Your Monthly Look at What’s New in Home Design
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Showroom Focus
Heart and Soul
At Calimia Home, Design Is Personal
By Owen Kessler
One of the many charms of the Calimia Home showroom in the restored La Palma building is that it doesn’t look like one. Flooded with sunlight and layered with natural textures, the venue captures the essence of home effortlessly. In one corner, a kitchen out of a Nancy Meyers movie is the definition of cozy-chic, a showplace of wood and marble surfaces complete with glassfront cabinetry, a vintage-looking Lacanche range that can deliver the ideal Thanksgiving turkey, and exposed copper piping overhead. Just steps away is the dining room with a table for six dressed for company with porcelain, cutlery, and stemware laid out with catalogue precision. Not to be outdone, the family room is tucked by a window and set up with the requisite sofa, armchair, and coffee table, plus eye-catching extras that include two wicker ottomans and a credenza with patina so distressed it could pass as an heirloom or antique. “We call it lived-in luxury – layered, warm, and never too precious,” says Monique Miller, who owns the shop with her partner, Gustaf Svensson. “We love creating spaces that feel collected rather than decorated. A home should feel like you – personal, intentional, and timeless.
The same could be said about the Calimia Home backstory. Miller and Svensson met in Miami some years back when she was overseeing the visual department for the South Florida locations of Intermix, a high end women’s boutique, and he was running Wynwood Shipping, a moving and logistics company, with his brother. Once together, they purchased a 1930s-era house in El Portal and completely renovated the structure themselves. One baby and a summer In Sweden later, they left their respective jobs, sold their home, and drove up the East Coast to Savannah, drawn by the “history, architecture, and mossy oaks,” says Miller. Once established there they bought another old property – this time a 1918 Georgian Colonial – and again restored it themselves. “That’s when the idea for Calimia was born, because we loved the process of creating together,” says Miller. “We thought about whether to base the business in Savannah or Miami, and Miami won. We knew the city and its potential.”
“The shop and studio represent a full-circle moment for us,” says Miller. “Our goal going forward is to keep being the experts in our space, deepen our roots in the community, and continue doing the best work we can.”
116 Alhambra Circle, calimiahome.com
Decor Selection
The New Palette
By Owen Kessler
PALETTE MATTERS
It’s official. Pantone, the entity that ensures color consistency worldwide through physical and digital color libraries, has declared Cloud Dancer as the hue of 2026. Here’s the billowy and airy white shade on our selection of spring furniture and accessories.
SKY HIGH
Ideal for children’s rooms, the Cloud lamp by Circu nods to Pantone’s color of the year through theme and shade. The piece is designed in several layers with fire-retardant material, and its lights and sounds can be controlled through an app or remote control. Price upon request, Circu, circu.net
IN THE HOT SEAT
Designed by British pop star Robbie Williams, who describes it as “part sculpture, part sanctuary,” the Introvert Chair from Moooi is a cocoon-like pod that’s meant to wrap whoever is sitting on it like a hug. $4,395. Moooi, moooi.co
GLASS ACT
Adorned with hand-cut coco shells all around its frame, the Ginkgo mirror offers a tropical yet subdued statement for the home. No piece is ever the same. $1,895, Neiman Marcus, Shops at Merrick Park, 358 San Lorenzo Avenue, neimanmarcus.com
IN FULL BLOOM
Louis Vuitton’s Blossom Stool by designer Tokujin Yoshioka comes in various materials, including ash wood (shown here). The seat is inspired by flower forms and features a swirl of overlapping “petals” on its seat. $12,500, Louis Vuitton, Shops at Merrick Park, 358 San Lorenzo Avenue, us.vuitton.com
TALL BEAUTY
Designed by Marc Sadler for Italamp, the Grand Collier floor lamp looks like four smaller lamps stacked to create a totem. The piece’s milky blown glass emits an ethereal diffused light, and its silhouette makes it an eye-catching addition to any room. Price upon request, Italamp, italamp.com
Design Notes
Items of Interest From Around Town
By Owen Kessler
HOUSE OF STYLE
Maison & Co. is steadily making its way across Florida with showroom openings from Miami-Dade to the Gulf Coast. Its newest location in Coral Gables is five blocks south of Miracle Mile with an inventory curated with top brands (and design lovers) in mind. We’re talking appliances from Sub-Zero, Perlick, and Wolf; plumbing from Kallista, Watermark, and Toto; lighting from Visual Comfort & Co. and Flos; and hardware from Ashley Norton. The showroom is fast to tout its “trade-first approach,” working closely with designers, architects and builders from early concept to final installation. “Our showrooms represent more than an expansion of our footprint,” says Anthony Hernandez, the company’s president and founder. “They are about bringing together the right products, the right environment, and the right level of service.” 2850 Salzedo Street, maisonco.com
