A Miami pied-à-terre channels Art Deco glamour and endless summer

This is the latest instalment of The Inside Story, Wallpaper’s series spotlighting intriguing, innovative and industry-leading interior design.

While summer may be fading into a distant dream in the UK, in Miami, the sun sticks around year-round. Olga Malyev – co-founder of interior design studio Malyev Schafer and owner of this Miami Beach apartment – has embraced that endless-summer spirit.

Blending midcentury modern design with contemporary accents and a nod to Miami’s Art Deco heritage, Malyev has created a space that’s light, bright and infused with the life-loving levity that defines the city. Every detail seems touched by the optimism of endless sunshine.

The apartment sits in the sought-after South of Fifth neighbourhood, a visual feast where modern architecture intersects with the pastel-toned charm of the 1930s and 1940s. Streamlined facades, rounded corners and porthole windows are all wrapped in a palette of sea foam, blush and sand.

The apartment itself is housed in a boutique mid-rise from the early 2000s which, nonetheless, gestures to Art Deco through details like circular openings and curved forms. When Malyev acquired the space, it had barely been touched since it was built, prompting a full gut renovation. Stripping it down to its shell (preserving only the original windows), she rebuilt the apartment over a year-and-a-half-long process.

The design is a playground of colour and texture. From midnight blues and deep burgundies to soft whites and beiges, the palette shifts between bold and serene. Materials, equally, range from glossy lacquer to richly veined stone, exotic wood, glazed ceramics and patterned mosaics. The primary bedroom is enveloped in a sumptuous blue with a lacquer-like finish – a choice Malyev’s contractor initially questioned, but which ultimately became one of the standout features of the apartment.

The home is also a treasure trove of beautiful, covetable furnishings and art. Among the highlights: a Saarinen Tulip chair and table, an Andy Warhol print in the entry, 1950s Stilnovo wall lamps, an Alex Katz portrait in the living room, and a 1970s Sciolari chandelier in the dining area.

In the primary bedroom, a bed upholstered in camel mohair sits next to a custom dresser inspired by French architect and design Charlotte Perriand, paired with Jacques Moniquet brass sconces and a Brutalist Laurel lamp from the 1970s. The dressing room features Josef Albers-inspired rugs, while the children’s room includes bespoke beds with a checkered Tibor fabric headboard and a vintage Tucroma chair at a custom corner desk. The mood of the apartment shifts throughout the day thanks to a mix of natural light, bespoke lighting and vintage fixtures.

For Malyev and her family, this is a joyful second home – a love letter to Miami. For the rest of us, it’s a masterclass in how design can be both playful and profound.