William T. Georgis Transforms a Miami Manse Using Collectible Design and Exuberant Art
Tasked by longtime clients with a speedy redo of a waterfront residence, the architect and designer delivers elevated, artful rooms infused with a spirited vibe
The painting Double Double Yentl (My Elvis) by Deborah Kass presides over the living room of a Miami Beach home renovated by William T. Georgis.
Photo: Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
It takes a nimble design imagination to pull off a family-home makeover that melds the Latin verve of Miami, mambo, and the lush gardens of Roberto Burle Marx with impeccable craftsmanship and ultrarefined materials, not to mention a selection of wryly subversive art. For architect and designer William T. Georgis, a virtuoso at integrating the offbeat and the elevated into unforgettable interiors, bringing all of those elements together “in a heady soup,” as he puts it, was right in his wheelhouse.
Paintings by Nigel Cooke (left) and Derrick Adams animate a living room seating area anchored by a Georgis & Mirgorodsky Bombola sofa from Maison Gerard with integrated end tables that host crumpled-paper lamps by Bradley Bowers from The Future Perfect. Rounding out the group are a Marcin Rusak cocktail table from Twenty First Gallery and a pair of 1960s Giovanni Travasa rattan armchairs for Bonacina, acquired from Donzella, which also provided the Lorin Silverman chandelier.
Photo: Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
During the height of the COVID pandemic, longtime New York–based clients of his joined the rush to Florida and bought a house in Miami Beach overlooking Biscayne Bay. The tropical modern–style residence had plenty of bedrooms and ample living spaces for the couple and their kids to spread out and, if they desired, entertain guests. Eager to move in quickly, they opted to leave the upstairs bedrooms as they were and have Georgis & Mirgorodsky, the firm Georgis heads with his partner, Ilya Mirgorodsky, focus on upgrading the ground floor.
Over the past two decades, Georgis has completed several projects for the clients and most have been intensive, some requiring years to finish. That deep engagement and the familiarity that comes with it was a major asset in this case. “There’s a shorthand when you’ve been working together for so long,” says Georgis, explaining that his directive was, essentially, “You know what to do—just do it.”
A John Procario light sculpture twists above a custom white oak dining table with a laminated woven-paper top by Georgis & Mirgorodsky and a suite of Warren Platner chairs from Knoll. The text painting is by Deborah Kass, lamps by Jean Arriau top a François Corbeau bronze cabinet from Twenty First Gallery, and the rug is by Patterson Flynn.
Photo: Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
The kitchen is outfitted with white oak cabinetry, Lapitec from ABC Stone countertops, and Waterstone sink fixtures.
Photo: Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
Georgis definitely knows how to make an impression, and he didn’t waste any time here. Just beyond the front door, a shallow entryway opens into a sprawling living room that is arrayed with a rhythmic composition of distinctive vintage and custom furnishings that seem to float across an expanse of carpet in radiant blues. “It’s kind of a nod to David Hockney’s paintings of swimming pools,” says Georgis, who worked in tandem with Mirgorodsky and Carly Frey, one of the firm’s interior designers, on the project.
Curvy, organic shapes and plush fabrics abound, from Pierre Paulin foam club chairs covered in daffodil-yellow alpaca to Giovanni Travasa rattan seats from the 1960s upholstered in furry, off-white shearling. Elegant brass, wood, and leather details enliven a variety of tables, highlighted by Jean Arriau nesting tables topped with lapis stone and one of Marcin Rusak’s poetic tables inset with flowers encased in milky resin.
The painting Double Double Yentl (My Elvis) by Deborah Kass presides over the living room of a Miami Beach home renovated by William T. Georgis, whose firm, Georgis & Mirgorodsky, designed the blue alpaca sofa, the wenge end table topped by a Roberto Giulio Rida lamp, and the custom rug by ALT for Living; the yellow Pierre Paulin chair is from Ralph Pucci. In the breakfast area beyond, a midcentury Barovier & Toso chandelier hangs above an Emmanuel Babled table and Eero Saarinen chairs, and the curtains are made of Holly Hunt fabrics.
Photo: Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
But the living room’s indisputable star and visual anchor is the Double Double Yentl (My Elvis) byDeborah Kass. In this ingenious send-up of Andy Warhol’s Pop Art classic, the artist replaces Elvis with Barbra Streisand posing as a young male Talmudic scholar in the 1983 movie Yentl. “I just love Deb Kass’s chutzpah,” says Georgis of the work, which presides over one end of the space. “The idea of Barbra Streisand and Yentl in Miami with a kind of tropical Latin backbeat makes me very happy.”
