When Linda Powers and her husband strolled past a spec home under construction in Delray Beach one morning during the height of the pandemic, their real estate destiny in Florida was sealed. Although she adores her four-story, 97-year-old French Tudor in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (where her design studio was founded), she’s also fallen in love with Delray sites like Lake Ida and the Pineapple Grove Arts District since establishing an office here earlier this year. Plus, she knew having a winter getaway in a new state would give her the occasion to “invest” in modern and contemporary furnishings: “I’ve been a designer for 35 years, so I knew what my go-tos would be right away.”
When the couple first encountered the build, it was barely a concrete slab with steel beams. They were informed the home would have approximately 4,200 square feet under air and four bedrooms—all of which would face the pool—along with a spacious outdoor loggia and an outdoor kitchen. “I kept the confines of the size of the house and the walls of where the rooms were going to go,” she recalls, “but beyond that, I pretty much changed everything. We were able to totally customize the place to our tastes and needs.”
In terms of interiors, the designer wanted the house to feel “beachy” and one of the ways she accomplished that was with engineered oak floors in a shade that resembles sand and grasscloth wall coverings that wrap around a double-sided fireplace visible from the front door. Seventeen-foot-high ceilings in the living room bring in a welcome flow of sunlight, and Powers opted for coffers for visual interest.
Powers finally had a place for items and art she’d had her eye on for years. In the living room, it’s an abstract study of color by Brooklyn artist Eddie Martinez. In the dining room, it’s a cloud-like light fixture made of paper by Molo Design. “I fell in love with that light at the ICFF in New York in 2018,” she says, “and I knew it’d be mine one day.”
Since he does most of the cooking for them, Powers’ husband laid claim to the kitchen. He insisted on both a prep sink and a work sink, along with other functional features to ensure an effective workflow. Three geometric fixtures by Tech Lighting complete the room.
In the end, Powers’ wish for a bright South Florida residence was fulfilled. “I love having two totally different houses that both my husband and I adore,” she says. “It’s great fun.” lindapowersinteriors.com
Story Credits:
Text by Riki Altman-Yee
Photography by Kris Tamburello
Facebook Comments