Condo interior design in Brickell
Renovating a condominium in Brickell?
In Brickell, the building sets the frame before the design does. What you may change inside a unit, when crews may work and how materials go up are written in the association's rules, so we read them first and design the renovation to go through the building as smoothly as through the permit.
Brickell: the buildings and what they demand
What you find here
Brickell is Miami's high-rise district, built up from the 1970s with office towers and then residential towers, and it is now one of the densest neighborhoods in the United States.
Its condominiums range from towers of the 1980s to the most recent, and the age of the building matters, starting with where it stands in its inspections. A unit is renovated inside a shell, services and rules that belong to everyone.
- Residential towers from the 1980s to today
- Units with large glazed walls and views
- Buildings governed by a declaration and association rules
- Older towers entering their milestone inspection cycle
What the building and the city ask
Brickell is a neighborhood of the City of Miami, so permits come from the City of Miami building department. Inside a condominium, the declaration and the association's rules come first: what may change in a unit, from the floors to the plumbing, and which approvals are needed, usually before the permit is filed.
Florida requires condominium buildings of three habitable stories or more to have a milestone inspection by the end of the year they reach 30, then every ten years. The inspection concerns the structure rather than your unit, but its repairs can shape the building's calendar, and yours with it.
- City of Miami building permits
- Association approval under the declaration and rules
- Milestone inspections of the building
- Working hours and service elevator bookings set by the building
Our interior design services in Brickell
The work we are asked for here
Almost every request here is a unit to transform within the shell the building gives.
- Full renovation of a condominium unit
- Kitchens opened onto the living space
- Baths redesigned within the existing plumbing
- Bespoke joinery for storage and display
- A pied-à-terre designed and managed from abroad
What we do
We design the unit and prepare the file the building will ask for, so the association's approval and the permit follow the same drawings.
- Survey, including the building's rules and approvals
- Space planning, kitchens, baths, lighting and joinery
- Drawings for the association's review and for the permit
- Coordination with licensed local engineers where needed
- Tendering and follow-up of the Florida-licensed contractor
The work in Brickell, and our references
How the work runs
In a tower, the logistics belong to the building: a booked service elevator, set working hours, protection of the common areas. A schedule that ignores them slips, so we build it from the building's rules.
Noise travels through a concrete tower. Demolition and the loudest work are grouped together, and neighbors are informed as the association requires, which keeps the site accepted for its whole length.
Our work in the area
The studio has not yet completed a project in Brickell. The Appartement Exelmans in Paris, an apartment interior designed down to its joinery, is the closest reference.
Our services, the six-stage process and how our fees are calculated are set out here: Interior design for Mediterranean-style homes in Miami: our process and fees. For the style that shapes many of these houses, see Renovating a Mediterranean Revival home in Coral Gables.
Sources
Questions about a project in Brickell
Do we need the association's approval before renovating?
In most buildings, yes. The declaration and the rules set what may change inside a unit and how the work is run, and the approval usually comes before the permit. We read them at the survey and prepare the file the board will review.
Can we move the kitchen or a bathroom?
Sometimes. In a tower, drains and risers are shared, and moving a wet room depends on where they run and on what the building allows. We check both before committing to a layout.
What does the milestone inspection mean for our renovation?
It concerns the building's structure, not your unit, but its repairs can affect the common areas for a time and change when your own work can happen. Asking the association where the building stands is part of our survey.
How long does a full unit renovation take?
The design stages represent 24 to 49 days of work in total, spread over two to four months with reviews and tendering. Construction depends on the scope and on the building's working hours, which is why we plan it from the rules rather than from an average.
Can you manage a pied-à-terre renovation while we are abroad?
It is the situation the studio is organized for. A member of our team is on site in Miami, and the studio comes for the survey and the key milestones; in between, progress is documented after each contractor visit, and every decision that changes the design or the budget is put to you in writing first.
Send us the building's name, the unit's plan if you have it, and what you want to change. We will tell you in writing what the building is likely to ask for, and how to prepare it.
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