Madysun Causier 12/6/23 Madysun Causier 12/6/23

Palm Beach Illustrated

Interior Designers Share Their Highlight Reels

OCTOBER 2023

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By Marlowe Dunn Flom

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Contemporary Glamour

Sophisticated modernity and Palm Beach opulence come together in this dining room by Angela Reynolds of Angela Reynolds Designs in collaboration with Smith Architectural Group and Davis General Contracting. Classic architecture gets a contemporary edge with black fluted, low-sheen lacquer columns at each corner. The custom dining table featuring silver-leaf banding can be separated and arranged to suit the homeowner’s intentions. The showstopper in the room is a pair of chandeliers by innovative lighting designer John Pomp. Pomp’s sculptural creations are made with handblown glass clusters, each adorned with around 200 threads of molten glass. Reynolds says the fixtures “effortlessly balance functionality and elegance, illuminating the space with their radiant presence while preserving the captivating vista of the ocean beyond.”

BOCA Magazine

Florida Style & Design: Just Add Water

August 2023

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By Christie Galeano-DeMott

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Coastal Contemporary

In a collaborative effort, designer Angela Reynolds worked with the home’s development team to create a harmonious space (above) inspired by the ocean’s beauty that also complemented its modern transitional style. The home’s sleek columns, clad in sterling limestone, add to the exterior’s soft grey and white palette of understated elegance. The pool cabana, which echoes the home’s architecture, also enhances the space’s functionality with an air-conditioned retreat allowing the owners to continue soaking up the sprawling views. Reynolds’ favorite aspect of this Highland Beach backyard is the lower firepit space that provides an intimate, comfortable setting serenaded by the relaxing sound of the pool’s cascading waterfall.

Architect: Smith Architectural Group/Contractor: Davis General Contracting/Landscape Architect: Nievera Williams Design

Better Homes & Gardens

How to Decorate with Iconic Palm Beach Style

MAY 2023

You don’t have to live in Florida to appreciate Palm Beach style, with
its citrus colors and bold patterns. Here’s how to capture the tropical
style in your home.

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By Colleen Sullivan

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The coastal town of Palm Beach, Florida, is famous for its sunny weather and high-priced real estate. But it’s also renowned for a legendary fashion style that started in the 1960s when designer Lily Pulitzer’s sleeveless cotton dresses ignited a Palm Beach fashion craze.

Be Creative with Color

Although Palm Beach style is known for its use of tropical colors like turquoise, lime green, and lemon yellow, there are softer shades—like pale pink, blue-gray, sand, and ivory—that allow homeowners to stay true to the aesthetic. “I prefer to lean into softer and more neutral tones—subtle variations of traditional Palm Beach colors that inspire a calming and serene atmosphere,” says Angela Reynolds, owner and lead designer at Angela Reynolds Designs. “Colors like blush pink, sandy taupe, sage green, and a cool-toned sky blue.”

Include Quintessential Motifs

From palm fronds to pineapples, flamingos to conch shells, nature-inspired motifs all contribute Palm Beach charm. “These motifs add a touch of whimsy and personality to a space but can seem cliché or kitschy if overused. It’s important to apply them in a sophisticated, subtle, and unexpected way,” says Reynolds. "For example, I've worked with Christa’s South Seashells to create beautiful custom consoles adorned with shells that feel fresh and modern and often use oversized clam shells filled with orchids, greenery, and protea flowers. I’ll even purchase live pineapple plants (often from Home Depot) as a green accessory.”

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Jamie Wilkinson 4/6/22 Jamie Wilkinson 4/6/22

The New York Times

Want to Play Golf? Step Inside

April 2022

Fans have decamped from their hallways, opting instead to build stand-alone homes where they can practice putting and driving in any weather.

The stand-alone golf simulator room at Celine Dion’s former residence on Jupiter Island, Fla.
*Alexandre Parent/Studio Point de Vue*

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By Mark Ellwood

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Such projects are commonplace at real estate’s highest end, according to Angela Reynolds, an interior designer who is based in the golf-heavy town of Jupiter, Fla. She specializes in large projects for multimillion-dollar homes that take several years to finish.

The first such stand-alone golfing house Ms. Reynolds created was for Celine Dion’s estate, later sold, on Jupiter Island, which included a 13-bedroom, 11,000-square-foot house. The golf house was centered around a simulator but its aesthetic determinedly resisted country club chic. “We did this black epoxy floor, almost like a nightclub,” Ms. Reynolds recalled by phone. “You’re no longer talking about going to a man cave in the garage. This is next level.”

