South Floridians are well traveled, and they’re asking designers to decorate in a style reflecting the best furnishings they’ve seen on their travels around the globe. Some take a literal interpretation. Others drop in accents of their favorite destinations.

The trend in South Florida may be lean and contemporary, but Eloise Kubli still sees a demand for formal and elegant French design - such as a home she designed for a couple on the Intracoastal in Boca Raton.

“My clients came to me with an incredible Lalique table,” Kubli says. “The Cactus table is usually seen only in museums or with rare clients because it is a very expensive piece.”

When someone walks into the home, the table is the focal point of the foyer. Its elegance and formality were echoed with a crystal chandelier that the clients owned. A pair of French chairs with gold leaf and silk brocade, a painting by Spanish impressionist Giner Bueno and an Empire pedestal complete the entry.

“The clients wanted the design to be opulent but in a subdued way,” she says. “They came to me with a lot of porcelain - Meissen and Staffordshire. They had a lovely collection, but they were open minded.”

Kubli transformed an ordinary room into an elegant place to entertain guests with cocktails before dinner. The walls were faux finished, and white trim surrounding the windows were painted to match the custom-designed bar. But the pièce de résistance is the trompe l’oeil painting that was created on canvas and hung like wallpaper. Photos the client had liked inspired artist Bonnie Bleiweiss to create the design. The rug is custom-made by Stark, and the bar stools are silk brocade Scalamandre also used in the Ritz Hotel in Paris.<<<