Miami Beach Condo Exudes Natural Elegance

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Designer Blanca Wall moved to Miami from her native Sweden to study architecture, interior design, and fine art at Florida International University. She fell in love with the cosmopolitan city and stayed to launch her career, creating glamorous oceanfront residences and founding her own firm a dozen years ago. But her love for design wasn’t rooted in studies of local starchitects like Morris Lapidus. It began during early childhood on her family’s farm.

“I loved digging in the dirt and searching for unique stones,” she says. “I thought I’d be an archeologist.” Her fascination with materials sparked an early interest in construction. “I loved the notion of building things, of being in my grandfather’s woodshop. I would build tables, small boats, and treehouses, and decorate them with my grandmother’s scraps and whatever nature had in store.”

Miami has also captured Wall’s imagination. She compares the city to Hong Kong, Dubai, and other international centers that have blossomed over the last few decades: “It’s attracting people from all over the world who crave culture and the arts.”

The high-rise residences Wall creates reflect her love for both natural materials and fine art. Case in point: A three-bedroom condominium at the Apogee tower in Miami Beach’s South of Fifth neighborhood. In fact, she’d designed numerous apartments in the same building previously, which is how she was referred to the new owners, a couple who were downsizing from their family house near Washington, D.C.

Her clients are elegant and low-key and wanted their new home to “mirror their essence,” says Wall. Out went oversized polished marble floor tiles, in came white oak flooring and fossilized limestone. “We wanted to focus on having materials as close to nature as possible—stone that was honed, wood floors that were brushed,” says Wall. “The goal was a feeling of understated serenity.”

The new entry, a hallway opening off the elevator foyer, sets the tone. The utilitarian space previously lacked a “sense of arrival,” as Wall puts it. To add impact, she anchored it with a large, mixed-media work by painter James Verbicky, flanked by sleek linear sconces and mounted over a cantilevered French limestone bench lit from beneath.

Although some of the owners’ previous furnishings were repurposed for their new home, most of the art was sourced for the space. The team opted for investment pieces that create interest and add subtle touches of color. In a sitting area off the kitchen, a draped composition by noted artist Sam Gilliam hangs above a ventless fireplace with a streamlined marble surround that echoes the nearby waterfall island. A focal point in the living room—in addition to the spectacular city view—is a framed “clock” titled A Million Times 120 by Swedish artists Humans Since 1982, whose massive kinetic installations hang in iconic places such as Moncler’s flagship store in Milan.

The kitchen turned out to be Wall’s favorite space, but she says it also required the most “dynamic intervention.” High-rise buildings present structural restrictions for remodelers, and the homeowners had a daunting wish list. They wanted a smaller island, a walk-up bar, a dedicated breakfast area, and plenty of cabinets. Guided by Robert Kerr, Wall’s frequent collaborator and the architect for this entire project, the team reduced the size of the island and added a cantilevered breakfast table on the far end. A bar and wine cellar were tucked into the back wall. Illuminated black upper cabinets with glass doors provide ample storage and drama at night. But the star of the show is the exquisite Calacatta Gold marble that wraps the island, countertops, and backsplash.

“As designers, we live for these types of transformations,” says Wall. “But sometimes clients are describing a unicorn, and you’re thinking, ‘How am I going to be able to give them that?’” Then she adds with a laugh, “You always want to tell them, ‘Absolutely, we can do that!’”

Fittingly, the kitchen played a key role last winter when the owners hosted a celebration of their new home for friends visiting for Art Basel. The homeowners flew in a favorite chef from the Eastern Shore, as well as the Swedish artist/engineer who created the clock. Wall spoke to the group about the home’s design journey, happily realizing she’d delivered on that unicorn.

Story Credits:

Interior Design by Blanca Wall, The Wall Studio, Miami, FL

Text by Betsy Riley

Photography by Gabriel Volpi, Miami, FL

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