Luxury Living: Mediterranean Style Miami Beach Home

But once the gate opens --- Wow...

This Mediterranean style Miami Beach home took a year to renovate but it was well worth the wait.

Matt MacDonald says, "The house started out as a renovation project and we actually ended up tearing the house down and starting over..."

Designer Matt MacDonald of Macdonald Design Associates is responsible for jo-lo and Ricky Martin's Miami Beach digs.

And working with this homeowner he created just the right balance between luxury and comfort...

Matt says, "She wanted a very casual feeling she didn't want the house to be fussy she has two children she wanted it to be kid proof and not really worry about the house..."

So how do you make an 11 bedroom 11-and-a- half bath house casual?

"The whole concept of the house was it was supposed to look like a hacienda it was not to look like a new house...mission accomplished..."

And that's not easy to accomplish in a 12-thousand square foot home...but Matt made it happen.

Take the formal living room and family room for example..

"What we kind of did was split up into that is your family room TV watching area and this is to be your more formal living room with the fireplace as your focal point.."

Same deal with the dining room -- it's seats twelve yet at the same time is very casual..

And just around the corner what matt calls the kitchenette..

"This is what you call the kitchenette area..not my definition of kitchenette...it is a pretty large kitchen area..."

Yeah -- especially since the kitchenette area spills into the kitchen where, if you notice, there are no overhead cabinets -- another of Matt's design details...

"There's not a whole lot of room for overhead cabinets because of the windows and the french doors and to put them over we just thought it was gonna make the room a little bit cluttered and we just wanted to keep the room nice and open nd there was alot of cabinets already and it wasn't really necessary..."

What was necessary was for Matt to choose just the right details to carry off the fresh feel throughout the house.

"With a light coloring light fabrics and everything to be casual lot of linen draperies were used throughout the house not alot of patterns.."

Most of the bedrooms have terraces either overlooking lush landscaping or the backyard.

The views are not to shabby to say the least and their property's got a 165 foot dock, a pool, 2 courtyards and is just plain breathtaking from the moment you step inside

And that's why I'm never leaving.

For more information on the designer, or the house, which is for sale for a mere 9.3 million dollars.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Contact: bnerey@wsvn.com

Macdonald Design Associates

66 Ne 40 St.

Miami, FL 33137

305-571-7170

Esther Percal/Realtor

305-674-4022

percal.e@ewm.com

www.estherpercal.com