Located on the oceanfront in Key Biscayne, Commodore 700 is a 1,930-square-foot apartment within a 1974 building designed by Marchesani & Cohen. Surrounded by views of white-sand beaches, turquoise water and the tropical landscape of Crandon Park, the apartment carries a particularly personal history for its owner: she inherited it from her father, and it is the home where she spent much of her childhood.

The renovation began with the desire to create something entirely different from the client's more classical and ornate primary residence. She envisioned this home as modern, functional and low-maintenance, while maintaining a strong sense of quality, individuality and meaning.

Rather than erasing the apartment's past, Lamarc Studio approached the project as a conversation between tradition and modern living. Elements with emotional significance were preserved and incorporated into a new architectural language, while contemporary art, collectible design and unexpected material combinations introduced a new chapter to the home.

A quiet, timeless foundation of warm oak, limewash walls and natural textures is contrasted with stainless steel, raw concrete and richly veined marble. The tension between warm and cool, imperfect and refined, sophisticated and playful became a recurring theme throughout the apartment. Color was intentionally introduced primarily through art and collectible pieces, allowing the architecture and larger furnishings to remain serene and enduring.

One of the most significant interventions was opening the previously enclosed kitchen to the living and dining areas. The new stainless-steel kitchen, paired with Brazilian emerald marble, became an architectural element within the social spaces rather than a room to be concealed. The transformation required extensive modifications to the apartment's mechanical systems while carefully preserving the original natural marble flooring.

Preserving that floor became one of the project's greatest challenges. Removing the original walls meant replacing portions of the existing stone, and finding marble that matched a material installed decades earlier required months of sampling and visits to stone yards. Maintaining it was important not only aesthetically but emotionally, as the original floor represented a tangible connection to the client's history in the apartment.

Elsewhere, an existing structural column that had previously felt heavy and obstructive was stripped back to raw concrete and deliberately celebrated. Paired with a floating wood console and the original marble floor, it became a sculptural element and an expression of the studio's interest in combining imperfection, warmth and sophisticated materials.

Art and collectible design provide the final layer of the home. Works and pieces sourced through galleries in Europe and the United States—including contemporary commissions alongside vintage finds—bring color, personality and a sense of discovery to the restrained architectural backdrop.

The result is a home that feels serene without becoming anonymous: sophisticated yet relaxed, contemporary yet connected to its history. More than a transformation of an inherited apartment, Commodore 700 explores how a childhood home can evolve with its owner while retaining the elements that give it meaning.

What were the key challenges? We had a closed kitchen and decided to integrate it to the rest of the living area. By doing this, we had to take the walls down and redesign all the mechanical systems in the living-dining area.

We also decided to preserve the original natural marble floors. By removing these walls, we had to replace a big portion of the tiles, but they had to match perfectly with the existing ones. It took us almost 4 to 5 months, many samples and stone yard visits to find the exact marble slabs that matched the original floors. If we didn’t find it, we would have been forced to replace the entire flooring which had a sentimental meaning for our client.

Another important design challenge was the lighting. Previously, the apartment only had one flush mount in the center of each room. We wanted the lighting to feel layered and intentional through different light sources and different eye levels. This required a lot of client reassurance and losing the fear of lowering portions of the ceiling height in favor of a much better lighting design.

What materials did you choose and why? We were interested in the combination of imperfect, earthy and sophisticated materials.

A quiet, timeless foundation of warm oak, limewash walls and natural textures is contrasted with stainless steel, raw concrete and richly veined marble. The tension between warm and cool, imperfect and refined, sophisticated and playful became a recurring theme throughout the apartment. Color was intentionally introduced primarily through art and collectible pieces, allowing the architecture and larger furnishings to remain serene and enduring.

One of the most significant interventions was opening the previously enclosed kitchen to the living and dining areas. The new stainless-steel kitchen, paired with Brazilian emerald marble, became an architectural element within the social spaces rather than a room to be concealed. The transformation required extensive modifications to the apartment's mechanical systems while carefully preserving the original natural marble flooring.

Preserving that floor became one of the project's greatest challenges. Removing the original walls meant replacing portions of the existing stone, and finding marble that matched a material installed decades earlier required months of sampling and visits to stone yards. Maintaining it was important not only aesthetically but emotionally, as the original floor represented a tangible connection to the client's history in the apartment.

Elsewhere, an existing structural column that had previously felt heavy and obstructive was stripped back to raw concrete and deliberately celebrated. Paired with a floating wood console and the original marble floor, it became a sculptural element and an expression of the studio's interest in combining imperfection, warmth and sophisticated materials.

Art and collectible design provide the final layer of the home. Works and pieces sourced through galleries in Europe and the United States—including contemporary commissions alongside vintage finds—bring color, personality and a sense of discovery to the restrained architectural backdrop.

The result is a home that feels serene without becoming anonymous: sophisticated yet relaxed, contemporary yet connected to its history. More than a transformation of an inherited apartment, Commodore 700 explores how a childhood home can evolve with its owner while retaining the elements that give it meaning.

What were the key challenges? We had a closed kitchen and decided to integrate it to the rest of the living area. By doing this, we had to take the walls down and redesign all the mechanical systems in the living-dining area.

We also decided to preserve the original natural marble floors. By removing these walls, we had to replace a big portion of the tiles, but they had to match perfectly with the existing ones. It took us almost 4 to 5 months, many samples and stone yard visits to find the exact marble slabs that matched the original floors. If we didn’t find it, we would have been forced to replace the entire flooring which had a sentimental meaning for our client.

Another important design challenge was the lighting. Previously, the apartment only had one flush mount in the center of each room. We wanted the lighting to feel layered and intentional through different light sources and different eye levels. This required a lot of client reassurance and losing the fear of lowering portions of the ceiling height in favor of a much better lighting design.

What materials did you choose and why? We were interested in the combination of imperfect, earthy and sophisticated materials.

Natural oak was used throughout the millwork to bring warmth and softness into the apartment. Stainless steel and emerald green marble from Brazil create contrast and bring a more architectural feeling to the spaces. Limewash finishes, textured fabrics and rattan details soften the stronger material palette.

Many of the collectible pieces and artworks were sourced internationally through galleries in Europe and the United States, mixing contemporary pieces with vintage finds.