Ocean Spray
Waves make a splash in a Boca Raton condo.
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As it laps ashore near Boca Raton, the Atlantic is truly a kissing cousin to the Caribbean. The Gulf Stream runs just a few miles offshore, and the water is tinged with the warm colors of the subtropics—soft blue, mellow green and a gray that even on the dreariest of days seems to suggest that the sun will soon shine. The waves are gentle, too, easygoing rollers that do not so much crash against the golden sand as they do caress it.Shortly after he bought a new $7 million, 5,000-square-foot condominium at the Excelsior, a 28-unit complex that is one of Boca Raton’s most exclusive addresses, Alfred Karram II stood on its balcony and gazed out at the ocean. He was looking for inspiration, and he found it.
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“The colors of the ocean, the contours of the waves—for me the
challenge became how to connect the beauty of what I saw outdoors with this
empty interior space,” says Karram, a Boca Raton builder and architect who also
designed the Excelsior’s grand lobby. “But mostly I was thinking about those
waves, how they curved and how they flowed—the sense of arc as they broke
against the shore.” (Click image to enlarge)Many months and some $3 million of renovation costs later, Karram unveiled the results of his oceanside reverie—a gleaming, contemporary, three-bedroom residence that melds the Florida landscape with nouveau European influences and dramatic artisanal embellishments to create a dwelling that offers its own jazzy riff on the concept of an artful living space. Now the property of a CEO of a Fortune 500 firm, the sleek and seductive condo is testament to both high style and everyday function, with plenty of whimsy tossed in for good measure. The playfulness of Karram’s nautically inspired design is apparent from the moment you step into the entry with its bent-glass wall. “It’s hard to imagine that it used to be just a huge square room. I was trying to give it real depth and create a wave with the wall,” says Karram, “The theme reappears throughout the home. It’s a way to have fun while still paying homage to craftsmanship.”
And then there is the stonework—more than 3,000 square feet of book-matched Visconte white granite flooring in the main living areas alone. Massive slabs of lapis lazuli and white onyx produce flooring and wall patterns that are every bit as artful as the zoom-lens-style paintings of Michel Pellus and the sculpture of Olivia Guzman. “If there is one signature that I’m known for, it would be the stonework,” says Karram. “It is not just the insane scope of the stonework. Anyone can go out and buy lots of granite or marble. But the heart of the design is in the matching, making sure the veins and the shades are in perfect harmony.”
The living room features Brikkel sofas, ottomans and chaise longues upholstered in fabrics created by Italian designer Giorgio Saporiti for Il Loft. A game table anchors one corner; in the other corner sits a Steinway baby grand piano with a brilliant black satin finish. Centering the seating area is a custom-designed stainless steel cocktail table, and the white granite floors mimic the pattern of the tapered, arced ceiling. “Here I was thinking specifically of the concentric arcs the waves form as they approach the shore,” Karram says.
Alfred Karram II Inc., 561.394.9900, www.karram.com
