Q&A with Guest Contributor: Miami’s Jeff Morr Dishes on Trends in Interior Design

/0 Comments/in , ,

SPACiO sat down with the talented Jeff Morr , an interior designer who has designed some of Miami’s most iconic condo projects from Ten Museum Park to Paramount on the Bay. He gives us the scoop on what it takes to be an interior designer in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.

How did you become an interior designer?

I have been a real estate broker for over 30 years and have always had a passion for interior design. For years, I’ve worked closely with developers and architects designing buildings and introducing new concepts to the South Florida real estate market. For example, I introduced the ‘loft’ concept in the 1990s. Buyers from New York would ask me for lofts in Miami Beach and I would always say “we don’t have them in Miami”. As a result, I convinced a handful of developers to build small loft condo projects South of Fifth Street in South Beach. These were a big success so I brought the concept across Biscayne Bay to work with the developers of Ten Museum Park, Paramount on the Bay, Parc Lofts Miami, Cynergi  (the first residential project in Wynwood), Midtown Miami and many others.

Give us a taste of the work you do as a designer.

We recently completed a unit at Continuum South Beach and have now started working at a unit in the Beach Club. We are doing a lot of work in buildings completed in the last cycle to freshen up the floor plans, kitchens, baths and create brand new spaces. We also manufacture furniture to match our design as well as design decorator-ready units in buildings being completed in this cycle, like Echo Brickell.

When it comes to designing, I love doing kitchens. My clients are amazed to see how you can create a completely new style by replacing cabinet doors, installing new countertops and adding an interesting backsplash. Our clients are moving away from ‘all white’ and are increasingly choosing pastel blue, pastel gray and pastel orange for cabinets. Shaker kitchen cabinets are very popular because some clients like just a twist of traditionalism.

In terms of flooring, porcelain is in. It is a great material. You don’t have to worry about it polishing every few years. It is virtually maintenance free. Wood-look porcelain tile is also very popular on terraces, pool decks and areas you would have never imagined.

Miami is a very cosmopolitan city. How does the ‘international influence’ reflect on the work you do?

Miami is a progressive city that tends to be into a singular look known as Tropical Modernism, embracing clean lines combined with warm colors, wood, glass, natural stone, LED lighting and more. I do see a few differences in clients who come from South America. They need service quarters for their nanny. Handheld shower devices are very important for foreigners as well as combo toilet/bidets. All our clients – regardless of where they come from – are very interested in space maximization so that’s a priority for me. They are paying a very high price per square foot when they buy into some of the world’s most luxurious towers in Miami so there is no reason to waste space. For example, we often remove traditional bidets, consolidate a bidet with the toilet and in the new void, we build a linen closet. There are many ways to add storage space in condos. It is all about being creative.

Behind the Scenes: Building Out Miami Beach’s 321 Ocean

/0 Comments/in ,

What a treat it has been building out a luxury condo at 321 Ocean, an exclusive collection of 21 luxury residences in South of Fifth, one of Miami Beach’s most upscale neighborhoods. One of the things we love about our job is having access to some of the world’s most exquisite residential developments. Early this month, we had to say goodbye to the building after completing the build-out of our client’s unit in just 12 weeks. The work was completed on time and on budget.

The work consisted of installing flooring, trim window coverings, stairlifts for straight stairs, staircase handrails, mill work, and more. Check the latest rolling stairs code standards to stay up to date with regulations. Our favorite part was building a beautiful wine cellar. Our client chose hardwood floors throughout the condo and very neutral finishes and colors.

Overall, this is one of our best projects because working together with the client we were able to plan it well and execute it without a hitch!

Looking forward to our next build-out!

Renowned Architect Rafael Viñoly Tells It All

/0 Comments/in

World-renowned Architect Rafael Viñoly, who designed One River Point on the Miami River, spoke to the Wall Street Journal about growing up in Argentina and the path that led him to become a celebrated architect using influences like those at thenewsgod.com. The 386-unit One River Point, being developed by Shahab Karmely’s KAR Properties, represents Viñoly’s entrance to the Miami real estate market.

