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NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2010

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COMFORT & JOYHOW TO DESIGN A GREAT GUEST ROOM

CONTEMPORARY CHICFROM FURNITURE TO FABRICS, MORE CHOICES

THAN EVER

BROWSERS REFRESHEDSHOPPING AT BAER’S DANIA DESIGN CENTER

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PUBLISHING AND EDITORIAL

publisher michelle simon

editor mark gauert

designeranderson greene

ADVERTISING

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gail spierdesigner

cheryl nekosadvertising coordinator

Brittney Messingschlagerspecial sections writer

larry schwingel

PRODUCTION

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print production managerchristine palermo-wallach

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operations manager barry monroe

color imaging techniciansjohn davidson, michael dudley

For information on advertising rates, please contact Michelle Simon, publisher, 954-356-4804. For editorial, please contact Mark Gauert, 954-356-4685. City & Shore Home is published six times yearly (February, April, June, August, October and December) and distributed to more than 100,000 Sun Sentinel Sunday subscribers. It is a supplement of City & Shore, South Florida’s leading lifestyle and fashion magazine, www.cityandshore.com, twitter@CITYANDSHORE, published by the Sun Sentinel. © 2010 by the SunSentinel Co. Material may not be repro-duced without written permission.

contributorsCharlyne Varkonyi Schaub is the former editor of the Sun Sentinel’s Home & Garden section.

Robyn A. Friedman is a freelance writer and the Sun Sentinel’s real-estate columnist.

Elizabeth Rahe is a former Sun Sentinel Lifestyle editor.

contents

home

NOVEMBERDECEMBER 2010

Magazine

B

COMFORT & JOYHOW TO DESIGN A GREAT GUEST ROOM

CONTEMPORARY CHICFROM FURNITURE TO FABRICS, MORE CHOICES

THAN EVER

BROWSERS REFRESHEDSHOPPING AT BAER’S DANIA DESIGN CENTER

GREEN HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

ARCHITECT’S ENERGY-EFFICIENT VICTORIA PARK HOME

homeNOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2010

9city& shore HOME

home décor

C ONTEMPORARYCHIC BY CHARLYNE VARKONYI SCHAUB

If you haven’t looked at contemporary furnishings for a while, you may be pleasantly surprised. The choices from fabric to furniture are much more versatile.

Furniture has gentle curves as well as right angles. Fabrics are great pretenders, looking like rattlesnake and parchment. And window treatments offer many more options.

Sweet dreamsWe used to think of contemporary bedrooms as being cold and somewhat sterile. The Palomar Queen Bed ($1,997) from Bernhardt makes a comfortable statement with a 70-inch high, button-tufted cream leather headboard that gives a nod to tradition with the lines of a wing back chair. It is also sold in king and California king sizes. Available at Baer’s. For locations, see www.baers.com.

ON THE COVER: Benjamin Alopari designed this guest room in Jupiter around the art, “Fruit Bowl,” repeating the horizontal black-and-white lines in the rug from Stark Carpet. Photo by Claudia Uribe

11 CONTEMPORARYCHICIf you haven’t looked at contemporary furnishings for a while, you may be pleasantly surprised. The choices – from fabrics to furniture – are much more versatile.By Charlyne Varkonyi Schaub

17BROWSERS REFRESHEDA “light-bulb’’ moment turns on the design trade – and consumers – at Baer’s Dania Design Center.By Charlyne Varkonyi Schaub

18LA VIDA LOCALRicky Martin’s 9,882-square-foot Golden Beach home has some upside inside out views.By Robyn A. Friedman

20GREEN HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYSA Fort Lauderdale architect lets nature control the climate in his 5,000-square-foot Victoria Park home this time of year – but energy-efficiencies are built-in year round.By Elizabeth Rahe

23COMFORT & JOYGuest bedrooms don’t have to be the forgotten room of the house. South Florida designers have found innovative ways to make guests so comfortable – at all levels – they may be tempted not to leave.By Charlyne Varkonyi Schaub

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11city& shore HOME

home décor

C ONTEMPORARY CHIC BY CHARLYNE VARKONYI SCHAUB

If you haven’t looked at contemporary furnishings for a while, you may be pleasantly surprised. The choices from fabric to furniture are much more versatile.

