Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann, Jean-Michel Frank, André Arbus — these and other renowned designers from the Art Deco period reincarnate in Jaime Perczek and Jose F. Riano’s design of a Miami apartment. And like the designers of this era, Perczek, owner of Today’s Custom Design, Inc. in Dania Beach, Fla., and Riano, his associate, incorporated an array of exotic woods and finishes into the interior’s backgrounds, as well as in their custom-designed furniture creations.
“On the walls, we used stained lacewood and anigre, natural sycamore, and dyed goatskins,” Perzcek says.
When the owners retained the duo, they wanted a different look than in any of their other homes. Bringing a significant contemporary art collection to the project, they asked Perczek and Riano to transform the apartment’s raw space into a Deco-inspired sanctuary that would complement their paintings and sculptures.
In keeping with the motif, the owners purchased several authentic Deco sconces, chandeliers and table lamps from Artisan Antiques Art Deco in Miami to place throughout the interior. Although
Upon entering the apartment, the eye is drawn to a table that fulfills a twofold purpose: It serves as a center table in the foyer, and acts as a sofa table in the living room. “This piece is a sculpture in itself,” Perczek says. “Its sapele-wood base, satinwood arms and carved-acrylic top brings to mind a person with outstretched arms holding the top.”
In the living room, caramel leather sofas from Casa Nova, an Italian line available through Perczek’s showroom, anchor the conversation grouping. “They are covered with a special waxed leather

that retains the shape of the sofas,” Perczek says. “With use, the leather shows its quality and takes on its own patina.”
Completing the seating is a custom-designed sofa upholstered in cognac-colored chenille, which backs the sofa/center table. Two identical satinwood cocktail tables with stainless-steel accents provide the finishing touch.
When designing the hallway, Riano looked to French architect Paul Dupré-Lafon as his muse. “The panels and architecture borrow from his work, which was heavily influenced by Art Deco,” Riano says.
the couple opted for authentic lighting, they decided to go with custom-designed furniture instead of original or reproduction Deco pieces.
“They were afraid the place would look too much like an antique shop,” Riano explains. “So, they asked for pieces with strong contemporary character and clean lines that captured the spirit of Art Deco design.”
Columns clad in high-gloss fiddleback anigre jut out from anigre-covered walls, creating a series of niches to display works by Nicolae Maniu, Mauro Corda, Jamali and Corneille.
Perczek and Riano pay homage to Ruhlmann and Frank in the dining room, where they designed the table, chairs and buffet. Comprising flormorado veneers, natural goatskins and sycamore inlays, the circular table gleams beneath a glowing chandelier. Goatskin and flormorado also come together in the chairs. Modeled after the table’s design, the buffet features a glass top that floats on silver spheres.
In the master bedroom, the designers introduced another exotic wood — stained mowingue from Africa — which they used to fashion the curved headboard and bedside chests. “Ruhlmann’s work also inspired the bed and attached bedside chests,” Perzcek says. “It looks like an ensemble.”
A stained sycamore vanity pairs with a mirror inset into one of the walls in the master bedroom. Carved glass frames the mirror.
Following in the footsteps of the masters who have come before them, Perczek and Riano designed a stunning apartment that recalls the glamour of Art Deco.