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Houzz Tour: A Contemporary Beach House Dazzles
Step Inside a Tampa Designer's Waterfront Home
Imagine a beach house that doesn't look like a beach house. Imagine a beach house that bypasses the expected driftwood and conch shells and instead delivers high design with contemporary dazzle. What would it look like if you took great tile, custom furniture and one-of-a-kind finishes to the beach?
Recently, Tampa-based interior designer Michelle Wiebe walked us through a three-story, waterfront home she designed in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida. Michelle loves working with clients who have vision, and this project speaks volumes about the the shared vision of both Michelle and her clients.
Michelle has been doing business as Studio M for 20 years. She specializes in new-construction, whole-house designs though she's no stranger to commercial work. In a time when a lot of design studios are struggling, Michelle's firm is breaking new records and spreading out into new markets all over the southeast and beyond. Here's a taste of what she's up to:
Recently, Tampa-based interior designer Michelle Wiebe walked us through a three-story, waterfront home she designed in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida. Michelle loves working with clients who have vision, and this project speaks volumes about the the shared vision of both Michelle and her clients.
Michelle has been doing business as Studio M for 20 years. She specializes in new-construction, whole-house designs though she's no stranger to commercial work. In a time when a lot of design studios are struggling, Michelle's firm is breaking new records and spreading out into new markets all over the southeast and beyond. Here's a taste of what she's up to:
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The dining room features a custom table made in Italy. Michelle picked the wood and the stains and specified the high-gloss finish. Its colors refer to the glass collection displayed in niches on the back wall. Michelle's client is an avid glass collector, and her art glass has been integrated throughout the house.
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Michelle chose two different colors and finishes for the kitchen cabinetry. The islands are black, and the perimeter cabinets are finished in a textured, bronze-colored Italian laminate. The backsplashes are a purpley-brown back-painted glass.
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| Interestingly, the floor is an oil-stained wood. Because there's no polyurethane topcoat on an oil-stained wood floor, refreshing them is as simple as applying more pigmented oil with a mop.
The staggered, aluminum-framed wall cabinets are a perfect counterpoint to the transom windows. Note how the stagger relates to the placement of the pendant lights over the island. Nice touch! The ventilation hood is a custom design. |
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Michelle loves to mix finishes and textures in her work. That's as obvious in the master bath as it is in the kitchen.
The floor is a 24"x24" textured porcelain tile, and the tub surround is a ceramic with a metallic glaze. The tub deck and the counter on the custom vanity are concrete. Michelle had crushed brown glass mixed into the concrete to give it sparkle and depth.
The floor is a 24"x24" textured porcelain tile, and the tub surround is a ceramic with a metallic glaze. The tub deck and the counter on the custom vanity are concrete. Michelle had crushed brown glass mixed into the concrete to give it sparkle and depth.
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| The two-person shower picks up the tile from the tub surround and brings in another tile, this time a metallic-glaze mosaic set in a vertical offset pattern. Showers as large as this need their own lighting and ventilation, and this shower delivers on all counts. |
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The master bedroom in this home features floor-to-ceiling views of the Intracoastal Waterway. The homeowners didn't want to obstruct their ability to see the water during the day, so the TV flips down from the ceiling.
Michelle and her team worked with an audio visual company in Tampa to make sure that this system works flawlessly. It's a winning idea for how to hide a flat-screen television.
Michelle and her team worked with an audio visual company in Tampa to make sure that this system works flawlessly. It's a winning idea for how to hide a flat-screen television.
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| Here's the bed from a different perspective. The headboard, bed frame and night stands are a single, custom piece of furniture, but what makes this bed really stand out are the pendant lights. Who thinks to use pendant lights in a bedroom? Michelle Wiebe, that's who. |
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The outdoor patio features resin furniture, a travertine floor and a fully equipped outdoor kitchen. There's an unobstructed view of the mangrove islands that dot the Intracoastal waterway, and the effect is as luxurious as it is peaceful.
In Florida's cooler months, the outdoor patio and the dining room open to one another. For most of the year, sitting down for dinner is an al fresco experience.
In Florida's cooler months, the outdoor patio and the dining room open to one another. For most of the year, sitting down for dinner is an al fresco experience.
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| The centerpiece of the living room is this concrete feature wall. What looks for all the world like Venetian plaster is actually a textured concrete. A good, decorative concrete fabricator is an invaluable resource when it comes to creating distinctive wall, floor and counter finishes, and Michelle swears by hers. |
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| Centered in that feature wall is a 7-foot-long fireplace with a large flat-screen television above. The fireplace is an alcohol-burning model, and a disguised heat shield protects the TV.
Michelle Wiebe's Studio M is a design practice that's on the move, actively pursuing projects outside of their home market. Their skilled use of social media is making a lot of that expansion happen. Studio M maintains a very active interior design blog and every member of their staff has an active Twitter account. Michelle Wiebe and Studio M are clearly a design firm to watch. See more breathtaking Houzz Tours |
Ideabook updated on March 11, 2011.
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I can appreciate this house, I love the modern, sleek lines but I want my coastal house more coastal with the outdoors brought in. I want elements that evoke the pull that draws me time and time again to the coast.
This house, albiet it is stunning isn't coastal enough for me. My coastal house, evokes the sea, sand, water and sky. The color palette is serene, the organic things in my home reflect my love of the coast and all the natural elements of why we that love nature and the wildlife there, it reflective. I feel this house did not capture any of the true love of living by the coast, except for the beautiful views outside.