The Brief for This Palm Beach Home Included “Secret Doors and Magic Wands”
Monique Gibson expands a daughter’s bedroom wish list into a vibrant, oceanfront home defined by murals, hidden doors, and a playful approach to family living.
BY DAVID FOXLEY PHOTOGRAPHY BY WILLIAM ABRANOWICZ STYLED BY COLIN KING
An interior stair hall leading to the family’s private wing is clad in doors painted Polished Slate and walls painted Scenic Drive by Benjamin Moore, and lit by an egg pendant by Paavo Tynell for Taito from VN Vintage & Modern. A 19th-century armchair by Pauly et Cie from Maison Gerard pulls up to a circa-1890 center table by Osvaldo Borsani from Bernd Goeckler. The custom railing, designed by Ferguson & Shamamian Architects, was fabricated by JC Iron Ornamental Works; the painting 100 Years Is Not Enough is by Nir Hood from Michael Kohn Gallery.
William Abranowicz
Monique Gibson knew this Palm Beach project would be unusual when an early request called simply for “magic” in the daughter’s bedroom. “So I asked her and these two esteemed architects to come to her room,” recalls the AD100 designer, who collaborated with Thomas McManus and Jason Bibens of AD100 firm Ferguson & Shamamian Architects. “We sat on the floor and discussed very serious matters—secret doors and magic wands.” The enchanted brainstorming session produced a showpiece: a cabinet where the doors glide open with the wave of a bejeweled baton. Gibson notes that even the “broad-shouldered builder with the voice of a subwoofer,” from Mouw Associates, became as invested in the sparkle of the wand as he was in the home’s septic system.
In this lively oceanfront Palm Beach retreat, whimsy radiates outward from that bedroom—its murals of cats in costume echo the playful tone throughout the house. Gibson worked with McManus and Bibens—who had previously overseen improvements to the circa-1950s Maurice Fatio–style residence for its former owners—to reorient the layout around the needs of its new, young family. A formal dining room was recast as a family room; a former guesthouse became a gym; the grand living room, once scaled for large parties, evolved into a more intimate living-dining space. The kitchen was split in two: a compact everyday hub for the family and a concealed professional kitchen for their chef. They also redirected furniture plans toward the ocean, an intentional shift in outlook. “It’s a symbolic gesture of a new, youthful spirit entering the design of the project,” McManus explains. “And it went from there.”
In the family room—formerly the formal dining room—the walls and ceiling are covered in murals hand-painted by Humberto Ramirez. Beneath lily pad chandeliers by Laura Gonzalez from the Invisible Collection, a custom sofa by Jouffre Atelier in a Pierre Frey textile and vintage armchairs by Gio Ponti from Karl Kemp surround a circa-1970 tile coffee table from Eric Appel. In the distance, a console by Gio Ponti from Donzella stands beside a stool by Ayala Serfaty from Maison Gerard.
William Abranowicz
The clients first contacted Gibson nearly a decade ago after admiring her work on Meg Ryan’s SoHo loft in the pages of AD—and have since tapped her for five other homes. During that time, she’s watched their aesthetic loosen and brighten. “They began shedding their winter coats—and their love of gray,” she says. “They decided to celebrate color and fun.” In the great room, Gibson took cues from a rug Christian Bérard created for Nelson Rockefeller’s Fifth Avenue apartment, amplifying its gestural floral pattern in a custom carpet and then carrying the motif up the walls. Even in this serene evening retreat—where the couple often dine or read after the children are asleep—the room brims with playful details: sculptural Italian furnishings, French bronzework, and Mattia Bonetti’s famously cheeky “buttocks” dining chairs. At the center, a coffee table by Patrice Dangel that Gibson describes as having “the weight of a whisper—a poem under cups and candlesticks,” grounds the room in exquisite craftsmanship.
In the receiving room—its palette inspired by the sunset over the ocean—custom millwork paneling by Ferguson & Shamamian Architects, fabricated by Demarsico Custom Trim, joins upholstered wall panels by Laufersweiler, Inc., which also produced the drapery in a Dedar wool-sateen. An easel floor lamp by Angelo Lelii from Donzella illuminates Rodolfo Abularach’s painting Elena from Joe Sheftel Art & Advising. The console, beneath a mirror by Fratelli Marelli from Donzella, is by Osvaldo Borsani from Donzella.
