This Florida house is devoted to light, art and views
A new Florida house, in Boca Raton, by architects Choeff Levy Fischman and interior designer Deborah Wecselman, has been shaped around an art collection
This new Florida house in Boca Raton epitomises the region's Tropical Modern style – sleek, glamorous and filled with light. It is also draped in art and sculpture and furnished with contemporary pieces and custom finishes. Designed by Miami-based practice Choeff Levy Fischman, with interiors by Deborah Wecselman, the Boca Raton house was designed for a client with a passion for signature pieces of contemporary art and strong interior statements. It was built to exacting standards by VJD Construction.
Tour this scene-stealing Florida house
The single-storey house is arranged as three pavilions surrounding a central pool, with artworks of varying scales scattered around in carefully pre-ordained positions that allow them to be appreciated from inside and outside. At the heart of the house is a 130ft-long skylight that runs two-thirds of the floorplan, bringing light into the central spine of the house and giving it a gallery-like quality.
The entrance façade, which adjoins a garage for the owners’ collection of classic and contemporary sports cars, is given a slightly different treatment, with rooms and internal spaces treated like pods that are extruded out from the wall. A shallow reflecting pool is set beneath these structures and is also the site of two large-scale ceramic forms by Jun Kaneko.
Inside, the accommodation includes a kitchen by the German specialist Eggersmann, flanked by an installation wall of custom coloured glass by Amsterdam-based Studio Germans Ermičs. While there are formal sitting rooms and niches devoted to particular sculptures, paintings and views, the family room is a deliberately playful space, as are the bedrooms intended for the client’s grandchildren. These include a room with walls that appear to be carved from Lego, with an elevated loft-style bed, as well as wallpaper inspired by the late Keith Haring (a friend of the client’s).
The main living room has views across the lake to the golf course beyond, with a chandelier by Apparatus suspended above a round area rug by Tai Ping and cedar-finished Wittmann sofas. A Holly Hunt side chair in deep purple adds a splash of colour. Other art pieces are intended to be seen from inside and out, including the lifeguard sculpture by the pool by Spanish artist Aurora Cañero.
‘This home exemplifies resort-style living with complete integration of interior spaces utilizing vast opening sliders,’ says Ralph Choeff, principal at Choeff Levy Fischman. ‘The home’s owners specifically requested a one-storey residence, and we provided a programme that pushed the design and the locations of design elements. As always, the site itself figures prominently into the design inspiration.’
The collaboration with interiors specialist Deborah Wecselman brought precious experience to the project – Wecselman had worked on two previous residences for the client. ‘They wanted a home where generations could gather and create lasting memories,’ the designer explains. With its rich interior and exterior landscape shaped by art and sculpture and meticulously appointed furniture and fittings, the Boca Raton house is both private house and gallery space.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Choeff Levy Fischman, CLFArchitects.com, @ChoeffLevyFischman
Wecselman Design, WecselmanDesign.com, @WecselmanDesign
Studio Germans Ermičs, GermansErmics.com
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
The 24 best photographs of 2024, shot for the pages of Wallpaper*
Photography editor, Sophie Gladstone, completes her year in review, with some personal highlights from Wallpaper* photographers in 2024
By Sophie Gladstone Published
-
Time, beauty, history – all are written into trees in Karimoku Research Center's debut Tokyo exhibition
The layered world of forests – and their evolving relationship with humans – is excavated and reimagined in 'The Age of Wood', a Tokyo exhibition at Karimoku Research Center
By Danielle Demetriou Published
-
Tour Xi'an's remarkable new 'human-centred' shopping district with designer Thomas Heatherwick
Xi'an district by Heatherwick Studio, a 115,000 sq m retail development in the Chinese city, opens this winter. Thomas Heatherwick talks us through its making and ambition
By David Plaisant Published
-
A vacant Tribeca penthouse is transformed into a bright, contemporary eyrie
A Tribeca penthouse is elevated by Peterson Rich Office, who redesigned it by adding a sculptural staircase and openings to the large terrace
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
We walk through Luther George Park and its new undulating pavilion
Luther George Park by Trahan Architects and landscape architects Spackman Mossop Michaels opens to the public, showcasing a striking new pavilion installation – take a first look
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A vibrant new waterfront park opens in San Francisco
A waterfront park by leading studio Scape at China Basin provides dynamic public spaces and coastal resilience for San Francisco's new district of Mission Rock
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Tekαkαpimək Contact Station: a building ‘as inspiring as the endless forest and waterways of the land’
The new Tekαkαpimək Contact Station by Saunders Architecture with Reed Hilderbrand and Alisberg Parker Architects, opens at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in the USA
By Beth Broome Published
-
Entelechy II: architect John Portman's majestic beach home hits the market
Entelechy II, architect John Portman's beach residence in Georgia, USA, goes on the market; roll up, roll up for a home that is as grand as it is playful
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
First look: Honolulu's Victoria Place blends cosmopolitan living with Hawaii life and nature
Victoria Place is a new residential tower at Honolulu's Ward Village; take a first look at its interiors
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A look inside the home of George Homsey, one of the fathers of pioneering California modernist community Sea Ranch
George Homsey's home opens for the first time since his death, in 2019; see where the architect behind some of the designs for Sea Ranch, the pioneering California modernist community, lived
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Step inside a Brooklyn Brownstone that bridges old and new
'Brooklyn Brownstone' has been refreshed by Jon Powell Architects (JPA) and the result is a contemporary design rooted in modern elegance
By Ellie Stathaki Published