Ron Schwane, Photography

Bruce Damonte

Visual Etiquette

Modern - Contemporary Interior Designs By J Design Group in Miami, Florida. Aventura Magazine selected one of our contemporary interior design projects and they said: Shortly after Jennifer Corredor’s interior design clients bought a four-bedroom, three bath home last year, the couple suffered through a period of buyer’s remorse. While they loved the Bay Harbor Islands location and the 4,000-square-foot, one-story home’s potential for beauty and ample entertaining space, they felt the living and dining areas were too restricted and looked very small. They feared they had bought the wrong house. “My clients thought the brown wall separating these spaces from the kitchen created a somber mood and darkness, and they were unhappy after they had bought the house,” says Corredor of the J. Design Group in Coral Gables. “So we decided to renovate and tear down the wall to make a galley kitchen.” Mathy Garcia Chesnick, a sales director with Cervera Real Estate, and husband Andrew Chesnick, an executive for the new Porsche Design Tower residential project in Sunny Isles, liked the idea of incorporating the kitchen area into the living and dining spaces. Since they have two young children, the couple felt those areas were too narrow for easy, open living. At first, Corredor was afraid a structural beam could get in the way and impede the restoration process. But after doing research, she learned that problem did not exist, and there was nothing to hinder the project from moving forward. So she collapsed the wall to create one large kitchen, living and dining space. Then she changed the flooring, using 36x36-inch light slabs of gold Bianco marble, replacing the wood that had been there before. This process also enlarged the look of the space, giving it lightness, brightness and zoom. “By eliminating the wall and adding the marble we amplified the new and expanded public area,” says Corredor, who is known for optimizing space in creative ways. “And I used sheer white window treatments which further opened things up creating an airy, balmy space. The transformation is astonishing! It looks like a different place.” Part of that transformation included stripping the “awful” brown kitchen cabinets and replacing them with clean-lined, white ones from Italy. She also added a functional island and mint chocolate granite countertops. At one end of the kitchen space, Corredor designed dark wood shelving where Mathy displays her collection of cookbooks. “Mathy cooks a great deal, and they entertain on a regular basis,” says Corredor. “The island we created is where she likes to serve the kids breakfast and have family members gather. And when they have a dinner party, everyone can mill in and out of the kitchen-galley, dining and living areas while able to see everything going on around them. It looks and functions so much better.” Corredor extended the Bianco marble flooring to other open areas of the house, nearly everywhere except for the bedrooms. She also changed the powder room, which is annexed to the kitchen. She applied white linear glass on the walls and added a new white square sink by Hastings. Clean and fresh, the room is reminiscent of a little jewel box. I n the living room, Corredor designed a showpiece wall unit of exotic cherry wood with an aqua center to bring back some warmth that modernizing naturally strips away. The designer also changed the room’s lighting, introducing a new system that eschews a switch. Instead, it works by remote and also dims to create various moods for different social engagements. “The lighting is wonderful and enhances everything else we have done in these open spaces,” says Corredor. T he dining room overlooks the pool and yard, with large, floorto- ceiling window brings the outdoors inside. A chandelier above the dining table is another expression of openness, like the lens of a person’s eyeglasses. “We wanted this unusual piece because its sort of translucence takes you outside without ever moving from the room,” explains Corredor. “The family members love seeing the yard and pool from the living and dining space. It’s also great for entertaining friends and business associates. They can get a real feel for the subtropical elegance of Miami.” N earby, the front door was originally brown so she repainted it a sleek lacquered white. This bright consistency helps maintain a constant eye flow from one section of the open areas to another. Everything is visible in the new extended space and creates a bright and inviting atmosphere. “It was important to modernize and update the house without totally changing the character,” says Corredor. “We organized everything well and it turned out beautifully, just as we envisioned it.” While nothing on the home’s exterior was changed, Corredor worked her magic in the master bedroom by adding panels with a wavelike motif to again bring elements of the outside in. The room is austere and clean lined, elegant, peaceful and not cluttered with unnecessary furnishings. In the master bath, Corredor removed the existing cabinets and made another large cherry wood cabinet, this time with double sinks for husband and wife. She also added frosted green glass to give a spa-like aura to the spacious room. T hroughout the house are splashy canvases from Mathy’s personal art collection. She likes to add color to the decor through the art while the backdrops remain a soothing white. The end result is a divine, refined interior, light, bright and open. “The owners are thrilled, and we were able to complete the renovation in a few months,” says Corredor. “Everything turned out how it should be.” J Design Group Call us. 305-444-4611 Miami modern, Contemporary Interior Designers, Modern Interior Designers, Coco Plum Interior Designers, Sunny Isles Interior Designers, Pinecrest Interior Designers, J Design Group interiors, South Florida designers, Best Miami Designers, Miami interiors, Miami décor, Miami Beach Designers, Best Miami Interior Designers, Miami Beach Interiors, Luxurious Design in Miami, Top designers, Deco Miami, Luxury interiors, Miami Beach Luxury Interiors, Miami Interior Design, Miami Interior Design Firms, Beach front, Top Interior Designers, top décor, Top Miami Decorators, Miami luxury condos, modern interiors, Modern, Pent house design, white interiors, Top Miami Interior Decorators, Top Miami Interior Designers, Modern Designers in Miami, J Design Group Call us. 305-444-4611 www.JDesignGroup.com

