This month we were honored to have one of our favorite Miami interior design projects featured in HGTV’s BLOG!

Writer Briana Mowrey  is “awed” by our recent installation of an Alex Turco art piece as the backdrop of this very sofisticated powder room. We have recieved a lot of questions as to what lies behind the inspiration of our Miami based Interior Designers and so we have included some initial sketches and the actual presentation slide used to convey the design to our clients.

Official Bathroom Presentation

Written by: Briana Mowrey

by Briana Mowrey in Design Inspiration, Floor & Wall, Inspiring Spaces Comments (16)Stumble Share I’ve always had a thing for agate, geodes and rocks of all manner, long before they were so on-trend. (I was one of those kids who, on elementary school field trips to museums, would head straight to the gift shop to see if I could buy some cool tumbled stones and gems for my collection. I know, nerd alert!) So imagine my appreciation of this stunning bathroom wall in a Miami home by DKOR Interiors.

"Miami Modern Home" Powder room

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find much information about how the blue agate look was achieved, but my fellow Pinterest pinners came to the rescue. Pinner (and interior designer) Lauren Maggio pointed to Alex Turco waterproof art panels, and I think she’s spot on. However this bathroom came to be, it’s solid! (Solid as a rock.) (SORRY.)

Briana is a writer and senior editor for HGTV.com. Her self-described design style is “mid-century modern magpie.” She lives in a Brooklyn apartment with her boyfriend, their spoiled dachshund, Chauncey, and approximately one million old shelter magazines. She cannot wait until she is a home owner, and can wallpaper and/or tile just about every available surface.

To see the actual mention on the official HGTV blog, CLICK HERE!

Houzz Tour: Modern, Entertaining Home in Florida

Written by: Becky Harris

Featured Interior Design by: DKOR Interiors

Photographed by: Alexia Fodere

Creative wall treatments, bright colors and ever-present extended family make a modern renovation a lively affair

When a couple with three boys bought this house, it was a typical Mediterranean-style Miami home, with closed-off rooms, windows covered in panes and lots of clutter (see “before” pictures here). “My clients wanted to open up the home,” says Karina Donadel, lead designer at DKOR Interiors. “The wife loves very minimal modern, while the husband wanted to make sure it still had warmth.”

Meeting the couple’s needs meant a gut renovation that involved tearing down walls, using clear and translucent glass to increase the natural light and adding natural textures and finishes to add warmth to whitewashed walls. At the same time, the designers and the clients had to create a home that could stand up to boys ages 2, 4 and 6 and grow with the family. Now, “people are shocked when they walk through the door and see how modern the interiors are,” says Donadel.

Houzz at a Glance Who lives here: A couple and three boys Location: Aventura, Florida Size: 4,500 square feet; 5 bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms That’s interesting: A dining table custom made to accommodate extended family was so long, the house had to be enlarged.

Powder Room

This striking wall is actually not a slab of stone, but rather a large photograph covered in acrylic, created by artist Alex Turco. “You can order these in any size, and they are completely waterproof, so you can use them in the shower or as a backsplash as well,” explains Donadel.

The warm wood is a green product called Havana Strand by Plyboo, and it wraps up over the ceiling, providing a warm contrast to the porcelain floors, which continue throughout the first floor.

Living room

The design moved some rooms around and opened up the floor plan. Past the front foyer, the home opens up into this living and dining space. It was extended out the back beyond the column as part of the renovation, because the clients needed a dining table that would seat 14 people.

“The clients entertain all the time,” says Donadel. “My client is like Martha Stewart; she always has a beautifully set table.” Donadel differentiated the two spaces with a dramatic change in floor texture. The dining room floor is elevated and has lighting underneath the platform.

Stone wall: Vena Grigio limestone; chandelier: Atlantis Suspension Light, Tarzani

Living Room & Dining Room

The artwork draws the eye upward and fits the space perfectly. “We needed something bold that could stand up to the scale of the wall,” says Donadel. “Each panel of this triptych is 60 inches by 60 inches.”

Floors throughout the home are covered in Kerlite, which is a very thin porcelain. “This is a great product that comes in 48-inch by 48-inch by one-sixteenth-inch pieces. Though we didn’t do it here, it can be laid atop existing flooring,” says Donadel. “It’s very durable, easy to maintain and it has a seamless look.”

Art: Blue Movement, commissioned via Art Design Resources; dining table: two bases by Minotti with custom glass top

Once the more open plan brought in a modern feel, Donadel needed to add in the warmth. “We cozied up the space with a careful balance of materials,” says Donadel. “Using very clean sharp lines keeps things from looking cluttered.” Case in point: To keep it as clean lined as possible, the glass railing you see upstairs has a support system hidden within the floor.