William Abranowicz. ART: © Estate of Rodolfo Abularach, Courtesy of David Nolan Gallery, New York, and Marc Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles.
The family’s everyday kitchen—complementing a larger one used by their chef—features a floor designed by Ferguson & Shamamian Architects in stone from Banda Stone, also used for the countertop and backsplash. Walls, trim, and ceiling are painted Burlap by Benjamin Moore, while the custom millwork is by Sculptured Woodworks. Hardware is by Nanz; plumbing fixtures are by Franke (sink) and Grohe(faucet). A vintage chandelier by Paavo Tynell from MDRN hangs above counter stools by Pierre Yovanovitch; vintage sconces are from H. Gallery. Decorative dishes with whimsical motifs are by Makoto Kagoshima from Messums.
William Abranowicz
Beside the rosy-toned family kitchen and breakfast area, the family room—where the couple and their two children gather each night—posed a challenge. “The client said he wanted to be surprised every time he walked in,” Gibson recalls. Her solution was to enlist artist Humberto Ramirez who, she says, “paints like he’s just waking up from a dream with a grin on his face.” With input from the children, Ramirez transformed the walls into a fantastical landscape: a dancing iguana beside a mirrored table by Gio Ponti, a monkey riding a stately deer, baby sharks drifting overhead. A mischievous cat—borrowed from the daughter’s bedroom mural—appears in one corner, at one point clutching a pink ball that later vanishes back into her room, prompting the daughter to demand answers. Ramirez’s reply, relayed by Gibson, was simple: “Delight should be a family affair.”
Looking back, the project’s collaborators recall the experience with a mix of affection and admiration. The clients’ enthusiasm proved contagious, says Bibens, creating “an environment people were excited to be part of—a dynamic project that kept everyone on their toes.” Gibson echoes the sentiment, invoking the philosophy of legendary decorator Jacques Grange, who believes a home resembles its owner more than any portrait ever could. For her, the lesson was clear. “I’m Southern—I tell stories, practical and poetic,” she says. “I do my job when I tell their story.” She pauses, then adds with a smile, “And the abundance of joy with which these people live is beautiful.”
A view through the family kitchen to the breakfast room reveals a wall covering, “Nosy Be” by Elitis, set behind a circa-1940s Italian sideboard from 1stDibs. On top sit a sculptural vase by Veera Kulju from Hostler Burrows and Will Cotton’s painting The Unicorn Dreams of a Showgirl from Joe Sheftel Art & Advising.
William Abranowicz
Another corner of the receiving room features vintage lounge chairs by Eugenio Gerli from Morentz, reupholstered by Jouffre Atelier in a De Le Cuona linen-wool. A lacquered sofa by Jouffre Atelier in a Pierre Frey textile is flanked by vintage table lamps by Tommi Parzinger from Nilufar, beneath artworks by Hiroshi Asada from Robert Miller Gallery. The coffee table by Vincenzo de Cotiis from Carpenters Workshop Gallery rests on a rug from Beauvais Carpets.
William Abranowicz
The breakfast table and chairs by Afra & Tobia Scarpa are from Nilufar and Side Gallery, respectively. Above hangs a circa-1970s Murano chandelier from Bernd Goeckler. The vintage bowl by Axel Salto for Royal Copenhagen is from Freeforms.
William Abranowicz
In the primary bedroom, with walls painted Ipanema by Benjamin Moore, a custom bed faces vintage armchairs by Maurice Jallot from Bernd Goeckler, a coffee table by Mario Gottardi from Donzella, a lamp by Paavo Tynell from The Gallery at 200 Lex, and a circa-1950 Swedish floor lamp from Hostler Burrows. Custom drapery by Laufersweiler, Inc. wears a Rogers & Goffigon linen. Beneath a chandelier by Hans Bergström from Bloomberry, André Lhote’s Femme Nu en Buste hangs above a circa-1950s Italian wall console from Karl Kemp.
In the bar, custom metalwork manufactured by BluBlk and millwork fabricated by Sculptured Woodworkswere designed by Ferguson & Shamamian Architects. Cabinet pulls are by Nanz; the stone countertop and wall are from Banda Stone; plumbing fixtures are by Waterworks.
William Abranowicz