Inside Constanza Collarte’s House in Miami, FL

When designing I try to avoid Trends. I really like listening to the voice of the home, the voice of the Inhabitants and I think that when you do it you really create an authentic space. I go, I'm an interior designer and this is it. my

house

in Coconut Grove Miami I grew up in Miami I went to high school right down the street from here and I was always in love with the lush, tropical environment that is Miami wherever I lived I was always drawn to that memory and the smell of the humidity and um the flowers and it's just the home, the

house

was built in 1936, it is a Spanish Mediterranean which was very popular at that time.

I wanted something that felt authentic to our family. You know, Miami is full of very white, bright, modern colors. boxes and I just couldn't see us living in something like that, you know, we were looking at something that had a little more history and when we pulled up to the property, the landscaping was so romantic, divine, layered and lush. I think that light is the soul of every home and without it you know who wants to live in dark and gloomy spaces and we knew that this house needed a lot of lighting when we came across it, it had very dark tiles, that's how I felt.

I needed a New Soul, so part of that was brightening the palette, but also a big part of that was making sure we could create new openings and channel light, so this is our living room space, the space was feels light and airy, the walls have a beautiful Lime Wash Finish for lime wash paint and then it's coated with a soap that almost waxes, so the idea is that over time, if we get little Nicks or, You know, the occasional Mark crayon, they're easy to wash. Strip and then wax again, okay, so this is my old art history book from um AP Art History, my junior year says sneak all over the place and this was my favorite high school class of all time, look at these notes and these highlights, so this is The Florida room of the house, every Florida house should have one, um, it's kind of a transitional space between more formal spaces or outdoor spaces and, to a certain extent So, when we dine outside, we set things up here before taking them out. um or do little buffets around this table, the aesthetic was really inspired through this aspect of this Mediterranean home.

I think it's something soft and minimalist and it alternates between that and something that feels a little more rustic and I think the marriage gives it its warmth. I tend to stay away from things that seem too perfect or too precious. These leather chairs have a lot of apple juice stains and that's fine with me. I don't really care if things look scratched or a little stained or a little. old as I am, I accept it, that's how I like the interiors to feel, so this is our family room, it's probably the heart of the house, we have the kitchen next door, it's one of the rooms we mostly kept part almost intact being a As big believers in sustainability, we wanted to keep the floors that we could, so we stained them, we bleached them, they actually used to be that dark brown color and we lightened the palette a little bit just to keep the space here a little bit lighter and we kept all the doors as they were original to the house, they were so beautiful that it was a little difficult to work out the layout as there were no walls or continuous space on the walls, but we floated everything towards the center of the room and we simply made small islands to work on.

Out and about we just chill and do general family night movies. I love collecting. I love bringing any type of souvenir from trips. Being surrounded by memories is what makes the house perfect. That's what makes each home unique. I love it. This piece was given to me by my mother-in-law as a wedding and engagement gift. She actually went on a trip, I think it was Italy and she brought her to me. It opens, although it is difficult to do so now. it's all very detailed and this pretty coral and I think the point is to put scrolls and love letters in it, which I thought was such a lovely little sentiment on their part, so this is our formal dining room, we'll have special occasion dinners .

Um, sometimes we just invite friends over and put the kids at a less formal table and invite families over for Saturday night pizzas here. I found these chairs at an auction and we simply upholstered them in different colors and shades at home for myself. It's like my sanctuary, away from everything. Me, my husband, my kids, all have very action-packed schedules and I think we come home here to feel calm, relieved, loved and held, so now we are in the master bedroom. Everything here also had a similar consistency. what we were doing downstairs we had hardwood floors.

I love that in the bedrooms it feels a little softer and more stoney. It's easier on the feet, it's warmer and then this beautiful vintage rug that we found in auction 2 and I love the way it feels. I have a tree house here thanks to the beautiful Pho carpus that grows so tall. I feel like I'm walled in and secured, so the bedroom was very important to us as we also had a fun sitting area. I like to lie in bed or read a book. my husband could be watching TV or having a snack, so it's fun to divide the area into a brass table that connects to the Pabo tanel lamp here and this Paul Frankle piece that I adore.

The purpose of this house is really to create a place for my children to feel like they can explore, they can share memories with each other with other extended families, we have gatherings, we have celebrations, um and we have days where we just relax with just the five of us or we cook together and We are really creating experiences here. I think we see a lot of iterations of a design that you know, copied, copied, copied, and really what we should be thinking about is who we are and how we really want to live and what makes us live.

In order for you to feel at home you need to be true to yourself and know what you love and what you want to be surrounded by.