Interior designer Angel Sanchez had to conduct some frank interviews. He was determined to get some crucial, but elusive information. He and his life-and-professional partner, Christopher Coleman, were designing the rooms of this Bal Harbour house for a family, but key design details had not yet been decided upon.
“Angel met with each of my young sons, one-on-one, to find out what they wanted their rooms to be, especially the neon sculpture light that would go in their bedrooms,” says the homeowner wife. Indeed, each of the children’s bedrooms would have a custom light that would function as art. “It’s one of our things,” says Coleman, “using neon as a cool feature in kids’ rooms.” After Sanchez had conducted the interviews, he and Coleman drew sketches for custom neon shapes that would be made into a car for one of the boys, another depicting a basketball player, and another showing a martial arts player.
“My husband and I wanted the kids really involved in the design of their rooms,” says the wife.
For the “public” rooms of the contemporary house, notably the living room with its 24-foot-high ceiling, Coleman and Sanchez wanted to address the differing tastes and aesthetics of the couple. “She’s from Mexico, he’s from France,” Coleman explains, “and she’s very monochromatic, tending to stay ‘safe’ with whites, while he likes color, especially green since he works with emeralds in the jewelry he designs.”
The sculptural quality of the home’s main staircase is revealed through a grid of openings by the pool. Minotti’s sleek, low-rising Quadradol sectional accommodates many guests, wet or dry.
The two-story-high living room of a new house in Bal Harbour is softened with sheer draperies, and the space is dramatically accented with Tony Vazquez’s arresting painting over the fireplace.
Persian Green marble, a grade of stone from Arca, figures prominently in the dining room, with a similar hue appearing on the circular pedestal of the table, from Biloba Dining.
A downstairs powder room is furnished with Bontempi’s Double Mirror and Bocci’s 28 Series Three Copper pendant.
“Photography is not often a first choice for some clients,” says Christopher Coleman, but he convinced the clients to purchase Greg Lotus’s Parrot photograph for their family room—in part, for an added dash of color.
Sanchez and Coleman designed the marble nightstands in the primary bedroom. The three-piece Mezzo Grand chandelier, from Visual Comfort, works for both reading and mood.
For the kids’ rooms, Sanchez Coleman Studio designed the neon signage, beds and shelves, based on the children’s suggestions.
For the kids’ rooms, Sanchez Coleman Studio designed the neon signage, beds and shelves, based on the children’s suggestions.
The wife concedes that while she likes color, she wants limited doses. “I prefer neutrals because it’s so easy to get tired of saturated colors. Angel and Chris took both our wishes and merged them perfectly throughout.” The startlingly chic living room is aglow with warm whites, yet subtly and dramatically accented with color via cushions and a minimalist artwork whose red eye appears to gaze upon the room.
The primary bedroom is, as the homeowner emphasizes, “a merging of masculine and feminine.” There, the designers employed expanses of purple, set against white and beige floors, walls and ceilings. As Coleman says, “I’m a big fan of black, but black is a hard sell for most people. To me, the next ‘go-to’ is purple, which can be read many ways. Here, purple is moody, soothing.” For the walls, the designers cleverly used a padded Arte wallcovering, muted in tone and effective as sound-proofing.
Coleman and Sanchez point out that a trend in many new, high-end south Florida houses is the use of stone and marble. The vigorous natural veining, the material’s durability, and the sheer variety of hues make the material appealing. “One of the most fun parts about doing the interiors,” says the wife, “was going with Chris and Angel to the showrooms to see the natural, beautiful stone. We love marble everywhere—in the baths, dining room, on the walls. The only place we didn’t want it was on the floor, since our kids are so young.” Expanses of green Italian marble are fashioned as shelving in the dining room, while a white-and-black marble appears in the primary suite for the fireplace and bedside tables. “Those wall-mounted tables are so heavy,” Coleman relates, “that they had to be braced with a metal substructure.”
After a year in the house, the wife remarks that it has a Zen-like feel. “All of the colors that have been chosen are ones I’m happy to see every day. “