Interior designer in Coconut Grove
Looking for an interior designer in Coconut Grove?
In Coconut Grove, the garden comes first. The neighborhood's conservation rules protect its landscape and its tree canopy, so a house here grows around its trees rather than through them, and the best renovations open the rooms to the green that is already there.
Coconut Grove: the buildings and what they demand
What you find here
Coconut Grove is described as the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami, and it reads in its streets: houses set deep in the vegetation, older homes next to recent ones, gardens that were planted long before the latest renovation.
It is also one of the greenest parts of the city, and that is the fact that shapes the work. Shade, humidity and roots take part in every decision, from the footing of an addition to the finish of a floor.
- Older houses set in dense vegetation
- Newer houses, Mediterranean and contemporary, both of which the market supports
- Large gardens and mature trees
- Waterfront properties on Biscayne Bay
What the city asks
Coconut Grove is a neighborhood of the City of Miami, so permits come from the City of Miami building department. On top of the Miami 21 zoning code, the Grove is covered by Neighborhood Conservation Districts that add rules of their own, written to preserve its landscaped character and its tree canopy.
The city's tree ordinance regulates the removal, relocation and pruning of trees. An addition that needs a tree to go is not a detail to settle at the permit; it is a question to ask at the first sketch.
- City of Miami building permits
- Neighborhood Conservation District rules on top of Miami 21
- Tree ordinance for removal, relocation and pruning
- FEMA flood rules for houses in a flood zone, nearer the bay
Our interior design services in Coconut Grove
The work we are asked for here
Most projects here are about the relationship between the house and its garden.
- Opening a closed house onto its garden
- Kitchens and living spaces that face the green
- Renovating an older house while keeping its scale
- Additions placed around existing trees
- Materials that age well in shade and humidity
What we do
We design the interior and its thresholds together, because in the Grove the line between inside and outside is where most of the value lies.
- Survey, including trees, drainage and orientation
- Space planning around the garden and the light
- Kitchens, baths, lighting and joinery
- Coordination with a landscape designer and a licensed local engineer where needed
- Tendering and follow-up of the Florida-licensed contractor
The work in Coconut Grove, and our references
How the work runs
Deliveries and machines have to reach the site without damaging roots and canopy, which on narrow, leafy streets is a planning question in itself. We settle access before the contractor prices the job.
Shade and humidity slow the drying of plaster, paint and wood. The schedule leaves room for it, instead of pretending a finish can be closed in on the day it was applied.
Our work in the area
The studio has not yet completed a project in Coconut Grove. The Nasseem Residence in Muscat, now under construction, is organized around the same question: how to live between shade and garden, with rooms that open onto a planted courtyard.
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 Coconut Grove
Can I remove a tree to build an addition?
It depends on the tree and on the permit. The City of Miami regulates the removal and relocation of trees, and the Grove's conservation rules give its canopy more weight. We look at the trees before sketching the addition, so the project does not depend on a removal that may be refused.
Which rules apply to a house in the Grove?
The City of Miami's Miami 21 zoning code, plus the Neighborhood Conservation District that covers the property, which adds rules specific to the place. Permits are issued by the City of Miami building department.
How do you open a house to the garden without letting the heat in?
With shade before glass. Deep overhangs, loggias and well-placed trees do more for comfort than a larger window, and they let the rooms stay open for most of the year.
Is my house in a flood zone?
Nearer the bay, some houses are. The flood map and the elevation certificate tell you, and it matters: in a FEMA flood zone, work that reaches half the value of the building requires bringing the whole structure up to current flood rules.
Do you work with landscape designers?
Yes, and in the Grove from the start rather than as a last stage. The planting, the shade and the paths decide how the interior is lived as much as the rooms do.
Send us the address, a plan if you have one, and photographs of the house and the garden. We will tell you in writing which trees and rules shape the project, and where the house can open up.
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