This Palm Beach Sanctuary Embraces A Contemporary Cool Style
Bradley’s Carly mirror and Oliver console play off each other in the entry. Trueing’s Elma chandelier oversees Kyle Bunting’s Flaunt rug. Around the corner, a Lucrecia Waggoner art installation is displayed against Phillip Jeffries’ Casting wallcovering above Oly’s Faline bench.
Defying the usual seaside aesthetic, a warm-weather sanctuary embraces a bolder look.
The breezy coast of South Florida called to a Connecticut family, drawn to the area for warm, sunny vacations. They acquired a midcentury residence just one block away from the ocean, and this close proximity provided all the beachy ambience they desired for their retreat. “The wife didn’t want your typical coastal home,” designer Lisa Hynes emphasizes. “She wanted something cool, funky and youthful—something with an edge.” These characteristics inspired a distinct look, adds her business partner, designer Heather Weisz: “We called it, ‘Palm Beach Modern Coastal.’ ”
The historic nature of the ranch-style structure, constructed in 1969, required the front façade be preserved, but the interior was free to be renovated into a bright, updated dwelling. Residential designer Yianni Varnava, with his firm’s Mauricio Caro as architect of record, reimagined the layout to include discrete spaces such as a laundry room while dissolving some of the segregation. “The kitchen and living area are now combined in an open space, so it has a more contemporary feeling,” Varnava observes. “We also modified the truss system to allow for taller ceilings, which are now around 11- or 12-feet high.” This additional height gave the designers room to crown spaces with dramatic fixtures that honor the couple’s preference for glass and metal, like the mesh-wrapped globes in the dining area and chain-link glass pendants in the breakfast nook. “Every room has lighting that is special,” Hynes says. “Each one is a statement piece, but they all interact and work well together.” An array of glass spheres, for instance, illuminates the streamlined “ ‘non-kitchen’ kitchen,” as Weisz describes of the space that feels more like an extension of the living area than a cooking zone, boasting veined marble, integrated hardware and touch-latch doors. “We wanted the materials and lighting to come to the forefront, so we kept the cabinetry minimal and sleek.”
When it came to colors, the designers cultivated a palette that mixes deep tones with “iterations of neutrals,” Weisz describes, noting creams and whites. Touches of black make sleek appearances, as does a thoughtful curation of blues that defy the beachy trope. “The colors are saturated and intense,” she notes. “They’re not soft coastal or navy; they feel a little electrified.” The look is established in the entry with a blue patterned rug, wavy-framed mirror and light wood console, backed by an ivory wallcovering. “We wanted to pack a punch,” Hynes says. “When you open the door, the goal was to create a moment of relaxation but also a ‘wow’ factor.”
Home Details
Architecture:
Yianni Varnava, Varnava Design Studio
Interior Design:
Lisa Hynes and Heather Weisz, HW Interiors
Home Builder:
Frank Lyons, Surfside Contracting, Inc.
In the breakfast nook, each of the Franco chairs by Four Hands boasts a different shade of blue. Knoll’s Saarinen table from Design Within Reach has a Carrara marble top. The Antonio Sannino artwork is a vibrant backdrop for Trueing’s Cerine pendants.
Kravet fabric covers the living area’s sectional by Shelby-Parker, joining Cuff Studio’s Channel chair on an Art + Loom rug. Draperies by Marquis Design Group line the windows. The design team chose Bradley coffee and dining tables, the latter beneath Konekt pendants.
SapienStone’s Arabescato marble from UMI Stone envelops the kitchen, outfitted with Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances from Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery. Gabriel Scott’s Luna sconces flank a window dressed in a shade by Marquis Design Group.
Another view of the same space shows Thomas Hayes Studio’s The Iron and Rolled stools upholstered in Chivasso’s Soft Touch fabric. Bocci lighting fronts cabinets by Cooper Custom Cabinetry. The Galley’s Ideal Tap faucets are from Millers Elegant Hardware & Plumbing.
In the den, Nathan Anthony’s Freya sectional pairs with Verellen’s Olive nesting tables. The hues of Natural Curiosities’ Rose Feathers wall hanging counter the ombre Élitis rug from Jeffrey Michaels.
Shelby-Parker fabricated the breakfast nook’s banquette in a Kravet textile and Donghia’s Points of View jacquard velvet. The walls are coated with Benjamin Moore’s Simply White. Underfoot are planks of Coswick’s Aqua White from Floor Specialists.
Onyx Tigre from Opustone Stone and Tile Concepts wraps a guest bathroom. The oak vanity by Cooper Custom Cabinetry is accented with matte white pieces, including Oly’s Flint mirror, Visual Comfort & Co.’s Utopia sconce and Dornbracht’s Tara fixtures.
Green headlines a guest bedroom, as seen in Lindsay Cowles’ Celadon wallcovering, Art + Loom’s Dipped Edge rug and Jenna Krypell’s Oscillate over a Rove Concepts bed. Innermost’s Portland pendant floats above Four Hands’ Bodie nightstand.
The entry extends to the living area, where the duo introduced organic forms and soft textiles to balance cooler hues and materials, a strategy that runs throughout the home. “There is no shortage of delicious-feeling fabrics and textures in this house,” Hynes says, pointing to the living area’s bouclé armchair, sectional with rounded arms and surfboard-shaped concrete coffee table. This tactility is paired with eye-catching earth tones, showcased in a guest bedroom with shades of green and a guest bathroom shrouded in magnificent slabs of multihued striped onyx with matte-white plumbing. “That’s not something you see every day,” acknowledges the project’s builder, Frank Lyons.
“The wife didn’t want your typical coastal home. She wanted something cool, funky and youthful—something with an edge.”
–LISA HYNES
Another bathroom presents a cheeky surprise with “Surf Naked” spelled in a shower wall of tiles that mimic beach glass. (“God bless these trusting clients—they thought it was so cool,” Weisz recalls with a laugh. “What a fun statement.”) The primary suite, meanwhile, takes a sexy turn with an edgy black-and-white palette, including a headboard wall of charred black oak. “It feels dynamic, youthful, rock ’n’ roll,” she muses.
In a home where unexpected delight awaits behind each door, the team ensured every space accommodates effortless gatherings, no matter the setting, and includes practical details designed for ease and convenience. The den is a cozy venue for watching television thanks to a generously sized sectional with cascading arms. The whimsical breakfast nook—consisting of a table surrounded by a banquette and four chairs, each a different shade of blue—doubles as a spot for board games. And the family’s four children drove the design of a bunk room that sleeps four, integrates USB ports in the nightstands and has hidden storage. No functionality detail was too small; even the kitchen backsplash slides open to reveal a spice cache. “We made sure there was a place for everything,” Hynes summarizes. “This home is beautiful and livable.” And not conventionally coastal.