The clients have a notable collection of feminist art, and Kass’s work, which often lampoons the white-male-dominated version of art history, plays a defining role throughout the house. In the dining room, one of her text paintings features a quote by artist Louise Bourgeois—“A woman has no place as an artist unless she proves over and over again she won’t be eliminated”—in a spiral of multihued lettering. The work adds a playful spikiness to the space, where Georgis designed the table with an exquisite top of woven handmade paper between layers of glass, surrounding it with classic modern Warren Platner wire chairs and installing a twisting John Procario Freeform light sculpture above.
A playful artwork by Borna Sammak is mounted atop a Phillip Jeffries raffia wall covering in the family room, where Georgis & Mirgorodsky designed the alpaca-clad swivel chairs that rest on a Pierre Frey rug; the furniture on the terrace is by RH.
Photo: Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
Georgis did his most significant architectural work in the reconfigured kitchen, installing bespoke cabinets, some with laminated woven-fabric fronts, and Lapitec counters in pure white. He also created a chic breakfast area, where a leafy midcentury Barovier & Toso chandelier cascades down over a groovy Emmanuel Babled table and Eero Saarinen Tulip chairs.
“The style is brassy and brash, very Miami. It seems real, like it belongs there”
William T. Georgis
The home’s main hangout spaces include a family room outfitted with a comfy, TV-watching sofa by Todd Merrill Studio and generously scaled, alpaca-clad loungers that swivel. An organically shaped Hugo França cocktail table sculpted from the trunk of a Brazilian pequi tree and a rug with a tropical-green coffee bean pattern help the room feel “very Caracas, Havana, Miami,” says Georgis.
Panels of bronze-toned mirror line the game room area, which features a 1950s Stilnovo chandelier over a bamboo-wrapped bar with seating by Astele. The painting Enough Already by Deborah Kass hangs next to an Andrianna Shamaris reclaimed-teak table and Bonacina chairs.
Photo: Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
There’s also an exuberantly stylish game room, highlighted by a custom carpet whose swirling fantasia of colorful biomorphic patterns was inspired by the gardens of the late Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. As it was intended as a space for the whole family, Georgis designed kid-friendly elements such as a pair of panda lounge chairs in cushy shearling of dark brown and taupe. For the grown-ups, he created a glamorous corner drinks area, all trimmed in bronze and lined with crackled bronze-colored mirror, while a 1950s Stilnovo Sputnik chandelier radiates above a freestanding bamboo-wrapped bar. “The style is brassy and brash, very Miami,” says Georgis. “It seems real, like it belongs there.”
Deborah Kass makes an appearance here, too, with a text painting that spells out “enough already” in candy-colored script. You might say the canvas also resonates with the project’s relatively modest scope. Georgis had only the ground floor to work with, but in terms of making a rollicking yet refined design statement, it was, well, more than enough.
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Fall Issue under the headline “Double Time.” Subscribe to the magazine.
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William T. Georgis Transforms a Waterfront Manse Using Collectible Design and Exuberant Art
The painting Double Double Yentl (My Elvis) by Deborah Kass presides over the living room of a Miami Beach home renovated by William T. Georgis, whose firm, Georgis & Mirgorodsky, designed the blue alpaca sofa, the wenge end table topped by a Roberto Giulio Rida lamp, and the custom rug by ALT for Living; the yellow Pierre Paulin chair is from Ralph Pucci. In the breakfast area beyond, a midcentury Barovier & Toso chandelier hangs above an Emmanuel Babled table and Eero Saarinen chairs, and the curtains are made of Holly Hunt fabrics.
Photograph by Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
With a practice that spans disciplines, Deborah Kass creates probing canvases that bring the womenu2019s movement into focus. u201cHer work is smart, itu2019s got chutzpah, and itu2019s beautiful,u201d remarks Georgis. Among her most influential series is u201cThe Warhol Project,u201d from the 1990s, which was a response to Andy Warholu2019s iconic depictions of celebrities and includes Blue Deb, a vivid self-portrait designed to look like the artistu2019s rendering of Elizabeth Taylor.
Photograph by COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
A Barovier & Toso chandelier shimmers above an Emmanuel Babled table paired with Eero Saarinen Tulip chairs in a Miami home designed by Georgis & Mirgorodsky.
