Four Seasons Surfside Condo Sings With Dynamic Light

Designer Lachmee Chin orchestrates a balance of spaces with meticulous design that focuses on equilibrium and light

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For interior designer Lachmee Chin, a home is a living and breathing thing. She designs with this in mind, making sure that all aspects of each individual space have the power to affect the beings that enter each area, even subtly. Such was the case with this home situated in the Four Seasons Residences in Surfside, an oceanfront community north of downtown Miami. This prestigious building, designed by architect Richard Meier, presents an all-glass exterior with modern, clean lines.

Comprised of two units combined, the interior of this residence measures out at 6,000-square-feet of planned space blanketed by a neutral color palette and balanced with moments of color. There is a rhyme and reason for every extension and this oceanfront condo organically interacts with the outside. The team focused in on circadian rhythms and its interplay of light and dark.

The homeowners’ art collection provides an eclectic introduction to the space. Upon entry, artist Alex Katz’ Black Hats IV screen print welcomes, while sculptor Hanneke Beaumont’s Bronze #38 appears to glance away atop a niched pedestal. It creates a mood immediately and prompts you to look toward the east. “We never really take a floor plan, design it and then place the art, as if it is an accessory,” Chin says. “We design holistically to maximize sight lines that stimulate the senses.Certain pieces were designed in the space.”

Continuity and harmony are expressed through the use of gray wood-like plank flooring. The sun follows in a lyrical east-west flow through the symphony of spaces when you’re walking toward the light. Like falling raindrops, the fluid shape of the GLO pendants visually enhances the dining area that serves as a visual monument in the central axis of the home.

Conversation is never interrupted and a sense of community reigns in the open living area. Here, Chin and her team created axis points building on the fixed momentum running east to west that determined the positioning of the furnishings.

For Chin, the heart of the home is the kitchen that, in this case, introduces a north-south axis that intercepts the east-west. At this intersection a custom table serves as the central point. Spacing planning was crucial here. A dropped ceiling in the area is both functional and aesthetic. These nuances help to align the space and provide a balance that feels agreeable in all senses of the word. “Much like we eat with our eyes, we also visually react to things,” she says. “When a space is put together visually, you have a sense of comfort.”   

The other side of the home is again accessed through the main vein of the dining area. Here, the large art piece overlooking the dining area, entitled Au Detour D’un Instant Si Longtemps Cherche by artist Jacques Payette, is one of the homeowners’ staple pieces that has traveled with them from home to home. A Corbin Bronze, Girl with Pear, overlooks the wine room, the jewel box of the home that leads the way to the family room. Traveling back to a communal space, the social grouping celebrates the owners’ affinity for leather with a vintage sectional that frames the space alongside Minotti’s chairs in canary yellow.   

Truly a respite, the master bedroom is a sacred and calming retreat designed minimally. An unstained wall of walnut features a matte finish to highlight textured graining. Again, the ceiling configuration does much to define the space as it hovers over the bed. David Weeks’ tubular light fixture introduces the subtly of white against white with its brass posts suggesting a glamorous aura.

The open plan boasts an undeniable balance that is solidly based on the spatial orientation and light. This coincides with Chin’s ultimate aim — to create a symphony of spaces that the body feels good in for reasons readily perceived and subtly noticed.

Story Credits: 

Interior Design by Lachmee Chin with Carissa Cannon and Katherine Munoz, ODP Architecture and Design, Hollywood, FL

Interior Architecture by Kurt Dannwolf, ODP Architecture and Design, Hollywood, FL

Text by Alexandra Roland

Photography by Ed Butera, Boca Raton, FL

Open to see Interior Design Sources:

entry

Armchairs – 1st Dibs, New York, NY

Fabric – Carlucci Di Chivaso, Jeffrey Michaels Showroom,

SFDP, Hollywood, FL

Accent table – Artefacto, Aventura, FL

Lighting – Leucos, Lucemax, Inc, Plantation, FL

dining area

Dining table – RH Modern, West Palm Beach, FL

Dining chairs – Minotti, New York, NY

Chandelier – Pelle Designs, New York, NY

Glass drop pendant installation – Leucos, Lucemax, Inc.,

Plantation, FL

kitchen

Island fabricated by D.T. Woodcrafters Corp., Miami, FL

Counter stools – Formitalia, Miami, FL

Light pendants – Ligne Atelier, Miami, FL

living area

Modular sofa – Minotti, New York, NY

Lounge chairs – Thayer Coggin, Judith Norman, SFDP,

Hollywood, FL

Fabric – Dakota Jackson Fabric, Judith Norman, SFDP,

Hollywood, FL

Accent table – Holly Hunt, Miami, FL

Light brown armchair and ottoman – Addsion House, Miami, FL

Cocktail table and sofa table – Minotti, New York, NY

Small round occasional tables – Artefacto, Miami, FL

wine room/hallway

Wine room and floating shelf – Custom designed by ODP

Architecture & Design, Hollywood, FL

family room

Sectional sofa leather – Dakota Jackson Fabric, Judith Norman, SFDP, Hollywood, FL

Cocktail tables and accent table – Holly Hunt, Miami, FL

Yellow lounge chairs – Minotti, New York, NY

Display shelving – Anima Domus, Miami, FL

Chandelier – Ligne Atelier, Miami, FL

master bedroom

Bed and bedside tables – Minotti, New York, NY

Wood wall treatment fabricated by D.T. Woodcrafters Corp., Miami, FL

Reading wall lights – Ylighting, Walnut Creek, CA

Chandelier – David Weeks Studio, New York, NY

Lounge chairs – Thayer Coggin, Judith Norman, SFDP,

Hollywood, FL

Fabric – Brentano, Donghia, Inc., DCOTA, Dania Beach, FL

Floor lamp – Circa Lighting, New York, NY

Drapery fabric – Taffard Fabrics, New York, NY

throughout

Artwork and sculpture – Owners’ Collection

Area rug – Stark Carpet, SFDP, Hollywood, FL

Flooring – Opustone, Miami, FL

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