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"Serenity Found on Biscayne Bay\nGrand Yet Comfortable, a New House in Florida Soothes the Soul\nMario Buatta combined Art D\u00E9co, Regency, French and Italian elements in his sumptuous design for a couple's house on Biscayne Bay.\n\nThe Florida house, by architect Jeffery W. Smith, is pared down. \"I wanted a simplified Mediterranean style,\" says the wife.\nThe entrance hall opens onto a double-height living room that was designed with distinct seating arrangements. Despite its size, says Buatta, the space was created for \"cozy entertaining.\" The gilt Regency console table, rear, is from Newel Art Galleries. Stark carpet.\n\"I told Mario, I want it serene,'\" says the wife. \"He told me, I can do that.'\"\n\nA seating area in the living room. The 1940s root-base table is from Colefax and Fowler Antiques. Chinese garden seat, Kentshire Galleries. Square sofa pillow fabrics, Brunschwig Fils.\n\"It's like dining alfresco year-round,\" the designer says of the dining room, which has trompe l'oeil trellises painted on what Buatta calls a \"cloudy blue\" background. The murals are by artist Haleh Atabeigi. The pair of mirror-topped dining tables are from Niermann Weeks.\nThe pine-paneled room. Brunschwig Fils elephant side table, floral linen and sofa chenille. John Boone sconces. Stark carpet.\nBuatta in the library. Newel Art Galleries chinoiserie bureau-bookcase. Regency bull's-eye mirror, Kentshire Galleries.\n\"Mario has an unbelievable eye for color and patterns,\" says the wife.\n\nThe guest room\u2014which Buatta describes as \"tropical and soothing\"\u2014combines a striped wallcovering and a bold palm-frond-print fabric. John Boone sconces. Patterson, Flynn Martin carpet.\nAlthough the master bedroom has a restricted palette, \"textures make it interesting,\" the wife explains. French doors lead to a terrace. Art D\u00E9co chandelier from Amy Perlin Antiques. Mirrored side table from Julia Gray. H. M. Luther Antiques French mirror.\nEnglish landscape designer Martin Lane Fox created an all\u00E9e with the pool and rows of ficus trees. \"The most important part of any garden is the color green,\" he says. \"It takes a while to find good greens. I'm against yellow or red variegated plants, but I love silver or white.\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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