Furniture has gentle curves as well as right angles. Fabrics are great pretenders, looking like rattlesnake and parchment. And window treatments offer many more options.

Sweet dreamsWe used to think of contemporary bedrooms as being cold and somewhat sterile. The Palomar Queen Bed ($1,997) from Bernhardt makes a comfortable statement with a 70-inch high, button-tufted cream leather headboard that gives a nod to tradition with the lines of a wing back chair. It is also sold in king and California king sizes. Available at Baer’s. For locations, see www.baers.com.

HOME city&shore12

home décor Great cover-upYears ago, the only option for sliding doors or a large window was cumbersome drapes, plantation shutters or vertical blinds. We have come a long way since then, and one of the leaders in innovation has been Hunter Douglas. A soft solution is the Allustra Collection’s Tara Modern Roman Shade that disappears into a header. Suggested retail for a 86- by 120-inch window is $2,229; Powerrise option is extra. Available at Tondre Design Studio, 6599 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton, 561-826-1970, www.tondreinteriors.com.

Style from CelerieCelerie Kemble, the high-profi le New York City designer and daughter of Palm Beach designer Mimi McMakin, knows great style because she grew up on Palm Beach island. One way she shares that talent is through her namesake home furnishings collections, including Celerie for Valtekz. This fabric collection includes faux leathers and exotics, such as shagreen, parchment and rattlesnake, as well as chic designer fabrics. Suggested retail ranges from $58 to $68 per yard. Available at Valtekz, 2981 Gateway Drive, Pompano Beach, 954-984-7802, www.valtekz.com.

Grand designSometimes furnishings are as much an artistic statement as they are utilitarian. This dining room is pure sculpture – from the globe lamp from Italy ($4,895) to Milena, a leather cantilevered chair from Bonaldo in Italy ($675). The Mille table ($4,895) features chrome legs fused to the glass for strength and durability, also from Bonaldo. Available at Sklar Furnishings, 6300 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton, 561-862-0800, www.sklarfurnishings.com.

13city& shore HOME

Reading and relaxingFor those of us who would rather read a real book than an eBook, one of the best bedroom additions is a bookcase bed. This example from the SoHo Collection combines sleek contemporary style with plenty of storage for books. Crafted of white oak in light and dark fi nishes, it is a good choice for condominiums or second homes. Priced at $1,799 for queen and $1,999 for king, it is sold exclusively at Robb & Stucky Interiors, 200 Plaza Real in Mizner Park, Boca Raton, 561-347-1717; 3801 Design Center Drive, Palm Beach Gardens, 561-904-7200, www.RobbStucky.com

Black and whiteNo color scheme is more dramatic than black and white. And now that many of us are entertaining more at home, there’s nothing like a comfortable sectional to have enough seating for all your guests. This private label modular seating group is handcrafted in Italy in leather and is available in white, red or brown. Options include confi gurations from a sofa to a pit. Suggested retail is $3,899 for two corners, two armless units and an ottoman. Available at Carls Furniture. See www.carls.com for locations.

Clear choiceFashionistas know the look. Philippe Starck made it famous with his iconic Ghost Chair. Jennifer Garrigues used a stack of translucent chairs for extra dining seats in the 2010 American Red Cross Designers’ Show House in West Palm Beach. Check out Archirivolto’s translucent Parisienne Chair ($285) for Calligaris, Italy’s largest furniture maker. They can be stacked up to six high and are available in four transparent polycarbonate colors – clear, amber, red and smoked gray – and two solids – black and white. Available at the Calligaris Store by Concepto Modern Living, 2754 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, 954-567-3403, www.conceptofurniture.com.

