Head south to Foster + Partners Faena House in Miami Beach, and
Mindel has kicked his seafaring references up an additional notch, inserting a
mill-worked corridor in the shape of a mast to run the length of the public
spaces, narrowing it geometrically as it approaches the ocean, only to open
it out onto the rounded balcony's far-reaching waterfront exposure. The
furnishings inside are light and quietly voluptuous, punctuated by more
colorful forms mimicking the imagery of South Beach and its cabanas, sun
louvers, beach balls, and palette of sunlit sea and shore.
It has this in common with the project Mindel calls "the smallest house in
Miami," a tiny Root Trail Bungalow he made over in 2020 from the type
built in the 19th century to house workers constructing mansions for Jazz
Age millionaires, where he employed a décor of natural wicker, seagrass,
and wood mixed with colorful, graphic art by the likes of Thomas Trum. From
the outside it could belong on a Caribbean island; Mindel leans toward
St Barts in the '70s, when, he says, he could still find places to stay with a
"beach—shacky feel."
LEFT The Frank console and Mart
chair are by Antonio Citterio
for B&B Italia; the brand's Alanda
coffee table sits in front of a
1950's settee by Dan Johnson.
BELOW Costa Lounge chairs
and Clifton Coffee table are by
Serena & Lily; the landscape
was designed by Fernando Wong.
BALHAR B O U RSH O P S .CO M