Clients might spend up to $1 million on such golf houses, Ms. Reynolds said, adding physical greens around their simulators from companies like Full Swing or PuttView. These playing mats shift and change their slope and undulation as needed, able to mimic various putting contours. “These amazing rooms where you can invite people over for a cocktail are the ultimate status symbol on the golf course,” she said. “Most people are doing these as a place for socialization, perhaps to go to after a dinner party, hang out and play a round. That’s the key element: you’re not going in alone, like getting on a Peloton.”

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Jamie Wilkinson 12/8/21 Jamie Wilkinson 12/8/21

Authority Magazine

5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy

Angela Reynolds: 5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living
Space Spark More Joy

June 2021

Sparking Joy

My interiors tend to be very inviting, subdued, and calm, unless a client specifically requests something different. I don’t want the occupants and visitors to feel like everything is going to break. It’s so nice when you walk into a home and there’s a really deep comfortable sofa that you want to take your shoes off and put your feet on and relax in.

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As part of my series on the “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Angela Reynolds.

Angela Reynolds is an interior designer to the stars. She owns Angela Reynolds Designs in Jupiter, Fla. and has designed residences for Celine Dion, Elin Nordegren, Kid Rock, professional golfers, CEO’s, and a wealth of other clients. Her designs have been published in People Magazine, Florida Design, House Beautiful, Traditional Home, LA Times, and Palm Beach Illustrated and seen on The Oprah Winfrey Show, HGTV, and Today.

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Thank you so much for joining us in this series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I attended the American University where I received a B.A. in Art History. While living in DC, a mentor spotted my talent and urged me to attend the prestigious Inchbald School of Interior Design in London. Without hesitation, I moved across the pond to complete their intensive interior design program. I share my alumni status with design legends such as Nina Campbell, David Hicks, Kelly Hoppen, and Zaha Hadid.

The New King’s Road in London was the site of my early foray into interior design where I opened a decorative antique shop and worked on my first design projects. In the height of London’s development scene in the 90’s, I worked closely with leading property developers such as Taylor Woodrow, St. George, and Berkeley Homes to help design a variety of unique spaces. Together, we created entrance lobbies, common areas, model flats, and lofts. Through these experiences, I gained expert knowledge in the field of both commercial and residential design.

Eventually, I made my way back stateside to Jupiter, Florida where I started Angela Reynolds Designs in 2007. I have worked with year-round residents, seasonal visitors, celebrities, and PGA Tour golfers on homes from Shanghai to London and Palm Beach to Jackson Hole.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