Here, a sharp line between a limestone wall and more Plyboo wood differentiates the two floors. The wood continues up the wall and across the ceiling. “The element of wrapping is an important one we carried throughout the house, to give things continuity,” explains Donadel.

The previous photo shows the translucent doors that mark the entry to this office. Donadel added them to provide privacy yet still let in light from the living room. She also designed custom cabinetry to make sure the room worked for everyone, as the entire family uses this room for work, crafts and homework.

Pops of yellow inside the shelves and cubbies add some bright color to the space. Dashes of color like this are also used in many of the other rooms.

Home Office

This staircase was once closed off and contained a closet they didn’t need, so it was gutted and opened up. The wall was reinforced to support the floating risers. A glass railing and the open risers continue the open theme, and the circular stone sculptures create a strong contrast to all the straight lines.

Stairs: Bella Stairs; sculptures: Michael Dawkins Home

Stair Case

This former bedroom now serves as a comfortable family gathering spot. The entire wall on the left is covered by a custom built-in storage system that holds movies, games and media equipment. It also has a full-service bar including storage for wine and wineglasses and a refrigerator.

“It was very important to my client to have a place for everything, so we planned out the storage very carefully,” says Donadel. Similar to the office, pops of chartreuse break up the long storage wall.

Sofa: Arravanti; coffee table: Pool Coffee Table

Family Room

The kitchen used to end where the first group of cabinets ends, and the breakfast room had a big wall unit blocking the windows. A pop of green is provided by the Panton chairs and plays off the vibrant foliage seen in the backyard. “We designed the house to bring in as much of the outdoors as possible, from enlarging windows and bringing in plants,” explains Donadel.

The cabinets continue the theme of mixing natural textures, in this case walnut and glass, and the backsplash is white back-painted glass. “The pendant lamps were the very first thing my client and I picked out on our first shopping trip together,” says Donadel. “We didn’t know where we were going to use them, but we knew we had to have them.”

Kitchen crafted by Mia Cucina; Bertoia counter stools: Knoll; Saarinen kitchen table: Knoll; Panton kitchen chairs: Vitra

Kitchen Design

Donadel took this downstairs bathroom and turned it into a cabana bathroom by replacing an existing window with a door that leads to the yard. “This space is transitional between the landscape and the house, so I used porcelain tile that looks like wood, pool towels and those fun ferns,” she says.

Cabana Bathroom

The extension in the dining room below meant that the master bedrooms gained some length. “We needed to break up the long walls and add some softness, so we created three sections down the side the bed is on,” Donadel says. The wall composition alternates between wood veneer and fabric-upholstered panels.

Master Bedroom

The storage system on the opposite wall mirrors the three sections as well and includes a desk, a media center, dresser storage and even a refrigerator.

Master Bathroom

This bathroom continues a wrapping theme, with the Vena Grigio stone extending across the floor, around the tub, up the wall and into the shower stall (look closely; this picture was taken from inside the shower stall, which is covered in a pebbled tile).

The stone contrasts with a porcelain backsplash behind the vanity. “The backsplash is a ceramic matrix that has a slight shimmer that adds just a little glitz,” says Donadel. This is representative of the subtle glamour that is woven throughout the house.

In keeping with having a place for everything, the custom vanities have built-in hampers. Even some of the lighting is built in. “We chose a mirror with integrated lighting for a very clean look. We didn’t want to clutter up the wall with separate sconces,” she says.

Boys Bedroom

This bedroom is shared by the two youngest boys, and making it fun was the most important thing to Donadel. While function was brought in by lining beds and desks along opposite walls, fun was brought in via brightly colored and patterned MDF panels, which continue the wrapping element seen throughout the home.

She also added an area rug composed of Flor tiles, which can be individually replaced in case of any damage.

“We wanted to keep this bath minimal and clean, but not institutional,” explains Donadel. A unique wall composed of white stones embedded in gray resin adds natural texture, interest and gloss.

Natural light streams in thanks to the clear glass shower enclosure. “We extended the glass to the ceiling so that it didn’t create an extraneous line,” she says.

Tile: Riverstone, Artistic Tile

Kids Bathroom

The eldest boy’s room is futuristic, cool and fun. It gets a loads of bright blue color from painted Inhabit textured wall flats, an FL/Y pendant lamp and an Eero Arnio Ball Chair. The wrapping theme is continued from the floor up the wall and across part of the ceiling. The occupant’s favorite thing? The bright green headphones.