KITCHEN REVERENTIAL
Chosen for its warmth and natural textures, wood plays a starring role in the new Poetica kitchen collection from Scavolini. Among the line’s most prominent features are its nearly one-inch cabinet ash doors, which are finished with retro-inspired motifs and functional details. The Poetica kitchen island also demands attention with an oval extension meant for cook preparation, casual meals or kids’ homework. 2600 Ponce de Leon Blvd., scavolini.com
SPEED LIMIT
The auto-inspired lines of Roche Bobois’ Speed Up furniture collection have made it one of the brand’s most popular lines, so to mark the collection’s 20th anniversary, RB has given the pieces a tune-up. Designer Sacha Lakic has tweaked the Speed Up dining table by reworking the central lacquer base, which now “appears to capture the exact moment when the material comes to life and is set in motion.” He’s also introduced new pieces for the line: an armchair, a console, and a set of cocktail tables, all with aerodynamic silhouettes that evoke fluidity and movement. “My focus was not on nostalgia, but on showcasing the essence of design,” says Lakic. “The pieces have keptthe sculpted, taut lines rooted in their DNA, while revealing greater precision and sensuality.” 450 Biltmore Way, roche-bobois.com
SETTING THE SCENE
Fans of Williams-Sonoma are in for some spring discoveries thanks to the retailer’s expanded collaboration with designer Aerin Lauder. Inspired by her East Hampton garden (and ideal for Coral Gables’ alfresco gatherings), the AERIN for Williams-Sonoma collection of tabletop and décor now includes trays, frames, mirrors, and other accoutrements inspired by botanical motifs and marked by joyful colors. The new additions complement an already vast array of tabletop that covers everything from glassware to linens. Shops at Merrick Park, 350 San Lorenzo Avenue, williams-sonoma.com/aerin
Designer Showcase
Out of the Box
Designer Juan Poggi Unleashes His Custom Approach to Modern in an Old Cutler Bay Residence That Delights With Personality.
By Owen Kessler
Photography: Carlos Domenech
THE DIRECTIVE
When a client for whom he had designed homes in Caracas, Panama, Key Biscayne, and Aruba approached Juan Poggi about the renovation of an 8,000-square-foot residence in Old Cutler Bay, the designer didn’t hesitate. “We’ve shaped multiple houses together and my design approach evolved with each one. This was a chance to continue the story in Coral Gables,” says Poggi. “Our task was to bring the house into a more modern direction by simplifying, editing, and aligning every element under one clear language. We started by stripping back what felt excessive. Modern is not about adding; it’s about refining.”
THE LIVING ROOM
Nodding to Poggi’s penchant for going off book (and with the homeowners’ full blessing), the living room became a lounge. “It offers a more social, more fluid way of living,” says Poggi. “It replaces formality with presence. The design is tailored, and the proportions, materials and layouts all respond to it. It’s not just a change in furniture; it’s a shift in how the room is experienced.” Eye-catching elements include a Manuel Valdez painting and massive cylindrical light pendants (custom by Poggi) that drop from the ceiling.
JUAN POGGI
A world traveler, Coral Gables-based designer Juan Poggi brings a lifetime of experience to his role as interior designer. His refined sensibility, deep technical knowledge, and personal touch are the hallmarks that define each of his projects, which range geographically from Miami’s most exclusive private communities to Paris’ chicest arrondissements. Poggi’s hands-on approach and client commitment have made him one of South Florida’s most in-demand design professionals. “In all my years of working in this field, I have come to understand two very important things,” he says. “Each client is a unique universe, and each project is a lesson in communication.” poggidesign.com
THE DAUGHTER’S BEDROOM
Color takes precedence in the daughter’s room, a space ripe with palette and patterns. The eye here zigzags from the custom area rug by Poggi to the butterfly-themed curtains to the striped wallpaper by Scion. A Big Bang chandelier by Vicente Garcia Jimenez for Foscarini crowns the room.
THE DINING ROOM
Poggi’s approach in the dining room was to let the art – a butterfly- themed sculpture by Manuel Valdez and a painting of produce by Liu Bolin – take top billing. A mirrored wall was installed to amplify light, depth, and the presence of the art.
THE FOYER
The foyer is an exercise in restraint with a multi-panel photographic work by Peruvian artist Nelly Garcia and a custom bench with glass legs that reads as a sculpture. “It’s a space that breathes,” says Poggi. “Everything here was carefully considered, and nothing overwhelms; it’s just enough to feel welcome.”
THE LOGGIA
This residence’s loggia leaves nothing to chance with areas for cooking, dining, and lounging. “This outdoor space was built around the summer kitchen and barbecue,” says Poggi. “It was designed to be easy and connected to the way the clients entertain. The gardens are positioned to overlook the canal behind the house, extending the living experience into the landscape.”