“Frankly, it was the magic of discovering a forgotten beauty that turned us on,” Brown says. “Of course, the unparalleled view across Biscayne Bay of downtown Miami was a big draw too,” Davis adds. The design duo — who created the interiors of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s residences in Wash¬ng¬on, D.C., and Chappaqua, NY — have completed so many projects in Miami and Palm Beach, that they decided to make this their full-time residence.

“This house is all about maintaining its historical integrity,” Brown says. To begin, the designers updated the exterior with a bright white coat of paint and a decorative railing that enhances the curved lines of the structure.
Establishing a sense of place also played a key role in the interior, where Brown and Davis kept many of the home’s original architectural elements intact.