Artistic licenseIf you have a contemporary room, art should fi t the mood. This abstract of Venice by Anna Razumovskaya is a signed limited edition embellished Giclee on canvas. Only 50 are available; prices range from $1,200-$4,800. It comes with a certifi cate of authenticity signed by the artist. Available at Art Connection, 2860 Center Port Circle, Pompano Beach, 954-977-8177, www.artconnectionusa.com.

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17city& shore HOME

The Dania Design Center was the result of a “light-bulb moment.”Bobby and Elaine Baer of Baer’s Furniture were talking about how it was time

to remodel their Dania Beach store. The store, which opened in 1976, had short walls and tight divisions created to showcase smaller sofas. A more contemporary feel, with wide open spaces, was needed to display current trends of larger furniture.

But, at the same time, change was risky because the recession was hitting the home furnishings industry hard. Home furnishings stores, large and small, were closing. High-end designer showrooms were going out of business. Even the wealthy were careful about how much they were spending.

Elaine Baer says her fellow designers told her they were looking for another option for quality furniture – one that was more affordable with lower factory shipping and delivery charges than they paid at design centers.

“Our objective is to provide quality designed furniture for quicker delivery at an affordable price,” says Bobby Baer, Baer’s CEO/Chairman.

The answer was transforming the 35,000-square-foot Baer’s store at 1025 S. Federal Highway in Dania Beach into the Dania Design Center. The store never closed during an extensive renovation. It re-opened as the DDC in late July.

Shoppers can browse and buy on their own, shop with their own design professional or get matched with a designer. If designers come in with a client or register a client, the client must buy with them.

Unlike typical design centers, parking is free. Waiting has been reduced for many items because one third of the floor space is stocked for immediate delivery. Unlike design centers, there is no charge for incoming freight, and delivery is a $129 flat fee within 250 miles of the DDC.

Although the Baer’s name remains on the right corner of the building to remind

customers that the DDC is backed by a company with 65 years in the furniture business, that’s where the similarity ends.

Instead of being greeted by sales people, designers, clients and customers register at a custom-made desk flanked by palm trees. The furniture is well accessorized and arranged in attractive room vignettes so the buyer can picture how it will look in his or her home.

The DDC is one-stop shopping, including everything from window treatments and flooring to furniture, lighting and accessories. Only 5 percent of the merchandise can be found in other Baer’s stores. Well-respected brands include Henredon, La Barge, Drexel Heritage, Maitland Smith, Thomasville, Sherrill, Natuzzi, Hooker, Lane and Tommy Bahama for Lexington. Mattresses include Vera Wang for Serta and Kingsdown. A 25-foot wall offers a choice of 20,000 fabric samples for custom applications.

Designers also will recognize some well-known names from other showrooms.Mary Rosati, a veteran of several showrooms at the Design Center of the Americas, including Beacon

Hill, Judith Norman and Bob Sapan’s Showplace, is a trade consultant.Sonia R. Najam, who ran Windows on the World

for 26 years at DCOTA, is now a Baer’s employee and director of window treatment sales. She is working with Jan Stanley, fabric and soft goods manager, to offer fabrics, trims, window treatments, wall coverings, carpeting, area rugs, readymade and custom bedding.

“There were very few walk-ins at DCOTA,” Najam says, noting most of her design clients have followed her to the DDC. “It was a sign of the times. This makes it easier for designers to have one-stop shopping. They don’t have to go from showroom to showroom. And the wonderful thing is they are not sacrificing taste or quality. We are using the same installers and workrooms.”

Maria Clara Uribe, an Aventura designer, says she likes shopping at the DDC because parking is free and a lot of items are in stock except for custom applications.

“Everybody is watching their money,” she says. “It is not too high end. Clients can get something very nice. It is very good quality but not at a crazy price.”

Thus far, the gamble has paid off. Bobby Baer says sales are 25 to 30 percent above projections. He gives a lot of credit to Elaine Baer, who is the DDC’s creative director.

