Chiaroscuro Chic in Miami Home

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There are good reasons the color black has been touted as a wardrobe savior for generations. It’s timeless. It’s tasteful. And when in doubt, it always works. 

The same can’t be said about black at home, however. Suddenly, the descriptors change to gloomy, drab, unwelcoming even. And among Miami’s vertical real estate enthusiasts, most of whom worship at the altar of color-centric sunshine, a dark interior is downright sacrilegious. 

It’s a good thing Eilyn Jimenez is always up for a challenge. When the head of Sire Design met with a new client for the initial consultation about his pre-construction, 4,000-square-foot residence at the Elysee Miami tower in Edgewater, he went straight to the point. “He said: ‘I like black. I like blue. And I tend to gravitate toward the monochromatic,’” recalls Jimenez. “So I asked: ‘How do you feel about really dark floors?’” 

Originally from Canada, the homeowner is a well-traveled, well-educated bachelor who’s lived all over North America, but made Miami his home base a few years ago. When he came across the 54th floor apartment at Elysee, he knew it would be the perfect place to live and work. “I fell in love with the views, which are completely unobstructed,” he says. “Then I found Eilyn on Instagram and immediately liked her style.” (Unbeknownst to him, the rest of the country would soon become fans of her work as well thanks to the Designing Miami series on Netflix.)  

Once they started collaborating, the client and designer evaluated the five-bedroom floor plan and opted for changes that would better suit the homeowner’s lifestyle. That included eliminating a particular wall to make room for a large office. Said workspace is meticulously customized with details such as a custom desk that hides all the wires from the four computer screens that the client’s work as financial investor requires, a generous seating area for visitors, and a layout that ensures he can enjoy the apartment’s optimal views at all hours. “It’s the perfect setup,” says the homeowner. “It’s positioned right off the elevator, so I can have clients come right into the office without having to step into the rest of the residence, which is ideal for business meetings.” 

As neither client nor designer liked the way the kitchen was originally configured, it was rearranged to ensure a better flow into the living room and dining area. With the layout reworked, the design team set about finding the proper textures for the finishes: Nuvolato Apuano marble from Arca for the countertops, and custom-stained, burned, and wire-brushed oak from Urbanik Surfaces for the flooring. “He was really open-minded about the wood for the floors, which has a rather heavy grain,” says Jimenez. “I wanted the elements we brought into the apartment to have an Old World feel because he has an Old World soul.” For interest, Jimenez had the planks installed in a chevron pattern at the entrance and added borders in the hallway.  

When it came to furniture, the homeowner’s penchant for adumbration was respected. Dark as night selections rule in the living room, dining room, home theater, office, and bedroom suite. Jimenez dotted the home with white or light-colored accessories and finishes that provided visual breaks from all the dark shades when needed by way of oak paneling, wallpaper, rugs, and artwork.  

As simpatico as the client-designer relationship was, there was one point of contention—albeit short-lived—over the Mirro light installation by Wever & Ducré (24 luminaries with silver-tipped bulbs) that the design team selected for the ceiling of the theater room. “I fell in love with it at Salone because the light shines upward,” says Jimenez. “But he didn’t feel the same way. I told him to allow us to install it and that I’d cover the cost to swap it if it didn’t work out. Once he saw the system up, he absolutely loved it.” The client concurs: “It’s an element that makes the room sufficiently different from any other in the home.” 

That’s just one example of the way Sire came through time and again, and why the homeowner feels the firm was the right choice for the job. “The design is not for everyone and perhaps it’s even slightly moody, but I feel there’s so much light from the views to counteract the dark palette that it works,” he says. “I’m delighted with how it all turned out.”   

Story Credits:

Interior Design by Eilyn Jimenez, Sire Design, Miami, FL

Text by Riki Altman-Yee

Photography by Jeanne Canto, North Miami, FL

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