombre throw – Holland & Sherry, New York, NY

Bench – Living Divani, West Out East,

New York, NY

Occasional table – Liaigre, New York, NY

Table lamp – Angela Brown, New York, NY

Artwork – Owners’ Collection

Metal lounge chairs – Dennis Miller, New York, NY

Fabric – Lauren Hwang, New York, NY

Links and pompon throw – Barneys, New York, NY

Freeform marble cocktail tables – Custom designed by Workshop/APD, New York, NY

Fabricated by Inner Gaze Furniture Design, New York, NY

Chandelier – Todd Miller Antiques,

New York, NY

Area rug – Perennials, New York, NY

Flooring – Absolute Hardwood Flooring,

West Palm Beach, FL

Dining Room

Dining table – Robicara, Miami Beach, FL

Dining chairs – Holly Hunt, New York, NY

Fabric – Holland & Sherry,

New York, NY

Centerpieces – Guaxs, One of a Kind,

Miami, FL

Cabinetry – 1st Dibs, New York, NY

Artwork and grand piano – Owners’ Collection

Chandelier – David Weeks Studio, New York, NY

Area rug – Perennials, New York, NY

Flooring – Absolute Hardwood Flooring,

West Palm Beach, FL

Entry

Circular table – M2L, New York, NY

Stools – Baker, NYDC, New York, NY

Fabric – Lauren Hwang, Inc., New York, NY

Vases – Guaxs, One of a Kind,

Miami, FL

Kitchen

Counter stools – Avenue Road, New York, NY

Light fixture – Holly Hunt, New York, NY

Vases – Guaxs, One of a Kind,

Miami, FL

Glass panels – Fowlers Sheet Metal,

West Palm Beach, FL

Flooring – Absolute Hardwood Flooring,

West Palm Beach, FL

Master Bedroom

Bed – Custom designed by Workshop/APD, New York, NY

Fabricated by Naula, Brooklyn, NY

Bedside chests – Atelier Gary Lee, Chicago, IL

Light pendants – The Future Perfect, New York, NY

Chest – Sentient Furniture, Brooklyn, NY

Table lamps – Circa Lighting, NYDC, New York, NY

Framed Hermès scarf – Owners’ Collection

Sofa – RH, New York, NY

Cocktail table -Holly Hunt, New York, NY

Acrylic desk – Jules Seltzer, Beverly Hills, CA

Desk chair – Cassoni, Miami, FL

Desk lamp – 1st Dibs, New York, NY

Carpet – Aronson’s, New York, NY

 

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