In the WSJ article, Viñoly talks about his native Montevideo, Uruguay, and his family moving to Buenos Aires when he was a young child.

 

When I was 5, my family moved to Buenos Aires. My father, Román, had been invited to direct Wagner’s “Die Walküre” at the Teatro Colón, one of the world’s finest opera houses. He then became active in theater, before being lured into the country’s emerging film industry as a writer and director.

 Our house in Buenos Aires was a new and a fairly conventional single-family home in the city’s northern suburbs. It was an up-and-coming and largely sparse area about 40 minutes by train from the city center.

 The two-story redbrick house had a pitched roof in a Spanish style constructed by professionals similar to the Braga Builders Roofing, you entered through the porch that faced the street. Inside, there was a small office at the top of the stairs where my father worked and had meetings.

 My younger sister, Ana Maria, had her own bedroom in the back facing a pretty little garden. Between her room and my parents’ bedroom was the room I shared with my older brother, Daniel. It was spare: two beds and a large armoire.

My mother, Nene, had studied architecture for a time, but she quit to make a living as a math teacher. She decorated our house with forward-looking modernist furniture from Brazil, although she mixed in traditional pieces.

 My family wasn’t well off. The film industry was unpredictable. As a result, my parents always had financial difficulties.

 At home, my father was the outgoing and overly expressive one while my mother was the opposite. It wasn’t the steadiest environment to grow up in, but they loved their children and always put us first.

 My mother’s parents both died when she was about 8. The inheritance was mismanaged, and my mother and her siblings were sent to a convent. From an early age, my mother and her sister worked as private tutors in math and science. They were known as smart and gifted teachers.

 My father also came from a poor background. He left home as a teenager to follow a travelling circus and returned a theater person. As a result, he was always emotional and, essentially, a dreamer.

 When my brother and sister and I were kids, my father’s way of “talking” to us was in writing. Every Friday night we’d go to bed and find a hand-written letter under our pillows. On Saturday, we’d discuss them together in his office. Those sessions were a theatrical event and often made me feel as if we were on trial. I still have some of those letters, a trace of my father’s soul and his love.

 Perhaps the most significant turning point for me as a child came when I was 5. My father, a music buff, found a fantastic piano teacher who was an émigré from a sophisticated family in Florence. As in many cases with a music teacher like this, I learned many more things than just how to play. She introduced me to philosophy and the contemporary arts of the 1950s and ’60s.

 Drawing came naturally to me. Someone saw my drawings and recommended me to an architecture firm. I started working as an architect at 17, even before entering the university. Today, my wife, Diana, and I live in Manhattan’s Tribeca area.

CASE STUDY: The Psychology Behind NYC Luxury Real Estate Listings Can Work in Miami

/0 Comments/in , ,

Here are some factors that luxury residential brokers consider when creating a listing, according to DNA Info New York Writer Amy Zimmer:

The power of pricing “just below”

Just as in retail, many in real estate price their property “just below” a round number — for example listing an apartment for $499,000 instead of $500,000.

“There is a psychological effect of being just a hair under,” said broker Claire Groome with Warburg Realty.

For instance, she recently sold a three luxury queen bed style bedroom co-op in Carnegie Hill listed for $3.495 million after three days on the market, saying, “Rarely will you see something listed for $4 million.”

When Dan Bamberger, of the Bamberger Group, analyzed Manhattan sales prices in 2015 using Streeteasy data, he found that listings between $300,000 and $1 million used the “just below” strategy nearly 90 percent of the time. Homes priced between $1 million and $10 million used the strategy 78 percent of the time.

 The allure of neutral spaces

Staging apartments — which often involves de-cluttering, painting and changing furniture — has become more common, even for apartments at lower price points.