“You never know when you are going to get a good tip from your wife,” he says. “She has very good suggestions, and when she makes them I listen.”

He added: “If you give a customer great value and take care of them, you can make it through bad times.”

—Charlyne Varkonyi Schaub

The Personal Shopper “Light-bulb moment’’ turns on design trade – and consumers – at Baer’s Dania Design Center

The furniture is arranged in attractive vignettes, like this one which features upscale Drexel Heritage.

Putting together this screen by Art

Max and sofa by Bradington Young is

good inspiration for a living room design.

Sonia R. Najam, who ran Windows on the

World for 26 years at the Design Center of the Americas, is now

a Baer’s employee and director of

window treatments.

HOME city&shore18

curb appealThe Estates of South Florida

This 9,882-square-foot, two-story Mediterranean estate, built in 2002, is owned by pop singer Ricky Martin. While he has never lived in the estate, Martin also owns homes in New York City, Puerto Rico and a private island off the coast of Brazil, according to AOL design and housing website ShelterPop. Located at 641 Ocean Blvd. in Golden Beach – one of South Florida’s most exclusive oceanfront neighborhoods, with a 24-hour security patrol in both the community and on the beach – the home has fi ve bedrooms, seven baths, a new gourmet kitchen with morning room, top-of-the-line fi nishes and a fi ve-car garage, not to mention stunning views of the ocean and private 108-foot beach.

Details: $18.9 million. Contact Pablo Alfaro at Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors, 305-613-1186, ewm.com.

–Robyn A. Friedman

LA VIDA LOCALRICKY MARTIN’S 9,882-SQUARE-FOOT GOLDEN BEACH HOME HAS AN UPSIDE INSIDE OUT VIEW OF THE OCEAN.

19city& shore HOME

the home via a white-railed bridge over a water feature, which recalls a ship’s gangplank. Inside, the living area opens to a clear view of the saltwater, infinity-edged pool and the canal to the east, giving the perception of being surrounded by water.

The white exterior features deep balconies and terraces and lush foliage to the west, which provide passive protection from the sun. The majority of windows are east-facing, to take advantage of morning light and avoid the punishing afternoon rays. “If you control the impact of climate, you can save 30 percent in energy,” explains the soft-spoken architect as he offers a tour.

He points out the technical aspects of the house, including rooftop photovoltaic panels that generate one-third of his electricity, a solar hot water heater that

GREEN HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYSA Fort Lauderdale architect lets nature control the climate in his 5,000-square-foot Victoria Park home this time of year – but energy-efficiencies are built-in year round.

BY ELIZABETH RAHE

Kaizer Talib thinks people should be talking more about energy-saving building design. For his part, the Fort Lauderdale architect not only talks it, he lives in it. On a canal in Victoria Park, he has constructed a tribute to sustainable architecture,

which is also his home. Built into the design are passive and technological elements that slash energy usage.

“A house this size – 5,000 square feet – would have utility bills of about $1,200 in the summer, but mine are about $300,” he says.

He has not sacrificed aesthetics for energy, however. The architecture channels the spirit of an ocean-going yacht, presenting clean lines and a hint of whimsy. Visitors enter

HOME city&shore20

Continued on page 30

Kaizer Talib’s two-story living room overlooks the pool and waterway.

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23city& shore HOME

COMFORT JOY&

CREATING A GUEST ROOM THAT’S MEMORABLE – WITHOUT FORGETTING THE ESSENTIALS

city& shore HOME

BY CHARLYNE VARKONYI SCHAUB

Guest bedrooms don’t have to be the forgotten room of the house. We shouldn’t expect our company to sleep in a space with an uncomfortable old mattress, a closet jammed with clothes or insuffi cient lighting for reading.

The solutions can be endless. South Florida designers have found innovative ways to make guests comfortable at all levels – from Murphy beds that give the rooms a dual purpose to elaborate suites that duplicate high-end hotels with Egyptian-cotton linens, fl at-screen televisions, iPod stations and refrigerators stocked with drinks and snacks. The designs can be contemporary, traditional or somewhere in between.

