A beachfront condo can offer the best of both worlds: panoramic views and polished living without the maintenance of a standalone home. But when it becomes dated, reworking it requires a precise hand.
When the owners of this 6,000-plus-square-foot Le Rivage condominium reached out to interior designer Carrie Brigham about renovating the space they’d called home for 20 years, they asked her to simplify and rework it so it could comfortably host their children and grandchildren—up to 17 people at once.
Perched as one of two units on the eighth floor, the space presented challenges. The original floor plan was choppy and disconnected, with a closed-off den blocking water views and a kitchen that opened only partially to one side of the living area.
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Photography by Venjhamin Reyes
carrie brigham park shore condo generational design living room
The new grand salon (top photo) gathers family in curved seating, upholstered in cornflower-blue fabric from Kravet. Designer Carrie Brigham opened the kitchen, adding multiple access points. In the dining room, a bespoke Hellman-Chang table sits beneath an Ochre pendant.
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Photography by Venjhamin Reyes
carrie brigham park shore condo generational design kitchen
Carrie eliminated the den, reimagined the kitchen footprint and reshaped the interior into what she calls a “grand salon”—a great room layout unlike any other unit in the building. “We opened up the condo to allow for entertaining large groups,” she says. The renovation also enclosed a southern balcony and clarified circulation between rooms.
The home now contains three distinct zones within one continuous plan. An east-facing living room, painted soft blue beneath a slat-wood ceiling, serves as the couple’s morning space—close to the kitchen and suited to quieter moments. Opposite it, a west-facing sitting area finished in soft white with blue accents accommodates larger family gatherings. Curved sofas in the grand salon follow the curves of the architecture and stand in front of a wall of windows overlooking the Gulf. “It’s like a hug,” Carrie says of the sofa, which draws conversation inward and tempers the scale of the room. Century Furniture pieces, upholstered in cornflower blue fabric from Kravet, sit beneath a John Pomp Tidal chandelier with hand-cast iridescent shades, balancing sculptural presence with practicality.
Durability was nonnegotiable. Performance fabrics, including Crypton, appear throughout. “We’ve become connoisseurs of performance living because all of our clients have grandchildren,” Carrie says. Upholstery is engineered to withstand sunscreen, sand, juice and crayons—finished with protective coatings she compares to ceramic coating for a car.
Photography by Venjhamin Reyes
carrie brigham park shore condo generational design dining
A range of blues—from cornflower to periwinkle—threads through living spaces, millwork and textiles. The continuity sharpens the contrast with light marble-look floors, warm cabinetry and the ocean beyond.
For the floors, 50-by-50-inch porcelain tiles that mimic Calacatta Gold marble replace dated travertine. “The condo felt dark before—now it’s completely illuminated, starting with the floor,” she says. The white, veined surface flows throughout the main living areas, while bleached white oak from Unique Wood Floor Co. adds warmth to the bedrooms.
In the kitchen, Carrie removed walls and opened the space so it functions from both living rooms. White oak cabinetry by New Style Cabinets conceals all appliances except the ovens, reading more as architectural paneling than traditional cabinetry. One constraint remained: a gas line that could not be relocated under building policy. Carrie simply wrapped it in a four-sided mirrored column, reducing it to reflection.
Photography by Venjhamin Reyes
carrie brigham park shore condo generational design bathroom
Floral-patterned wallpaper wraps the primary bath, where a freestanding tub sits atop Calacatta Gold-look porcelain flooring. In the bunk room, built-in full-over-full bunks maximize sleeping space for the couple’s eight grandchildren.
At the center of the dining space sits a bespoke Hellman-Chang white oak table that extends up to 13 feet. A 78-inch linear pendant by Ochre stretches along the ceiling above, where a slat-wood finish provides acoustic control and warmth, tempering the cool porcelain below.
Perhaps the unit’s most useful space is the bunk room. The room is designed to sleep eight grandchildren in full-over-full configurations, underscoring the scale of family gatherings. Other bedrooms throughout the unit feature boutique wallpapers Carrie sourced at design events, while the primary suite is wrapped in Phillip Jeffries linen.
Throughout the interior, lighting functions as art. Fixtures from John Pomp, Ochre and Palecek punctuate sightlines, and Urban Electric sconces flank a reeded white oak vanity in the powder bath. “This is a generational home they’ll pass on to their children,” Carrie says. The design supports that intention—open, durable and set for a house full of people.
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Photography by Venjhamin Reyes
carrie brigham park shore condo generational design bunkroom
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Photography by Venjhamin Reyes
carrie brigham park shore condo generational design bedroom
Blue appears throughout the condo—both a nod to the homeowner’s favorite color and a natural companion to the Gulf views from the condo’s eighth-floor perch.
Builder: Kaufmann Homes
Interior Design: Carrie Brigham Design
Photography: Venjhamin Reyes