Name: Raelene and Jose
Home then: Miami, Florida. 2200 square feet
Home now: same home but with new lamps, salvaged doors, mirrors, and painted walls
This week we check in on Raelene and Jose, another couple from our newest book: Apartment Therapy Presents: Real Homes, Real People, Hundreds of Design Solutions
Raelene has been keeping us up to date on her home improvements since we first documented Jose and her home for the book over a year ago!
Raelene and Jose's home looks beautiful, but to them it is an eternal work in progress. They see the gaps that are not visible to the untrained eye.
Raelene is an excellent bargain hunter. She found the vases that sit atop their new credenza, at a vintage shop in LA. She wants everyone to know that "the coral is not real, but RESIN (luv how they make fake coral so they don’t kill the reefs)." In prior visits, Raelene and Jose's living room was more like a frame for the exquisite fireplace. Now the fireplace has competition from other objects in its midst. So, to up the ante, Raelene has plans to build a bevelled mirror around the mural above the fireplace.
This is a view of the other end of the living room with a whole new vignette. The chairs are from vintage sellers in Key West called ONEPINEAPPLE. As Raelene relays, "they redid them in crackeled metallic and black velvet. Yummy!"
Jose is an incredible renovator and made this sun room what it is today. The new additions are two Papiro lamps designed by Sergio Calatroni. Raelene loves the way their light plays with the wood beams Jose exposed, on the ceiling. The vintage poster above the couch is also new (to them). Raelene found it at an art sale on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. Lastly, the white table is from Luminaire, one of Ralene's favorite sources.
A nice salvage coup, of which Raelene is very proud is that they recently "found in the neighborhood (on boulevard in front of someones yard for trash pickup) three vintage--likely 1930's--bathroom doors that just so happen to fit our bathrooms perfectly! They are gorgeous solid wood. We installed them, added metal hinges, painted them white and are so happy! Now we are looking for 3 more vintage doors for our three bedrooms! Wish us luck."
The to-do list never ends. They also want to regrout the entire master bathroom, to extend the coral rock pavement in front of the house, to replicate family heirloom early 1800's birdhouses, and to put in new terrazzo floors and new window treatments!
Good luck! There is no doubt that this wonderful Miami bungalow will keep getting more and more wonderful, and closer to Raelene and Jose's ideal vision.
LINKS to Ralene and Jose's home:
• Inside Out: Raelene and Jose...A year later
• The Inside Out: Raelene and Jose's Miami Vice
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
I adore the rug in the living room. Anyone know where it is from?
view Katie K's profile
I love the "matching" lamps in the bedroom. What a great way to create individual style among objects, but not have the pieces fighting each other. I may steal this...
view hmr's profile
Love this wall colour. We recently painted our kitchen in a similar shade, and it makes me happy every time I go in there.
view Doppelganger's profile
hello Katie- thx, i got the rug as a gift from a former boss. it was quite pricey, from dwr i believe. it is over 20' long. i've used it for 2 years and as soon as we renovate the floors to white terazzo i will be seeking a new owner for it. might be your lucky rug soon! contact appt therapy for my email so we can keep in touch. :)
view raelenem's profile
that bedroom is WOW.
Did you consider drapery panels for the living room?
Those simple floor to ceiling ones with large silver grommets on a black rod from IKEA that I keep talking about.
:)
I have that Eames chair and ottoman too.
Do you ever separate them; flanking the fireplace for a change?
Nice place.
view paulmuscat's profile
What about the mirror in the bedroom! Love that too. If you can site the source, that would be great. Wonderful work!
view darciekd's profile
paulmuscat------------BIG YES on draperies! i am hiring a designer to actually custom make sheer draperies that go up into ceiling (hidden behind a bold block of crown moulding), to floor. very modern style. but they cost a fortune b/c i want it all done at once, all 10 windows. ugh! so i have to be patient till then. i also wonder if i can extend the sheers all the way to the blank wall near the florida room. i hate that wall being there, it's what yo see straight in front of you when you come in. i have two pictures there, but they distract from the room...
i like your idea of flanking the fireplace, that's one issue i havent resolved. flanking! thx.
DARCIEKD--mirror is called "overdrive" mirror and i got it for on the cheap at a 50% off sale at southbeachstyle, they have a site called southbeachstyle.com i'm pretty sure. they were relocating so i got super lucky that day.
view raelenem's profile
What about the comforter on the bed, raelenem? I love simple but not plain designs. I'm going with a red and gold theme in my bedroom, but can't find a comforter that I love. That one is perfect.
view pixiekele's profile