After setting up my company in Florida, my first client was Celine Dion! It’s a pretty unbelievable story. I set up my company in only three weeks. When I make up my mind that I want to do something, I do it. My realtor friend and I went to lunch and she invited me to a broker’s open in the Bear’s Club, a very high-end private gated community where all the homes are at least 10,000 sq. ft. Most are larger than that. At the broker’s open, I met the developer of an 18,000 sq. ft. home and I gave him my little pitch about where I went to school, my work history, and that I just started my own business. he thought I might be perfect for his client, none other than Celine Dion, because she specifically wanted to hire someone local who could work for her full-time rather than hiring a firm. Since I had just set up my company, I didn’t have many projects going on. I met with the Celine’s rep and within a week later, I was employed by her and I was flying to meet with the architect in San Francisco. There was an architect in Palm Beach County and an architect in San Francisco. Within five short weeks, I set up my company, went to the broker’s opening, and had a job. There must be a higher power out there making things happen. It was divine intervention. The stars were aligned and I needed that job. I needed to go back to work to support my family at that time in my life. I was going through a divorce and my ex-husband was out of work. I had one and three year old children who were relying on me. Celine’s house is the biggest project I’ve ever done. I had a can-do attitude and I figured it out. I had to design something like 20-something bathrooms. It was an insane amount of bathrooms. In the beginning, I didn’t interact directly with Celine because she was on a world tour. For the first year, she never came. If she did, it was really quick and we’d set up design boards in a room. This is in the days before Pinterest. Pinterest is an amazing invention in my opinion. Before Pinterest existed, everybody would buy like 20 magazines and they’d rip pages out of things that they liked and they’d they’d put them in a binder. I had three binders of all the things Celine picked out that she liked and it was my job to pull it all together. It was a three year project. Towards the end, she interacted with me more. I also did her house and her 4,000 sq. ft. dressing room in Las Vegas, were we had more interaction. She is a private person. I was pretty much her full-time designer for a period of 5 years. For a two and half year period I was flying to Vegas every month.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When I make a mistake, I am definitely NOT laughing. There is nothing funny about it. I am so stressed out. There were two occasions when I designed a sofa that did not fit through the door and we literally had to cut the sofas to get them through the door. All the doorways are so much narrower in London. Even average sized sofas are hard to get into an apartment. What I learned from that scenario is if you want a sectional sofa, you’d have to assemble it inside the apartment. It’s trickier in New York and older cities like London to design furniture that will fit through the door even if it’ll fit in the space inside. They have cranes and hoists. These are usually easy to use in Florida because a lot of condos have balconies with huge sliders. In London, they don’t have that as readily available. We just hired a hoist for a condo we did in Boca Raton. It was only a couple of hundred dollars to hoist a headboard and dining room table top up to the fifth floor. After 25 years of doing this job, I have learned that everything is fixable. Don’t overreact. Don’t lose your sleep over things. I lived so many years in the state of anxiety, worrying about things that could go wrong. When things go wrong, it’s how we handle the situation and navigate and problem solve. If you’re proactive and you’re willing to solve the problem and not create more drama, that’s what the client wants. The client just wants you to handle all problems on their behalf so they don’t have to. We are not brain surgeons. We are not saving lives. By maintaining good relationships with my reps and vendors, I can get problems corrected in a timely fashion. We delivered a custom-made mattress to a client and the bed was as hard as a rock. The client texted me 11:30 p.m. complaining that she couldn’t sleep on this mattress. I told her we’d fix it the next day. First thing in the morning, I got on the phone with the vendor who happened to be local. The owner of the company made and delivered a mattress topper and she was fine with it. Clients see our systems and practices to prevent mistakes. When items come in damaged or a little bit different than expected, it impresses the clients the most when we work as a team on a solution.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

It is important to have a home you feel comfortable in to unwind, recharge, work from, and raise a family in. I help people create that atmosphere. I always gear my designs to the home and the client. No two homes are ever the same. There is an underlying sense of calm in my designs. When we finish the project, all my clients just want to be home to enjoy their space. It becomes sacred to them. Interiors have different types of vibes.

I recently finished a project on Jupiter Island that took me across the pond! This home is the winter residence of a family from Richmond, Virginia.

To source unique furniture, my client and I traveled to England and France to “antique hunt.” We went to the Battersea Decorative Antique Fair in London and throughout the English countryside visiting antique shops. We popped over to Paris to round out the finds with art and accessories. I previously owned an antique shop on London’s Kings Road and had insight to all the best antique dealers throughout London and Paris to source the finest of antiques.

Searching for one of a kind pieces to furnish the home became a pivotal part of the design relationship between us. Often an auction would be happening on a Saturday and I would be at lunch or the beach with my kids while simultaneously multitasking on the phone with the auction house to secure a unique antique, such as the beautiful pair of 19th Century Italian Consoles that now reside in the great room. Auction finds sometimes dictated new design directions and added an element of unexpected opportunity.

The Oushak rug for the great room was the first item we custom designed with Moattar Rugs, based in the Atlanta design center, for the home. It was a 18’ x 30’ rug and took over 1 year to hand make. Most of the rugs on the main floor are Oushak rugs that were custom designed for style, color, and size to fit perfectly with the interior. The great room is a study in understated elegance with limed plaster walls and a custom designed two way opened limestone fireplace from Barbara Tattersfield. Canned back Alfonso Marina dining chairs surround the Dan Parrish dining table. The fireplace bench is upholstered in Fortuny fabric. A Formations square coffee table centers the seating space.

The kitchen is the heart of any home and no detail was spared to create a warm and welcoming space to adjoin the breakfast and family rooms. Creating patina and texture in the space was crucial to balance out the antiques and nod to the traditional while still staying current. This was accomplished using Hartman & Forbes woven shades, Phillip Jeffries grasscloths, and adding a mushroom colored limed plaster accent wall in the breakfast room. A Francois & Co metal hood creates the focal point on the south wall of the kitchen. Buffalo horn hardware, handmade in London, adorn the cabinets. Soapstone countertops with a chiseled edge detail add a punch of dark to the muted pallet.