This small guest bathroom in a condo on the beach desperately needed a complete overhaul. We took it to the studs. The space was long and narrow and problematic to begin with having only 7 ft ceilings. And, of course the client wanted a rain head! Yikes! To accomodate this need we recessed the rainhead in a ceiling “niche” of sorts and tiled it with the coordinating mosaic glass we used in other niches in the room. The client also requested a tub...and shower..but wanted us to be creative in finding the right one. The Neptune “Wind” tub fit the need perfectly. The challenge was how to hang a shower curtain as well as how to mount a tub filler...we used a kohler laminar spout coming from wall so it looks great as well as functioning just as we needed. The shower curtain dilemma is solved by using an old fashioned 25 dollar clothesline. It stretches out from one end to the other and the curtain hangs on it when needed. Day to day the tub shines as the star! The client also requested a kitty litter box cut into one side of the cabinet so we made the cabinetry look the same from front but on side next to toilet is a small cutout for kitty to enter and exit. The door opens to easily clean the box. The candle niches were cut into the back wall of tile to give some visual texture to the room. The flooring is 12x12 terrazzo tiles that work perfectly off the blue glass 6x12 tile on the back wall. The other walls are limestone. The countertops are blue lagos Ceasarstone. All in all, this bath really packs a powerful punch in a small space!

Michael Brock, Brock Imaging

Small bathroom remodel. Rainfall Shower Walls.

Serene gut renovation of a lovely alcove studio. We created a wheelchair accessible bedroom and bathroom for flexibility

Master bathroom in modern beach home in Manhattan Beach, California, maximizes space and ocean views. Thoughtfully designed by Steve Lazar. design+build by South Swell. DesignBuildbySouthSwell.com.

Contemporary Bathroom

This gorgeous home renovation was a fun project to work on. The goal for the whole-house remodel was to infuse the home with a fresh new perspective while hinting at the traditional Mediterranean flare. We also wanted to balance the new and the old and help feature the customer’s existing character pieces. Let's begin with the custom front door, which is made with heavy distressing and a custom stain, along with glass and wrought iron hardware. The exterior sconces, dark light compliant, are rubbed bronze Hinkley with clear seedy glass and etched opal interior. Moving on to the dining room, porcelain tile made to look like wood was installed throughout the main level. The dining room floor features a herringbone pattern inlay to define the space and add a custom touch. A reclaimed wood beam with a custom stain and oil-rubbed bronze chandelier creates a cozy and warm atmosphere. In the kitchen, a hammered copper hood and matching undermount sink are the stars of the show. The tile backsplash is hand-painted and customized with a rustic texture, adding to the charm and character of this beautiful kitchen. The powder room features a copper and steel vanity and a matching hammered copper framed mirror. A porcelain tile backsplash adds texture and uniqueness. Lastly, a brick-backed hanging gas fireplace with a custom reclaimed wood mantle is the perfect finishing touch to this spectacular whole house remodel. It is a stunning transformation that truly showcases the artistry of our design and construction teams. Project by Douglah Designs. Their Lafayette-based design-build studio serves San Francisco's East Bay areas, including Orinda, Moraga, Walnut Creek, Danville, Alamo Oaks, Diablo, Dublin, Pleasanton, Berkeley, Oakland, and Piedmont. For more about Douglah Designs, click here: http://douglahdesigns.com/

With family life and entertaining in mind, we built this 4,000 sq. ft., 4 bedroom, 3 full baths and 2 half baths house from the ground up! To fit in with the rest of the neighborhood, we constructed an English Tudor style home, but updated it with a modern, open floor plan on the first floor, bright bedrooms, and large windows throughout the home. What sets this home apart are the high-end architectural details that match the home’s Tudor exterior, such as the historically accurate windows encased in black frames. The stunning craftsman-style staircase is a post and rail system, with painted railings. The first floor was designed with entertaining in mind, as the kitchen, living, dining, and family rooms flow seamlessly. The home office is set apart to ensure a quiet space and has its own adjacent powder room. Another half bath and is located off the mudroom. Upstairs, the principle bedroom has a luxurious en-suite bathroom, with Carrera marble floors, furniture quality double vanity, and a large walk in shower. There are three other bedrooms, with a Jack-and-Jill bathroom and an additional hall bathroom. Rudloff Custom Builders has won Best of Houzz for Customer Service in 2014, 2015 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2020. We also were voted Best of Design in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, which only 2% of professionals receive. Rudloff Custom Builders has been featured on Houzz in their Kitchen of the Week, What to Know About Using Reclaimed Wood in the Kitchen as well as included in their Bathroom WorkBook article. We are a full service, certified remodeling company that covers all of the Philadelphia suburban area. This business, like most others, developed from a friendship of young entrepreneurs who wanted to make a difference in their clients’ lives, one household at a time. This relationship between partners is much more than a friendship. Edward and Stephen Rudloff are brothers who have renovated and built custom homes together paying close attention to detail. They are carpenters by trade and understand concept and execution. Rudloff Custom Builders will provide services for you with the highest level of professionalism, quality, detail, punctuality and craftsmanship, every step of the way along our journey together. Specializing in residential construction allows us to connect with our clients early in the design phase to ensure that every detail is captured as you imagined. One stop shopping is essentially what you will receive with Rudloff Custom Builders from design of your project to the construction of your dreams, executed by on-site project managers and skilled craftsmen. Our concept: envision our client’s ideas and make them a reality. Our mission: CREATING LIFETIME RELATIONSHIPS BUILT ON TRUST AND INTEGRITY.

Serene gut renovation of a lovely alcove studio. We created a wheelchair accessible bedroom and bathroom for flexibility