Tuscan Details Abound In A Worldly South Florida Villa

Interior designer Bea Pila and her husband--architect and builder Carlos Gonzalez-Ochoa--worked under the guidance of friend and landscape architect Orlando Comas to design the landscaping plan for their own Coconut Grove home, such as in the charming front courtyard that includes heliconias, ginger and a range of palms. Cardboard palms in pots flank the entry, while the path is paved with old Chicago bricks, which Pila selected for their aged quality.

A quartet of columns beneath a vaulted ceiling visually separates the living and dining rooms and keeps the spaces open. Draperies made in a sheer fabric with wide satin stripes by P/Kaufmann are mounted high in the living room, while in the foyer, the tortoiseshell-glass lantern is from Currey & Company. The Italian Noce travertine floor was purposely unfilled to give it a rustic look.

Many years ago, Pila negotiated to get her price on a breakfront she fell in love with. It now sits in the dining room and is filled with a glass collection from the couple's international travels. For Pila, it's all about color: The light blue with navy rim vessel is from the Clignancourt flea market in Paris, and the orange-and-white one is from an Atlanta antiques mall; on top is a grouping with a fish motif from Global Views in High Point. The acrylic on paper landscape (on top of the cabinet) is from Sweden; the other piece is a Cuban pastel.

The dining room’s Malachite wallcovering from Cole & Son’s Fornasetti collection is a stunning backdrop for a painting by Honduran artist Julio Visquerra. A midcentury-style chandelier that Pila purchased in Venice from Barovier & Toso’s Murano studio hangs over an 80-inch table with a live-edge tree trunk base from Costa Rica and diamond-backed mahogany chairs.

In the kitchen, woven-abaca barstools from Padma's Plantation pull up to a granite-clad island, which Pila painted black to ground the white cabinets; the backsplash is 5/8-inch tumbled Noce travertine, the same stone as the floor, in a mosaic pattern. Pendant lights are suspended from supporting cedar timbers via a modern stainless-steel cable system from Bruck, while grass cloth on one wall and an old kilim lend both texture and character.

The couple forwent a breakfast room in favor of a more practical bar. Pila found vintage bark cloth in Key West to cover the midcentury bamboo stools and banded the cushions with raffia and nailheads. The bar is by Theodore Alexander; on the walls is a Madagascar vinyl-raffia from Phillip Jeffries.

A blend of styles continues in the family room, where rustic unfinished ceiling beams mix with such modern furnishings as Pila's own acrylic Player's chair, inspired by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The stained glass by a Colombian leaded-glass artist is an homage to the designer's Cuban roots, and the mushroom-shaped ottomans are clad in more kilims.

Wicker chairs and a vintage bench made from reclaimed Indonesian wood are paired with a metal table topped with colorful Cuban tile to form a cozy outdoor dining area on one side of the loggia.

Lush tropical foliage is visible through the arches of the room-size loggia. Pila's Pangea sectionals are made of Brazilian teak with acrylic backs; the patterned pillows are clad in an indoor fabric from Osborne & Little.

The loggia's Pick Me Up swinging bench, designed by Pila in collaboration with daughter Gabi, features a cushion topped with a Sunbrella stripe. The small acrylic table with a blue top is also a custom design by Pila, and the lightweight concrete table is by Seasonal Living. Japanese-style lanterns hang on the columns.

The designer loves the silky feel of the warm coppery frescoed Venetian plaster walls in the master bedroom, where a taupe linen-upholstered bed by Barbara Barry for Baker is accented with a colorful embroidered cover and pillow sewn from vintage suzani textiles. The bench, another custom design by Pila, boasts a cowhide seat and leather strap; the night table is by Bolier.

One of a pair of 6-foot-tall, 18-inch-wide red Asian panels marks the entrance to the master bedroom. An Arc daybed by Camerich provides elegant simplicity.

In the master bathroom, Pila had silver leaf hand-applied to the wall to create a shimmery backdrop for the freestanding BainUltra tub. A painting in watery tones adds a shot of color.