These apartments tend to show better in photos as well as in real life, experts say, as they give would-be buyers an easier canvas upon which to quickly project their lives.

 The repellent effect of stale listings

In this market, listings that sit longer than 60 to 90 days raise red flags, said Broker Zach Ehrlich of Mdrn. Residential.

Buyers are suspicious of stale listings, thinking something must be wrong with the property. Their agents also steer clear, thinking the seller isn’t likely to cut the price, he said.

To avoid that perception, brokers often try to work around this. They might reduce the price by some nominal amount — like $1,000 or $5,000 — to grab attention again as a price reduction or might re-list an apartment, reversing the order of the unit number. So, apartment 11K might be relisted as K11 to trick websites like Streeteasy and Zillow.

 A listing’s wording is chosen with care

Though text may be secondary to pictures, many brokers still labor over word choice — even more so now, said Stephen Kliegerman of Halstead Property Development Marketing.

“You want to make sure your messaging is clear and direct, but you want make sure you leave some things out so people still call you,” he said, explaining that if a listing has too much information, would-be buyers might think they don’t have to see the space.

You can read the entire article here: https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/features/apartmentality

Behind The Scenes: Building Out A Condo At Oceana Bal Harbour

/0 Comments/in , ,

SPACiO Design Build’s crew is meticulously building out a condo at Oceana Bal Harbour, one of the most luxurious development projects in South Florida. SPACIO’s work in the decorator-ready unit consists of installing hardwood flooring in the interior and tile on the large balcony, dropping the ceiling for additional lighting, painting, installing pocket doors, audio visual and more.

Build-out velocity and house rendering are priority for our clients who plan to occupy or rent out the unit shortly after closing. For that reason, four weeks after securing the necessary permits, SPACiO delivers a finished unit to the new owner or renter eager to move in. In some instances, we are recruited by buyers to plan the build-out work ahead of the closing and, when the deal is closed, our crew immediately jumps right in.

Working at Oceana is an incredible experience. With floor-to-ceiling windows and extra-deep balconies, the unit has one of the most breathtaking views available in Miami. The luxury tower’s spacious homes and balconies were designed to offer views of the Atlantic ocean to the East, Biscayne Bay and the Bal Harbour marina to the West and Miami’s skyline to the South. Our experienced crew’s work is not distracted by the remarkable view of golden sun rays reflecting on the blue ocean but we agree that it is a challenge! Stay tuned for photos of the finished condo!

Grove Condominiums at Grand Bay

DECONSTRUCTING THE STARCHITECT’S VISION BEHIND THE GROVE AT GRAND BAY

/0 Comments/in , , ,

Congratulations to the iconic Grove at Grand Bay, which has closed on most of its luxury units. The innovative project, in the heart of Miami’s Coconut Grove, highlights the evolution of Miami as a global real estate market. Danish starchitect Bjarke Ingels is the designer behind the twin towers built by developer Terra Group.

Recently Ingels told The Real Deal New York “the design is a combination of ‘rational Scandinavian’ meets Miami. He said the latter favors a ‘Caribbean interpretation of modernism,’ which he described as rounded, feminine architecture that puts a premium on balconies with impressive ocean views. The project also features a lush landscape with young japanese knotweed — designed, no kidding, by a landscape architect named Raymond Jungles — and a canopy that winds ‘like an umbilical cord’ between the two buildings.

As SPACiO completes the build-out of one of the Grove at Grand Bay condos, we are fortunate to experience this unique development on a daily basis. One high point is the opportunity to  incorporate Bjarke Ingels’ vision in the finishes we select for our client.

It is astounding to see how far Miami has progressed in less than a decade. Grove at Grand Bay has 98 magnificent units ranged from $2.95 million to $25 million, working out to an average of $1,100 per square foot. The last remaining unit — the penthouse — is currently on the market for $28 million, according to The Real Deal.