Keep it simpleOne design philosophy, shared by Fort Lauderdale designer Joseph Fava and Miami designer Benjamin Alopari, is to keep the guest room simple and allow a major piece of art to carry the room.

Fava created a colorful guest room on Sanibel Island for snowbirds from Baltimore. “Their house up north is very traditional so they wanted something bright,” he says. “They wanted it

to look like a South Beach boutique hotel.”

Benjamin Alopari designed this guest room in Jupiter around

the art, “Fruit Bowl,” repeating the horizontal black-and-white

lines in the rug from Stark Carpet. Photo by Claudia Uribe

HOME city&shore24

The focal point of the room is a 5-foot wide and 6-foot high painting from Sarasota artist Alexia Larraine played against a creamy tan wall covering from Cowton & Tout. The polka dots in the wallpaper make the perfect backdrop for the hot pink and bright orange circles in the bed linens. Everything is clean-lined – from the platform bed to the lamps with circle motif and the chair from Design Within Reach, which was recovered to match the color scheme. Accessories are kept to a minimum.

“When people are traveling from out of town, they bring a lot of stuff,” Fava says. “It is best to keep the guest room uncluttered and simple.”

Alopari’s clients, who were originally from Dallas, also wanted a South Beach vibe in their new Jupiter home. The clients loved the décor at the Delano and wanted the house to be whimsical.

“A guest room should be a kind of fantasy, an escape from everyday life,” says Alopari, who appeared on VH1’s Secrets of

Aspen. “This room is like a great hotel where it is restful. The stress of the daily grind is lifted away.”

The room was designed around Fruit Bowl, which was printed on acrylic and purchased at the fi rst Art Basel Miami. Alopari picked up the horizontal lines in the painting with a black-and-white striped rug from Stark Carpet. The simple platform bed on a black frame, from Luminaire in Miami, is a 1964 design by Italian designer and architect A.G. Fronzoni. The only window treatment, a plain white shade, is on the large side window so guests have to be early risers. The room also includes a reading lamp, fl at-screen television, satellite DVD and bathroom with a huge soaking tub. Guests look out onto a refl ecting pond with a sculpture that lights up.

“I was trying to mimic an iconic jail outfi t,” Alopari says. “That’s why everything is in black and white.”

Jack Fhillips thought of everything a guest would want – from a dressing table to a good chair for reading – in this Palm Beach island guest room. Photo by Robert Brantley

25city& shore HOME

Salute to traditionPalm Beach designer Jack Fhillips says he has seen too many people who treat guest rooms as the stepchild of the house.

“When people take leftovers from everywhere else and throw them into a room, I wouldn’t call it a guest room,” he says. “I would call it an ‘I don’t want you here room.’ ’’

One of the welcoming rooms he created was for a seasonal couple with a home on Palm Beach island. The clients requested a cheerful and crisp blue-and-white house. They didn’t want it to look trendy or “of the moment.”

His inspiration was more Hamptons than Palm Beach – a very traditional setting with carved four-poster bed played against light blue walls. The artwork includes hand-colored reproductions of antique etchings on one wall and a trio of antique seashell pieces over the bed.

“I think the art cozies up the space,” Fhillips says. “You don’t have to use this much art, but if you walk into a guest room with just furniture, it says nothing.”

On one side of the bed is a dressing table/writing desk topped with a mirror for last minute touch-ups. On the bench is a throw in case the air conditioning is chilly and the guests want to cover up. He also included a chair and ottoman with reading lamp. The bedding is more elaborate than you typically see in a guest room – with piles of pillows.

“A lot of people don’t like a bed with so many pillows,” he says. “But it’s fi ne if the help makes the bed for the guests. It gives the guest a feeling they are living in a lovely hotel. I don’t do it normally. It depends on the client.”Comfort testLouis Shuster, a Fort Lauderdale designer who has been in business for 30 years, says his clients used to want their guest rooms to

Joseph Fava used an abstract painting by Sarasota artist Alexia Larraine to give color and drama

to a guest room on Sanibel Island. Photo by Kim Sargent

HOME city&shore26

look good, but comfort wasn’t important because they put their guests up in hotels. The rooms had attractive furniture but were equipped with very basic no-iron sheets, inexpensive pillows and ordinary mattresses.

