I don't want to sound like too Zen, whatever
but as you enter the space
it immediately puts you in a very relaxed mood
and it's my quiet spot
And it's, I think of the quiet spot I was longing for too
The design language, the light that hits the house
it fills the house
It sort of preserves its intimacy
Even though when you're alone in the house you never feel lost in the space
As you live in the space, you basically move with the daylight
The sun hits the house in the morning
where the pool is, that's where my dining area is
And as you move forward into the evening hours
the sun comes from the west, and hits on the lounge area
I became familiar with the architect Martin Hampton
who built this house after I purchased it
What was interesting to me was to restore the architectural shell
and then combine it with more contemporary pieces
I did not want to preserve this house
and then also put inside also all art deco pieces, furniture pieces
that would be too nostalgic for me
Like I wanted to create a more interesting
more contemporary mix of design styles inside
that's more relevant to the now
and more relevant to today's sensibility
It's more an assembly of memories, I believe
Elements that I've collected over the times
that remind me of different travels
different experiences, different people in my life
Paulo Werneck was a very famous mural artist
When you go to Rio de Janeiro, for example, you see a lot of murals
on the side walks, on the façades
You see all of the mosaic work everywhere
One of his designs was applied here
to a card table that was specifically designed for this space
I'm on the road a lot, I'm a very busy person
I like to be constantly on the go
I do collect when I travel, especially when I go to South America
One of the first pieces I purchased was the Pinda chair
It was designed by Carlos Motta, from São Paulo
He told me that he was inspired by ocean fish
Also interesting for me was the fact
that he used a clean wood, old telephone post
It was important for me to make sure that this house is as green as possible
by adding latest generation windows, solar panels
We should be thinking about sustainability a lot more
especially in a place like Florida
the sunshine state of the Earth
The title of this photograph is "Reaper in the sun"
it's by New York based artist Trevor Paglen
I was immediately [inaudible] just by its coloring and its size
but also the story behind it
It shows a drone flying over Test area for the military in Nevada
Trevor Paglen explained [inaudible]
all of the skies [all about] the promise of freedom
then how that very same sky has now turned against us
I'm not about chaos, I'm not about clutter
I'm not about overly decorated spaces
I'm not a really control freak either
but I like it fairly reduced to important things
and elements
I need to breathe
I wanted to create a little oasis for myself
Some freedom in the gardening-- I kept it very lush and tropical
It's very in tune with sort of the Miami feel
Can a building make me happy?
A building can make me happy
If not your own home, what else can be a point of happiness?
It should be your happiness