“My clients were very scared, but their complete trust let us accomplish this project together,” says Donadel. Their leaps of faith resulted in a unique and beautiful home that works for their family. Donadel is now working on transforming the yard. We look forward to seeing it when it’s done.

Thank you Houzz.com for featuring our Miami Modern Home Interior Design Project!!! and thank you Becky for such a great feature. You really captured the essence of our intention through this article.

To read the actual featured CLICK HERE!

Check out our most recent  portfolio including some of  Miami’s best interior design,  as our designers unleash their capabilities. DKOR Interiors has been providing the South Florida community with sophisticated and innovative designs for the past eight years. This updated portfolio showcases our favorite designs along with the inspirations and stories behind select projects. One of our favorite additions to book are some exciting “before & after” photos of one of our favorite projects, Miami Modern Home.

DKOR Interiors 2012 Portfolio

Featured projects include:

Weathered Elegance

Modern Miami

Hollywood Regency

Here are a few photos of the featureded projects first hand!

For more information on this Miami Modern interior design project, contact us at 305-981-2710

Global Lighting – Designer inspirations by Saxon Henry

Recently we have had the honor to be amongst Saxon Henry’s designer picks to be featured in one of her recent articles in the official Global lighting blog. Saxon asked me to chose amongst a large list of Global Lightings most beautifully designed light fixtures as my favorite and I must admit, it was not easy. So I thought to myself interior design in Miami is very diversified as are our clients but there is one common theme that always comes up… functionality.

Take a look at the article below:

Ivonne Ronderos knows her way around a design project. I’ve watched as the dynamo has taken on challenges that would make most designers want to take the next plane to Tahiti and never look back! Her background in the hospitality industry brings her a vibrant take on the meaning of designing to a client’s lifestyle. And the team she’s assembled to pull off meaningful transformations for South Florida homeowners is only part of her secret. The other part? Her excellent taste.   I asked Ivonne, the founder of DKOR Interiors, to dip into Global Lighting’s collections and surface with a favorite fixture. I’m sharing her fixation on the Flexiled by Contardi, or what I like to call a bedtime reader’s best friend! Here’s her take on the supple sidelight:   FUNCTION VS. BEAUTY, or in an ideal world—and particularly with this light—FUNCTION can be BEAUTIFUL! Of course, leave it to me to always think about how will it work or whether it is useful—the functionality must be highly considered. I also ask, “Will it annoy the client, or be that little detail that makes him or her thankful for years after we leave the project?”

The Flexiled by Contardi.   I’m a business owner who is passionate about service, and providing my clients with an increased quality of life they wouldn’t have been able to achieve on their own is always top of mind for me. Showing them, teaching them that through design and ergonomics they can live the life they deserve is my M.O. This light says all of that! It’s not just decorative or cool to look at; it’s the perfect balance between beauty and function.   We have installed similar lights in clients’ homes throughout the years and they are the perfect remedy to their answers when we ask, “Do you read in bed?” We know that the person propped beneath the book isn’t the only consideration: will it annoy the partner trying to get that good night’s sleep when the light is on until all hours because a book is just too good to put down? Creating environments for clients to do more of what they want to do, which means increasing their quality of life, is what I am most proud of when I think about our mission at DKOR. Products like Flexiled help us achieve this and we’re down with that!   -Ivonne Ronderos

To see other ways we have incorporated lighting throughout our South Florida Interior Design Projects, visit our website at www.dkorinteriors.com or to see what else Global Lighting has to offer, visit their website at www.globallighting.com.

Project Name: Sophisticated Getaway

We are so excited to share with you our Accessory & Lighting presentation for this SOPHISTICATED GETAWAY Interior design project in Sunny Isles, FL. We have gathered accessories and lighting from local stores and online to best complement the already selected furniture pieces and design features. Take a look at how our Miami interior designers translate our concept to furniture pieces and design features to accessory & lighting selections. Selecting Accessories and light fixtures can be a little tricky because these pieces will “tie” the whole look together.

As always, we’ve included a few of the initial concept presentation slides to remind you of our thought process when making these choices. If you recall from our previous post, we want to create a unique, modern and sophisticated interior that reflects a sense of serenity, simplicity, functionality, rhythm and balance through the use of a warm palette, reflective and clean surfaces as well as a mix of textures and finishes.  Our goal is create a refined interior designed atmosphere with a timeless and elegant appeal that embraces the distinctive lifestyle of this wonderful family.

We hope you get inspired and enjoy our Accessory & Lighting presentation!

To see more of our Miami and South Florida interior design projects, visit our website at www.dkorinteriors.com.