“With lodging costs so high, they are now making their guest bedrooms more user friendly,” he says. “They are buying higher-end mattresses and including better lighting for using a computer and for reading. The electronics are amazing. Each guest room has a fl at-screen TV and iPod docking station. A lot of my clients even supply iPods so their guests can take them to the beach.”

Shuster says clients don’t want a lot of furniture in the room and his solution is to create custom closets with plenty of drawers. Clients also are requesting safes, like those in upscale hotels, so guests can secure their money and other valuables.

One of the elegant guest rooms Shuster designed was for snowbirds in Fort Lauderdale’s L’Hermitage.

“They are Manhattan people and they wanted a lighter version of a New York penthouse with light, airy, neutral colors and a sophisticated backdrop for their art collection. They also don’t like anything trendy. They wanted timeless and clean.”

Shuster makes the neutrals in the guest room work using a variety of textures – from the low-pile industrial carpet to Egyptian cotton bedding, ribbed coverlet and sleek ash furniture.

The room’s focal point is a 14-by-8-foot headboard/wall accent made of padded leather squares framed in ash to match the 42-inch wide nightstands. The nightstands are accessorized simply

- with matching polished nickel lamps and square alarm clocks to allow guests plenty of room for drinks and reading material. The

Louis Shuster designed this timeless and clean-lined guest room in Fort Lauderdale’s L'Hermitage with a headboard of padded leather squares as the focal point. Photo by Kim Sargent

27city& shore HOME

chair is upholstered in quilted cotton treated to be stain resistant. The bench at the foot of the bed allows bedding to be rolled down out of the way. Guests can sleep late because the windows are dressed with blackout shades. Not too comfortablePalm Beach designer Joseph Pubillones says Floridians have a special challenge in guest rooms because of how we attract guests from the north in the winter.

“You want to make them just comfortable enough but not too comfortable,” says Pubillones, who has been on HGTV’s Designers’ Challenge. “You want your guests to feel welcome, but you don’t want to make them feel so comfortable that they stay weeks and weeks.”

A good example is the guest room he created for empty nester

snowbirds at Sabal Shores condominium in Boca Raton. The room glows like a sunset with soft orange grass cloth on the walls and golden fabric accented with orange circles. The lamp in the middle of the mirrored chest is wall mounted and can swing from side to side for bedtime reading. The shade is retro and so is the chair, which has a ’50s feel except the legs are beefi er. The owner’s collection of Murano glass birds sits atop the mirrored chest from Arteriors Home - except when the grandkids come to visit.

Make it fl exibleSometimes what clients want is more than a guest room; they want fl exibility. Boca Raton designer Douglas Feldman’s clients, who live in the Lake House condominium in Boca Raton, came up with the

Joseph Pubillones created this guest room for snowbirds in

Boca Raton with a wall mounted lamp that can be used by readers

in either twin bed and added a mirrored chest to showcase

the owners’ Murano glass birds. Photo by Daniel Newcomb

HOME city&shore28

idea of Murphy beds so the room also could be used for watching television.Feldman’s solution was a custom system that appears to be a paneled wall

with artwork and accent lighting. When the sofa cushions are removed, twin beds fold down resting on the sofa base.

Most guest rooms, including this one, have small closets so Feldman made sure that there was enough storage. On each side of the Murphy beds is a set of drawers and a matching dresser is across the room for a total of 15 drawers for storage, linens and guest clothing.

“It is as important for your guests to be as comfortable as you are,” Feldman says. “It is not a place to save money unless you never want them to come back.”