The master suite is adorned with matte plaster walls and reclaimed antique beams brought in from a Richmond company to compliment the neutral color palette of creams, beiges, and browns. Her master bathroom stone for the flooring and shower walls was perfectly match booked using azule fantastica marble slabs. The glazed paneled walls and touch latch hidden cabinets are adorned with a pair of Fortuny mirrors I found while vacationing in Italy. The steel blue custom ombré carpet for her closet, the oversized antique mirror found in England, and the pair of antique chairs elevate the dressing room.

His master bath inspiration took flight after sourcing a venetian mirror purchased from Tyner Antiques in Atlanta. The “X” pattern of the mirror edge was reflected in the veining of the matchbook panda marble slabs on the shower walls, giving drama and interest to the all white and black bathroom.

The upstairs rooms transitioned into a more contemporary vibe to suit the style of the young adult daughters. The bedroom reflect each daughters’ own individual style and aesthetic. The upstairs laundry was set up as a dual purpose kitchenette for the girls to have coffee in the morning and be more self-contained for entertaining friends away from the downstairs areas. The shared center living space has a more coastal vibe with blues and drift wood finishes to reflect the escape to Florida during the cold winter months.

The guest house was designed to reflect a fresh take on tropical so that guests could get a taste of island living. Sand colored grass cloth walls are accented by dark stained wood trim and beams. A four poster bed is the focal point of the room flanked with dual purpose nightstands/desks and large vases, filled with tropical green leaves. Open shelves contain a collection of objects and souvenirs that highlight memories from travels. The kitchenette included a backsplash of handmade picket shaped tiles. The inspiration for the cabinetry came from the plaster of Santorini Island homes and Balinesian zebra wood. The adjoining closet was lacquered in a bright teal color to give a little pop of life. The bathroom was outfitted with everything guests could need, including a hidden lit mirrored vanity integrated to the countertop. The final wow factor is the walk-in closet, which has a custom mural of plaster palm trees over grass cloth walls.

The client needed to be guided towards this design direction as she initially wanted something more whimsical and typically coastal. I asked her to take a leap of faith and embrace the proposed softer pallet of layered textures. Ultimately, this space became one of the favorites of the whole house. Homeowners and guests alike love the feel of this little tropical oasis.

Outdoor living being a quintessential part of Florida homes, the outdoor spaces were divided by use as more formal and casual hang outs. Formations furniture and a custom designed limestone top dining table flank the more formal great room. A David Sutherland teak sectional is off the family room and where the family can gather to lounge together and watch the TV above the Barbara Tattersfield stone fireplace.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Creativity does not happen in isolation — it is inspired by the world in which we live — and the people with whom we interact.”

Those are my words. I have had that quote on my website for 6–7 years. It has become so relevant because when we had to go on lockdown and everybody was in isolation, my creativity plummeted and it was very hard for me to work. I got kickback when I told everyone to return to the office, but I knew that we couldn’t be creative if we were sitting at home behind our desks not being around people. We have to have dialogue and share things and be like, “What do you think of this?” You can’t do that in isolation. You can’t find inspiration at home. You need to travel and visit restaurants and hotels to see what those designers have done. You are not going to experience those things on a computer screen. You are going to see it, but it’s not the same. You can look online on Pinterest. I do get inspiration from Pinterest, but I feel like you can get so much more inspiration from seeing things in person and touching them.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

When I was in college, I studied art history at American University in Washington, D.C. I worked for Marion Smith, the wife of a diplomat for the British Embassy. When they were stationed in Portugal, she and her husband bought a custom tassel and trimming business, Smith & Brightly Passementerie. She hired me to help her and she worked with the best of the best interior designers on the most expensive projects you can imagine. They’d say the most expensive things you add to your interiors are the layers of details. A drapery could cost an additional $3,000 just by adding trimming to it. I worked for Marion Smith during my junior and senior years. At the end of my senior year, she asked what I was going to do. I told her I always wanted to work in an art gallery. She suggested I should become an interior designer and go to Inchbald School of Interior Design in London. She saw I had a gift for picking colors and matching the proportions of the threads and trimmings. After finishing my undergraduate degree, I worked for a year and then I went to London. Marion Smith had an apartment down the street from my school in London and she always kept tabs on me. She has been instrumental in helping me figure out my career. Had it not been for her, I probably would have just gone to a design school in New York. I think that experience going to London was great. My school was very small. My graduating class had only about 50 students. Of those 50 students, there was always only one of each nationality represented. We had this melting pot of people from around the world who would come to this school and I was influenced by other people’s way of thinking. It was an amazing think tank of creative minds of all these different cultures. It teaches you to be open minded, flexible, and adaptable. In design and art, there is no right or wrong answer. It’s so subjective. You have to be open to different styles.