Photograph by Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
French artisan Emmanuel Babled conceived the homeu2019s shapely breakfast table, which features a top with petal shapes in alternating blue and white hues. u201cHis furniture is about materiality,u201d reflects Georgis. u201cItu2019s a modern take on the culturally rooted French craft of glazing lava. Itu2019s joyous, celebratory, and happy.u201d
Photograph by CARLO LAVATORI
Paintings by Nigel Cooke (left) and Derrick Adams animate a living room seating area anchored by a Georgis & Mirgorodsky sofa with integrated end tables that host crumpled-paper lamps by Bradley Bowers from The Future Perfect. Rounding out the group are a Marcin Rusak cocktail table from Twenty First Gallery and a pair of 1960s Giovanni Travasa rattan armchairs for Bonacina, acquired from Donzella, which also provided the Lorin Silverman chandelier.
Photograph by Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
Georgis tapped acclaimed Polish artisan Marcin Rusak to make the living roomu2019s circular cocktail table, with its sea of botanicals suspended in milky-hued resin. u201cIt reminds me of a Pre-Raphaelite artwork of a drowned Ophelia,u201d he says. u201cThereu2019s a weird Victorian quality that pressed flowers have when theyu2019re underwater. Theyu2019re almost aqueous, so including it in subtropical Miami, where everything is degrading, made sense.u201d
Photograph by Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
A John Procario light sculpture twists above a custom white oak dining table with a laminated woven-paper top by Georgis & Mirgorodsky and a suite of Warren Platner chairs from Knoll. The text painting is by Deborah Kass, lamps by Jean Arriau top a Franu00e7ois Corbeau bronze cabinet from Twenty First Gallery, and the rug is by Patterson Flynn.
Photograph by Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
For a Miami Beach residence by William T. Georgis, designers John Procario and Alex Roskin used wood to form a bespoke hanging light sculpture. u201cI see it as a Mu00f6bius strip, which has a type of figure eight shape,u201d explains Georgis. The pairu2019s oeuvre includes this curvilinear floor lamp. u201cI also like that in a rectilinear room with more geometric furnishings, it provides a bit of freedom, like a line drawing in space.u201d
Photograph by Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio
The kitchen is outfitted with white oak cabinetry, Lapitec from ABC Stone countertops, and Waterstone sink fixtures.
Photograph by Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
A playful artwork by Borna Sammak is mounted atop a Phillip Jeffries raffia wall covering in the family room, where Georgis & Mirgorodsky designed the alpaca-clad swivel chairs that rest on a Pierre Frey rug; the furniture on the terrace is by RH.
Photograph by Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
To create his visually arresting canvases, artist Borna Sammak uses a process that involves repurposing motifs meant for everyday items such as T-shirts and beach towels. u201cHis pieces have a graphic, punchy quality to them,u201d says Georgis, who installed two of them in the home. The one shown here, Camo Cargo Pocket (2016), references the camouflage-patterned shorts that Sammak has worn since adolescence.
Photograph by Courtesy of the artist and Sadie Coles HQ, London
Panels of bronze-toned mirror line the game room area, which features a 1950s Stilnovo chandelier over a bamboo-wrapped bar with seating by Astele. The painting Enough Already by Deborah Kass hangs next to an Andrianna Shamaris reclaimed-teak table and Bonacina chairs.
Photograph by Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
u201cFunctionally, the program in the game room is multipurpose,u201d says Georgis. u201cItu2019s where everybody can come together in a Latin way.u201d Setting the tone is a splashy Tai Ping rug inspired by lush gardens designed by Roberto Burle Marx as well as a spliced bamboo wall covering by Astek. Echoing the rugu2019s swooping shapes and bold colors is a large text-based painting on the wall by Deborah Kass, Enough Already (2009).
Photograph by Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
A poetic sitting area features a custom mirror by Roman sculptor Giuseppe Ducrot, who recently devised the Baroque window surrounds for the fau00e7ade of Christian Louboutinu2019s Portugal hotel, Vermelho. The striking mirror frame is paired with a chic rattan Siesta lounge chair that design maestro Mattia Bonetti made for Bonacina.
Photograph by Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
u201cItu2019s like a woman in jewels,u201d says Georgis of the elegant pendant fashioned by Brooklyn designer Dominick Leuci, who founded his studio in 2016. Inspired by leafy sea dragons, Leuci inflates stainless-steel forms and integrates them with LED lighting to conjure one-of-a-kind sculptures that emit theatricality and glamour.
Photograph by Richard Powers; Styled by Anita Sarsidi
