Amy Lau. Photo: Mark Seliger.

Designed by Amy Lau Design

Photography by Melanie Acevedo



This bay front home in Miami Beach was designed for a pair of avid collectors who inherited a large cache of vintage furniture – mainly 40s and 50s Italian design – by Gio Ponti, Ico Parisi, Osvaldo Borsani, and Ettore Sottsass. In addition, they also acquired a great number of contemporary photographs, paintings, and sculptures by local Miami artists, as well as international art stars. Working with their personal collection, Amy was able to select her favorites to create the perfect juxtaposition, updating these classic midcentury designs by pairing them with blue-chip contemporary art. To create a cool atmosphere in the hot, humid Miami climate, the warm and saturated tones in the furnishings were contrasted with a monochromatic envelope of white painted walls and creamy terrazzo floors. The rhythm and pacing established by the sculptural profiles of the furnishings, the graphic artworks and the cloud-like backdrop creates an environment where the beauty of each object can be fully appreciated and enjoyed.   



In the study, a vintage 1950 tomato-red leather P40 chaise by Osvaldo Borsani sports rubber armrests and brass details. The shelving unit is a design by Silvio Cavatorta and displays a collection of vintage midcentury glassware and ceramics selected by Amy, which showcase bold midcentury shapes and warm vibrant colors. The table sculpture is by Curtis Jeré.


A pair of rare circa-1951 Triennale open armchairs in ash by Gio Ponti, upholstered in olive green, a new tangerine Edward Wormley-designed Dunbar sectional sofa and a Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte floor lamp are classic examples of midcentury design in the living room. The oak and glass top coffee table is also by Gio Ponti, circa 1950s, and the oil painting is a work by German artist Eberhard Havekost titled Mobile 3.



In the foyer, Gio Ponti cabinets of birch and white laminate with reversed designs are positioned side-by-side to emphasize the bold graphic quality of the patterns. Curtis Jeré’s freeform Raindrops wall sculpture hangs above, with vintage Danish Holmegaard vases on top.

In the spare and elegant white backdrop of the dining room, the dynamic geometry of a large-scale painting by German artist Thomas Scheibtz and a spectacular chandelier of wire and glass fragments by glass artist Deborah Thomas create a sense of drama and movement. A Paul Evans Cityscape chrome-framed dining table with a checkerboard tabletop of olivewood, ash and oak echoes the segmented shapes of the painting. A suite of Gio Ponti Superleggera chairs, designed circa 1957 for Italian furniture manufacturer Cassina, are grouped, like chess pieces, 3 black and 3 white, on opposite sides of the table. 



A gentleman and two ladies: the sensual contours of Marco Zanuso’s 1951-designed “La Donna” chairs are contrasted with the angular and elongated diamond-shaped floor lamp, a rare 1950 design by Angelo Lelli for Arredoluce.

Gio Ponti designed this vanity of ash with a brass-framed mirror and sabots in 1953 for the Royal Hotel in Naples. The chair is by Danish designer Ib Kofod-Larsen, circa 1956. 


A more subdued color palette is seen in the master bedroom, with cool gray, blue-gray and muted olive tones in the plush hand-knotted area rug and custom-designed coverlet by textile artist Judy Ross. Furnishings include a pair of Gio Ponti headboards with floating two-tiered shelves-as-nightstands, and a pair of Gio Ponti chests with the decorative carved planes on the fronts serving as drawer pulls, designed circa 1953 for the Royal Hotel in Naples. At the foot of the bed are a pair of pine Sandoz stools by Charlotte Perriand, designed circa 1960 for the French ski resort Les Arcs.


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