Thank you for that. Here is the main question of our discussion. What are your “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

I love the word “joy” because it’s on my vision board. When you think of Marie Kondo, you think of joy.

Consciousness- When you are in your space, take a pause. Ask yourself, “Do I like this? Is this giving purpose and value to the interior?” A thought process goes into placing items in a home. Being conscious of what you bring into your environment and its purpose brings peace and happiness. Lay out the furnishings so you can converse with your children after a long day at work and school.

Comfortability- I always select or design dining room chairs that are very comfortable. I have had meetings at my own dining room chairs for 5–6 hours. I want to sit with my daughter after dinner and talk to her for an hour. Those are conscious decisions of what I picked for my house. When you are shopping for your house, make sure you are asking, “Is that dining chair a 30 minute chair or a 4 hour chair?” I want the 4 hour chair. If you go to a restaurant and there is an uncomfortable chair, that is someone’s intention. They don’t want you staying there for a long time. They want you to eat your meal and leave. If you go to a really nice Michelin star restaurant, you are going to find that their chairs are comfortable because they want you to have a long dining experience and want you to stay for three hours.

Beauty on a Budget- You don’t need a ton of money or a designer to make a home beautiful. When I didn’t have a lot of money, I was constantly trying to improve my interior with items from HomeGoods and West Elm. As I began to make more money, I improved and replaced and layered things. Live a beautiful life. Beautiful is not being perfect. Beautiful is not having a perfectly symmetrical face or perfect body. Beautiful is not the most expensive or fanciest thing in the house. Beautiful is kind of like this inward more spiritual approach to living life. I want my clients to live this beautiful life. There is beauty in imperfection. There is beauty in simplicity. There is beauty in expensive. You don’t have to go to Holly Hunt to get the perfect table. You can create a beautiful home on any budget.

Declutter- Is your decor adding clutter? Or, is it adding purpose and value to the interior? Sometimes I go into people’s houses and it’s so cluttered, that I feel like I’d have an anxiety attack living there. I don’t know how they sleep and breath.

Welcoming- My interiors tend to be very inviting, subdued, and calm, unless a client specifically requests something different. I don’t want the occupants and visitors to feel like everything is going to break. It’s so nice when you walk into a home and there’s a really deep comfortable sofa that you want to take your shoes off and put your feet on and relax in. That’s the kind of environment that I want to create for my clients. It brings their families together. If they do have children, it’s not a super fragile museum, unless the client wants it that way. I cater to the client’s needs and desires.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Have dinner parties in your home frequently…and make everyone help you cook. I’m not a good cook, but I love to have a dinner party. I don’t mind setting the table or shopping for it. My friends want to have dinner parties at my house because I have a giant 10 ft by 10 ft island and we all prepare the food together. It makes for a completely different evening than going to a nice restaurant for two hours and then everybody going their separate ways. You bond, you giggle, and it’s informal. As devastating as COVID-19 has been, I think a gift it has provided us with is that more people have been entertaining in their home. Especially in Florida, there are so many people who don’t typically use their kitchens or cook. They eat all or most of their meals at restaurants and country clubs. They rarely have people in their home. But, the home is really where the heart is at. Your home doesn’t have to perfect or the most sophisticated. It can be laid back and casual and people will have a great time. I live in a farmhouse on two acres. I have people by the fire pit and we have a cookout on the grill. It’s simple. It doesn’t have to be catered. You don’t have to hire a chef. Those are the type of things that improve quality of life.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this, especially if we tag them :-)

I’d love to have a private breakfast or lunch with Tony Robbins. I was designing Elin Nordegren’s house ten years ago and he came while it was under construction and looked at it. He was building a house at the time and he interviewed me. I was rebuilding my life after my divorce, so I wasn’t in the best headspace. I look back at myself 10 years ago when I first met Tony and I look at myself today and I view the world so differently. I have grown and evolved as a person. I didn’t get the job decorating his house, which was a let down because I really wanted to do it. I couldn’t showcase my portfolio well because I had just completed Celine’s house, but I couldn’t show anyone because I signed an NDA. I also don’t think I had yet developed the level of communication that he was looking for. I have taken every course by Tony Robbins and I go to one of his events every year. He definitely helps you look at life in a completely different way. It’d be cool to sit with him and tell him how much his messages, life lessons, and programs have impacted my life.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Facebook

Instagram

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational!

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