Credits: Photographs by Bob Hiemstra, styling by Carlos Mota.
Claudine Claus Wheeler's living room, a separate building behind the main house, is her place for quiet reading as well as for formal entertaining. She and her husband, Todd, already owned the wing chairs, which Alison Spear upholstered in Rogers & Goffigon polished linen, and the antique chaise lounge, re-covered with Scalamandré damask. To balance traditional and modern, Spear added an Emile sofa in Great Plains Soiree silk, both from Holly Hunt, a custom yellow-lacquered side table, and a Metropolis cocktail table by Jeff Newell for Newell Design. The richly patterned Velvet Oushak rug is from Odegard.
For the dining room, a window-wrapped rectangle capped by a peaked roof, Spear instantly rejected the kind of tatami-mat minimalism that less-imaginative decorators might have chosen to complement the pure geometry of the space.
Credits: Photographs by Bob Hiemstra, styling by Carlos Mota.
A palm frond fans out above a mahogany buffet table from Maitland-Smith. The Wheelers already owned the Chippendale-style dining set, which Spear updated by reupholstering the seats in Jim Thompson silk. The fantasy element comes from the Cascade Round Luminaire, a chandelier from Boyd Lighting's Kentfield Collection.
To bridge the divide between classic and camp, Spear relied on color, covering the seats of the elaborately carved mahogany chairs in a green silk slightly more vibrant than the honeydew-painted walls.
Credits: Photographs by Bob Hiemstra, styling by Carlos Mota.
Mid-century vases and glassware from Denmark, Italy, and the United States pick up on the acidic tones of Oscar de la Renta's Cana china and Pot Luck Studios' pink-edged cotton napkins.
For the master bedroom, at the far end of the ground floor, the unifying theme is Shanghai Deco.
Credits: Photographs by Bob Hiemstra, styling by Carlos Mota.
The Chinese theme of the master bedroom started with vintage ceramic vases, which were transformed into lamps with string shades. Rita Motta, who works in Spear's office, fabricated the pillows from Jim Thompson silk, which was also used for the head- and footboards.
Because Claudine likes to do her own cooking for family and close friends, she took charge of designing the expanded kitchen.
Credits: Photographs by Bob Hiemstra, styling by Carlos Mota.
Spear opened the kitchen to the garden courtyard and Claudine took it from there, choosing Snaidero oak cabinetry, marble counters, and high-performance appliances from Gaggenau, Miele, and Thermador. As a counterpoint to the clean lines and cool stainless, the lacquered red backsplash adds a note of warmth.
"It's funny," Claudine says, "so much of decorating is confidence."
Credits: Photographs by Bob Hiemstra, styling by Carlos Mota.
A serious architect with a party-girl personality, Spear makes headlines all over town, zipping from her own light-filled apartment in the glass high-rise known as the "Miami Vice building" to the run-down 1960s spa-motel she's returning to its flamboyant roots. At the Wheelers' house, however, she set aside her cocktail-modern signature look. "I didn't come in and announce, 'Get rid of all your furniture,'" she says. "I'd rather edit, add, and style—give new life to the things that somebody owns."
Spear, left, and Claudine stand in front of the house to consider architectural plans in the best light.
