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Mar 12, 2023

Inside a Miami Beach Apartment That Received a Fantastical Glow

By Kathryn Romeyn Photography by Douglas Friedman The elevator doors open to a

By Kathryn Romeyn

Photography by Douglas Friedman

The elevator doors open to a moody, windowless Miami Beach foyer of grooved graphite cement wall panels and a chunky pair of circa 1970s Erik Höglund mirrors above a signed Wendell Castle cabinet. In the dark, a tunnel polka-dotted with cobalt and blush resin splotches appears like a mirage, a trippy promise of something epic on the other end. In fact, this glowing beacon is a portal into something extraordinary: a 4,000-square-foot, four-bedroom Miami Beach condo designed by AD100 designer Joe Nahem of Fox-Nahem.

When his longtime clients—Tony-winning producer Luigi Caiola, Sean McGill, and their three teenage children—had the opportunity to purchase the apartment next door to their preexisting Miami home, they decided to merge the two together to create an entirely new space. "[Caiola and McGill] really wanted to encourage creative license," Nahem says. "They gave us so much freedom." Thanks to a dramatic 18-foot entrance and nearly 50-foot-long great room, Nahem had his work cut out for him. The literal light at the end of the tunnel were the floor-to-ceiling panoramic views of the city, beach, and Intracoastal Waterway.

There's an easy flow from room to room, but each one has a distinctive personality. To fulfill his Alice in Wonderland–esque vision for the dining room, for example, Nahem tapped Tennessee-based woodworking maestro Caleb Woodard to intricately carve every centimeter of a larger-than-life botanical wall that crawls up the ceiling, eliminating any need for a chandelier over the simple resin table and mix of floral Louis Vuitton and wooden Ruemmler chairs. Elsewhere, he got experimental with artist Elyse Graham on a bathroom encased in her exuberant graphic resin work.

Nahem first connected with Hoon Kim, who created the tone-setting tunnel and several other resin wall coverings, through Instagram. Ditto Vanessa Barragão, the Portuguese ecological textile artist whom Nahem commissioned to create the primary bedroom's colossal, creeping coral reef of a rug and headboard. "[For] somebody who started working without even the Internet, and evolved to shopping around the globe [online] this has been an amazing experience," Nahem says of his experience connecting with artisans via social media. "It's a whole new world."

What is more, there are surprises around every turn. Take for example the seashell-and-mother-of-pearl-clad powder room situated behind a secret tunnel door, or the kitchen, which is funky and fun thanks to its oversized pastel powder coated aluminum pulls, exposed shelves, and Pia Maria Raeder sea anemone chandelier. "This project, in my opinion, could have easily turned into a three-ring circus," Nahem says. But as wild as the home's furnishings and wall coverings arguably get, plenty of them are rather innocuous. Most walls are plaster, while the floors and ceilings are a clean and consistent palette of white oak engineered planks into which Nathan Orsman incorporated LED strips in tiny slits to maintain ceiling heights.

In crafting the happy home, his clients were yes people through and through. "Enthusiastic is one of the best words you could use to describe them," Nahem says. "Trusting, excited, and very nice too."

Nahem is particularly partial to the "very rare, exceptional" Wendell Castle cabinet, two Erik Höglund mirrors, Nada Debs rug, and Rogan Gregory side table in the elevator vestibule turned foyer.

Studio Hoon Kim, with whom Nahem loves working, molded the layered resin tunnel that serves as an alluring and vibrant front door, connecting the elevators with the sun-drenched great room. "It was an engineering feat; he is a true master," Nahem says.

Nahem carved out a prismatic bar to the right of the tunnel. It features one of the columns with tile and agate by AFS Mosaics. Town and Country Surfaces tile wraps from the back wall up onto the ceiling.

The bar is located right off the living room.

Nahem balanced statement-making pieces—including a Louis Vuitton hanging chair in hand-stitched leather and Dana Barnes's undulating braided wool rug—with furniture such as a DCC sofa and Ian Felton Studio lounge chairs. Another highlight is the large screen with a constantly changing video art piece by Dutch artist Jacco Olivier.

The dining room features a custom carved wall and ceiling panels by Caleb Woodard Furniture, a Fracture Studio resin dining table, and a mix of flowered Louis Vuitton chairs and Ruemmler French oak chairs with horsehair cushions.

Caiola and Nahem, who found this Markus Lupertz painting at Art Basel, were drawn to the work's "continuous depths."

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Caiola and McGill wanted the trapezoidal kitchen somewhat open but also closable, and Nahem responded with a partial wall of operable louvers. The space is utilitarian at heart, with custom aluminum shelves and pulls and a simple white Corian countertop. Pia Maria Raeder's custom sea anemone chandelier adds pizazz.

As the only room in the house with no windows, the cozy den—with P. Tendercool custom sofa beds in Holland & Sherry fabric, also used for wall upholstery—became the testing ground for an installation for an inventive skylight by Nathan Orsman. Nahem credits the technologically innovative design with transforming the interior.

The office slash second den features a custom Studio Paolo Ferrari sofa with a Hung Chung Lee ceramic floor lamp, Studio Hood Kim resin panel walls, and a vintage Vladimir Kagan rocker bought at auction. They turned the latter over to Japanese textile artist Maki Yamamoto, who worked her magic with leather and fabric patch appliqués.

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The office with spectacular ocean views is where Caiola and McGill's shared Valentin Loellmann desk (found through Instagram), in sculptural fused walnut and bronze, sits with Ruemmler chairs and a Nicholas Pourfard mushroom lamp.

Tucked into the tunnel wall, the secret powder room is a chic explosion of shells. An Elitis mother of pearl wall covering is the backdrop for Thomas Boog's Grotto washstand (from Piasa Auctions). They also commissioned him to make the coquillage mirror and light fixture. "[Caiola] really wanted to jazz this powder room up," Nahem says.

The fantastical primary bedroom, resplendent in a coral reef motif, is all made of one rug, hand-stitched by Vanessa Barragão Studio in Portugal. It took seven people to hang it, Nahem says. Barragão also crocheted the entirety of the custom bed, which was fabricated by Jouffre and hovers on lucite blocks. The David S. Gibson custom sheets involve looped mohair, chenille, and silver mylar. Hästens mattress.

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To address the lack of sunlight in the primary bathroom, Nahem came up with a contemporary stained glass-style wall of ocean tones in different levels of opacity, in order to let soft rays in from the bedroom.

In the primary bathroom, Nahem was thrilled to use a material he’d never seen before—brownsilk brushed quartzite slab—for the walls and drawer fronts, along with Margit Wittig pendants and custom smoked mirrors.

For Caiola and McGill's daughter's bathroom, Nahem designed a vanity with caned glass fronts and Benjamin Moore pink frames, set on a Krion Frost White countertop and sink.

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The clients’ twin boys share this bedroom, which includes a custom headboard upholstered in Phlox by Raf Simons from Avenue Road. Nahem reupholstered Geoffrey Harcourt lounge chairs, the only remnant of the prior apartment, in Elitis fabric.

Glass tile in Alban by Mixed Up Media and a custom vanity with caning and polished stainless steel backs make for a clean, crisp bathroom for teenage boys.

Nahem connected with California artist Elyse Graham on Instagram. He commissioned her to mold the custom resin wall panels for a bathroom and make a pull for the vanity. Bocci 28.1 pendants from The Future Perfect.

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The balcony features a sofa, chairs, ottoman, and side tables from Paola Lenti. "I just love their furniture," Nahem says.

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