Benjamin Alopari1601 Lenox Ave. #1, Miami Beach, 305-773-6064, alopari@hotmail.com.Joseph FavaFava Design Group, 3556 NE 12th Ave., Fort Lauderdale, 954-568-3732, www.favadesigngroup.com.Douglas FeldmanFeldman Design Studio, 345 W. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, 561-447-7301.

Jack FhillipsJack Fhillips Design, 2611 Mercer Ave., West Palm Beach, 561-659-4459, www.jfhillipsdesign.com.Joseph PubillonesJoseph Pubillones, Inc., 44 Cocoanut Row, T14, Palm Beach, 561-655-1717, www.jp-interiors.com.Louis ShusterShuster Design, 1401 NE 26th St., Wilton Manors, 954-462-6400, www.shusterdesign.com.

SOURCES

This guest room, designed by Douglas Feldman for a Boca Raton condo, does double duty as a media room and guest room with the help of cleverly disguised twin Murphy beds. Photo by John Stillman

29city& shore HOME

HOW TO DESIGN A GREAT GUEST ROOMA great guest room is more than just comfortable furniture, interesting design and attractive art.

“People should stay overnight in their guest rooms to discover whether anyone would want to spend one night, let alone three nights,” says Palm Beach designer Jack Fhillips.

Here are his tips:You can make a great guest room even

if the furniture doesn’t match. Paint the furniture white and use a great color on the walls.

One of the most important elements is a comfortable mattress with box spring and high-thread count Egyptian cotton linens.

Guests often forget an alarm clock so place one on the night table.

A guest room should resemble an upscale hotel. Fill a small basket with travel sizes of quality soaps, shampoos, conditioners, toothpaste and a toothbrush. This saves the guest embarrassment of asking for them in case these essentials were forgotten.

Sometimes rooms get musty in Florida. Scented candles are a smart addition.

A small writing table or dressing table allows guests to work or apply makeup. A computer hookup or wireless access is also important these days when many people travel with their computer. Don’t forget the mirror.

Hang a pair of terry bathrobes in the closet for going to the pool or after a shower.

“The same thing applies to a guest room as a hotel room,” says Palm Beach designer Joseph Pubillones. “Offer some way to take out the light, such as blackout curtains, so they can sleep.”

Pubillones also suggests:Include a television because your

guests may want to watch a different show than you do.

Provide adequate storage. Make sure the closet has enough room to hang a few things without a vacuum in the way. Allow room for a luggage rack. The nightstand should have room for pajamas and toiletries.

Install hooks behind the closet door so guests can hang up their wet towel or bathing suit.

A comfortable chair or settee with proper lighting allows guests to be comfortable reading the paper or taking their shoes on and off.

A sound system or alarm clock with music adds ambience.

Put a bedside carafe on the nightstand filled with ice water in case the guests get thirsty in the middle of the night.

— Charlyne Varkonyi Schaub

30city& shore HOME

provides all the hot water and an air-conditioning system that features water-cooled compressors.

South-facing clerestory windows provide light without too much heat in the dining area and open kitchen, which is appointed with stainless-steel, energy-saving appliances. The two-story living room resembles the prow of a ship, with curved lines, tall east-facing windows and a built-

died about 12 years ago, and then I started collecting cats,” he says.Talib’s luxury yacht theme is carried over in the home’s amenities, which include a

the chill of contemporary design, he punctuated the basic white palette with jewel-tone elements throughout. For instance, a fanciful powder room tucked under the white-railed staircase features aquamarine walls, lime green and aqua tiles, a pink pedestal sink and a few more colorful cats, in artwork form.

Wrapping up the tour, Talib muses on America’s addiction to climate-controlled

with the climate.”He designed his home to give it the maximum advantage against Florida heat. He especially enjoys its features now during the cooler

third of the year, when he turns off the A/C, opens the windows and revels in the luxury of nature’s climate control.

Continued on page 30

Continued from page 20

Clerestory windows brighten the kitchen and dining room.

Talib drew inspiration from a ship

for his design.

East-facing windows capture morning light.

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