HOLLYWOOD REGENCY IN MIAMI- Turnberry Ocean Colony, Sunny Isles, FL

We, DKOR Interiors, were so excited to have one of our projects be hand picked by one of HOUZZ.com’s writers, Kelly Porter. In her article entitled “The Stories Colors Tell,”  features the girl’s bedroom of our Hollywood Regency Interior Design Project in Sunny Isles, FL. For this project we added geometric patterns with pops of colors throughout the different rooms of the apartment, while also incorporating vintage modern pieces.

To see our design process on our Hollywood Regency project visit our posts on Turnberry Ocean Colony- Sunny Isles, Florida.

Let us know what you think of the article!!

Our Miami Interior Designers were called upon to embark on a new project in the St. Regis, Bal Harbour. We have a lot of experience in “decorator ready” condominiums around South Florida and let me tell you, the developers of this building spared no expense! Some of the included perks of owning one of these residences include a wet bar in the master bedroom, Miel Appliances, double ovens, stone countertops throughout, marble balcony tiles ALREADY INSTALLED!, and magnificent closet systems in each room. Check it out for yourself!

During one Friday afternoon lunch amongst our Miami interior designers at DKOR, our lunch conversation turned to childhood memories.  The knowing that we could soon relax with the coming weekend our minds filled with thoughts bringing back the fun, crazy, and totally outlandish things that we used to do as kids. As the conversation paused for a bit,  we thought more about the things we used to do as kids, when we had no grown-up “boundaries” to limit our activities and dreams. How fun it was then to wiggle our toes, roll our eyes, and  to be free to think, “why not??”

Soon my mind jogged back to a special memory: hearing an especially influential speech that made a huge impression on me. A very creative individual came to talk to my college about ways to stay creative, to feel empowered, to be innovative and always think like individuals. He gave us the most simple and direct advice: “Remember your childhood thoughts and actions and be like that.”

As we move forward in life as adults, responsibilities plant themselves ever more firmly in our brains.  Maybe before we even realize what is happening, we start to lose that wonderful feeling of thinking without boundaries and outside the box. So often we have to work around boundaries and deadlines and other responsibilities, whether it is designing a project, planning a trip, preparing a business proposal, or completing necessary tasks throughout the day.  Sometimes I think it’s good to step back, and take time to recover that inner glow and freedom of childhood.  Then  we can go to that place of childhood thoughts, of being young and free . . .this is really the wellspring of creativity, where creativity comes alive.

How to get back there? Here’s one strategy: Take a walk in reverse, see where your mind takes you….and then fit in the technicalities and logistics after we have let our minds roam free…as I think we can all discover, the impossible is often more possible than it first appears.

- Margaret Smith

DKOR Interiors – A World of Endless Design Opportunities

Interior Design in Eastern Shores – FL

Project Name: Glimpses

Recently our Miami Interior designers at DKOR Interiors have been called upon to work with a very special family with a home in Eastern Shores, FL. Mr. & Mrs. Adler wanted the interior design of their home to reflect their personal tastes and lifestyle; transitional style with a quirky, fun and whimsical  approach while style holding its own elegant feel.

The interior design intent begins with one’s first step into the Adler residence; an immediate feeling of wanting to see more will take over. Through custom designed screens, glimpses of unexpected color and design will be captured. Design elements that peek through each space act as a preview for the whimsical design. Whether it’s a glimpse through a lattice screen, a reflection (or its interruption) in a mirror, or introduction of a color or pattern, no room will go unnoticed as glimpses of design lure you into each space.

One of our biggest challanges on this project was coming up with a timeless design feature for their HUGE wall in the living room. With the use of satin finished wood panels interlayered with antiqued mirror, we created this beautiful back drop to their living space. We have also added renderings of some key custom carpentry pieces that we’re sure you’ll love.

Next week see how we begin to introduce textures, shapes and colors with our furniture selections in this transitional interior. 

Best Interior Designers & Architects in South Florida according to Saxon Henry

I dream to one day be amongst Saxon’s Favorite interior design firms in Miami. I have had the honor of working with her on several occasions and am especially excited to share her new book with you, “Four Florida Moderns.” We met up with Saxon at her recent book signing at Janus et Cie in DCOTA, Dania Beach – FL.

In this book Saxon Henry pays tribute to some of South Florida’s Finest  Architects , Alberto Alfonso, René González, Chad Oppenheim, and Guy Peterson—The Florida Four. You will be blown away by her selection of beautiful photography and renderings. The thought process behind most of these architectural landmarks is just as interesting as the actual places themselves.

For more information or to get your personal copy of her book , click here.