Life In This Miami Home Is Like A Day At The Beach

Details

contemporary hall dinosaur skeleton sculpture

A designer brings the natural essence of the beach and the sea to a penthouse with the views from 55 stories high.

contemporary neutral living room curving...

Interior designer Barry Dixon introduced rounded forms in the living room with a curving Schiaparelli sofa from Michael Taylor Designs, a skirted Fortuny lounge chair and a circular Lona Design coffee table from John Rosselli & Associates in Washington, D.C. Two vintage chairs from Mid Century Antiques in Stamford, Connecticut, flank the tufted Baker sofa dressed in Rubelli silk and a second coffee table, also by Baker. The Ochre screens are from R. Hughes in Atlanta, and the custom Barbizon-framed mirror conceals a television.

contemporary living room wrought-iron tree...

Meant to evoke both seaweed and the currents of the ocean, the sheer Laola under drapery in the living room is by Sahco for Donghia; the over drapery is by Robert Kuo from S. Harris. The large contemporary wrought-iron sculpture of an almond tree blowing in the wind is from La Forge Francaise in Boulder, Utah.

contemporary hallway leather top bench...

The hallway makes an elegant statement with walls upholstered in Phillip Jeffries' Manila Hemp in Linen. On one side are sliding doors by Hope's Windows in Jamestown, New York, while directly across the way are steel-clad doors that were found at a Nashville antiques show; the bench with a leather top is from R. Hughes.

contemporary living room game table...

A Jean de Merry game table from R. Hughes provides a recreational area in the living room. The Niermann Weeks chairs from J. Lambeth in Washington, D.C., wear Rubelli fabric, and Dixon designed the accent pillow with Ankasa fabric. The light fixture is from Baker's Andre Arbus Collection.

contemporary kitchen glass tile walls...

With walls and an island covered in glass tile from Architectural Ceramics in Alexandria, Virginia, the kitchen--furnished with SieMatic cabinets and counters--has a quiet shimmer. An Ochre fixture lights the island, which boasts barstools from Soane Britain in London. Dixon designed the breakfast table with a base by Kelly Metalwork in Cooksville, Maryland, and a Nero fossil slab top from Marmara Corporation in Washington, D.C. The chairs are by Blackman Cruz, and the Moda light is by Baker.

contemporary dining room bronze base...

Guests seated at the Jiun Ho dining room table, which has a bronze base and lacquer top, enjoy spectacular ocean views. The button-tufted chairs are by R. Jones from Hines & Company in Washington, D.C.; Dixon designed the woven-silk fabric for Vervain, which is available through J. Lambeth, also in Washington, D.C. The Jean de Merry light fixture is from R. Hughes, and the floor lamp is Fortuny.

contemporary green study guest room

A sleeper sofa, designed by Dixon for Tomlinson and touting Zoffany fabric, turns the study into another guest room when needed. Dixon also designed the mesh shelving by Avrett, while the framed artwork is from Natural Curiosities. The Jean de Merry lounge chair wears Edelman leather, and the oval table with a honed honey onyx top is from the Hélène Aumont Collection. The Bellbridge rug is from The Floor Gallery in Rockville, Maryland.

contemporary study hall bathroom glass...

Alaro fabric from Osborne & Little's Aranjasa collection covers the study wall, where a Hope's Windows door opens to the guest bathroom. The bathroom walls are dressed in glass tiles from Architectural Ceramics, and the custom mesh etagere is by Avrett.

contemporary bathroom natural stone wall...

A wallcovering of natural stone by Lori Weitzner sets the textural tone in the powder room, where a Kohler cast-bronze sink with a Waterworks faucet hovers above a Baker cabinet turned into a vanity. Jean de Merry wall sconces flank a mirror designed by Dixon for Fortuny.

contemporary bedroom chairs pedestal table...

Upholstered walls in a Dominique Kieffer fabric by Rubelli with a Samuel & Sons trim ground the master bedroom, where the Lewis Mittman bed and the accent pillows are covered with Fortuny fabric. Jamie Young eglomise lamps rest on Jean de Merry commodes, and the kidney-shaped rug is from The Floor Gallery. Early-20th-century French Serge Roche rope chairs sit at a lacquer-topped pedestal table by McGuire, and the glass disk light fixture is also by Fortuny.

contemporary bedroom velvet yellow lounge...

In the master bedroom, the Jacques Garcia lounge chair upholstered in Vervain cotton-velvet is from Baker. The Coup D'Etat wall-mounted upholstered media cabinet from R. Hughes features white linen-wrapped studded doors and hammered-iron legs, and the botanical artworks are photogravures by Karl Blossfeldt.

contemporary bathroom freestanding oval tub...

Hand-carved stone tile by Robert Kuo for Ann Sacks backs a freestanding oval Waterworks tub in the master bathroom. The Carole Gratale chandelier is from Ferrell Mittman in Washington, D.C., and the shower stool is from the Barry Dixon Collection.

contemporary bathroom two-tired console table...

A Giacometti-inspired two-tiered console table by Carole Gratale houses a marble sink and a wall-mounted matte-nickel faucet with crystal egg handles, all from Waterworks. The sconces are from Baker, and the spore chalk white mirror is by Barry Dixon for Arteriors Home.

Fifty-five stories above the shoreline, interior designer Barry Dixon has filled the interiors of a commodious penthouse with enough sand and sea references to make its inhabitants feel an intimate connection to the beach so far below.

Everything begins with a monumental splash as a pair of bronze-and-glass doors open to reveal a 13-foot mounted ichthyosaurus skeleton (think: prehistoric shark).

“The fossil is positioned to be looking at the sea as if it is trying to return home,” says Dixon, who backed the form with an open weave screen reminiscent of fish netting and a chandelier composed of glass spheres mimicking ocean bubbles.

Throughout the space’s 4,600 square feet, terrazzo floors in two color ways–gray like damp sand and gold to reference the sun–reflect light like the surface of the water. From the purposeful pillow on the curved living room sofa–“The pearl in the oyster,” he says– to the glass wall tiles in the master bathroom that shimmer like fish scales, nothing here is left to chance.

Tour the space via the gallery, above.