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Boca Bliss

Art, Architecture And Livability Make This our 2026 Home Of The Year Winner

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Features

When designer Nikki Levy, founder and creative director of Nikki Levy Interiors, was called upon to create a new home for Boca Raton clients in 2021, the challenge to surpass expectations was high. Three years earlier, Levy had designed a residence for the same clients. “The first house was one of the most perfect homes we’d ever done,” Levy says. “We had to exceed that.” 

Based in Boca Raton, Nikki Levy Interiors is a full-service luxury design studio creating custom, livable interiors in South Florida. The design studio had the honor of being featured in the 2025 Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach and has been profiled in numerous outlets.

“Our interiors are a clear reflection of who our clients are, how they view the world and what will enhance their everyday life,” says Levy, who was born in South Africa but has called Florida home since 2010.

ROOMS TO VIEW

The project was a nearly 13,000-square-foot contemporary home on the Intracoastal in Boca Raton, constructed on a previously vacant lot. Levy worked alongside architect Stuart Brenner of Brenner Architecture Group and contractor Jeffery H. Norman of JH Norman Construction Company. The undertaking spanned four years and was completed in 2025.

The homeowners, who have grown children, wanted to create a haven that their kids would be drawn back to as much as possible.

“She wanted a very stylish, sophisticated, curated home that is easy to live in,” Levy says. “It looks very light, but everything chosen stands up to everyday living. They wanted a house that was artful and unique — one that represented their travels and them as a family.”

Shaped around the clients’ art collection, “every decision was guided by scale, craftsmanship and an appreciation for beauty,” Levy says. “They are thoughtful collectors who truly understand the dialogue between architecture and art, and we designed each room to honor that.”

Levy and studio director Alyssa Palmer worked closely with the client throughout the project, dividing responsibilities according to expertise. Levy focused primarily on architectural elements and hard finishes, while Palmer led the selection of furnishings and soft finishes. Together, they traveled with the client across the country, meeting artisans and craftspeople and sourcing bespoke furnishings and fixtures.

Designed To Scale 

The soaring two-story residence has an open concept featuring dramatic ceiling heights,  rising to 24 feet in the main living spaces and to 12 feet in the lower-level areas. The second floor includes two guest bedrooms and a primary bedroom, all with en suite bathrooms, along with a gym and sauna. With its own bath, the gym could easily be converted into an additional bedroom. On the main level are a primary suite, a guest suite, a wine room, two laundry rooms, a theater-style club room and an office.

White oak flooring is used throughout the home, alongside a palette Levy calls “organically neutral with touches of blue.” That precise shade of blue was pulled from a side table the homeowner bought in Nantucket, Mass., connecting the color story to a personal detail.

From the front door, the dining area and living room come into view, with sweeping views of the Intracoastal beyond. In the entry foyer, fluted columns appear to pass through the second floor landing. Matching benches between the columns serve as a visual divider, bringing balance to the expansive space. 

With the home’s art-forward approach and a sensibility Levy describes as a “warm, homey museum,” the curving front staircase naturally evokes the fluid, white ramp of New York’s Guggenheim Museum. Engineered to appear weightless, the sculptural stairway is wrapped in a smooth plaster finish that enhances its clean, modern lines. The handrail is seamlessly recessed into the wall and crafted from white oak to match the surrounding finishes, and it’s softly illuminated with integrated LED lighting. Behind it, hand-applied wood molding with a custom pattern adds texture and depth, turning the stairwell into a focal point rather than a passageway.

A dramatic custom chandelier by Luxe Lighting and Home, purchased through Kravet, was sourced on a trip to Los Angeles. Measuring 20 feet tall, it hovers just above the floor, with hand-blown glass elements that echo the living room’s light fixtures, which measure 7 feet in diameter and rise 10 feet high. 

In the living room, Levy avoided a traditional furniture layout in favor of intimate groupings that encourage conversation and comfort. A sofa by Kimberly Denman anchors the space, while swivel chairs with wood detailing from A. Rudin and additional seating by Interlude Home are positioned along the statement wall.

That wall draws inspiration from elements the family admired while traveling in Japan. Levy reinterpreted the concept by layering acrylic, wood and metal with subtle backlighting. The motif continues overhead, where wood detailing on the ceiling mirrors the wall pattern, forming a visual line that can be seen from the upstairs bridge — “an amazing symmetry,” Levy says. 

Made For Entertaining

“They love to entertain, so flexibility was key,” Levy says of the homeowners. A mix of large-scale gathering spaces and more intimate seating areas allows the home to transition seamlessly from family living to entertaining.  

Centered on an oversized, stylized portrait of a woman, the dining area features a custom, boat-shaped table carved from one slab of oak; stained in a darker finish that lends weight to the room. Measuring 17 feet long and comfortably seating 14, it came from Attitude Furnishings of North Carolina. “It was not an easy source,” Levy notes. Dining chairs from Restoration Hardware were reupholstered in a mix of Kravet fabric, stingray leather and velvet. Windows flanking the portrait offer views into the wine room, which functions as an extension of the kitchen. Custom shelving mirrors the sculptural wall detailing found in the living room.  

An expansive kitchen features a double island clad in bullnose Bianco Lasa marble, paired with reeded glass cabinetry to soften the space and add texture.

Marble continues up the backsplash, beneath scalloped white oak paneling. Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances complete the space, while a butler’s pantry provides an additional prep area.

Handmade, chain-link glass light fixtures from Trueing, a small New York City manufacturer, introduce the same signature blue seen elsewhere in the home, linking the kitchen to the adjacent breakfast and sitting areas. Tables are by Arditi. Custom leather panels by Garrett Leather line the wall behind the TV, adding depth and warmth.

Suite Dreams

Natural light, layered textures and a restrained palette define the primary bedroom, which is located on the main level and grounded by a large white rug selected by the homeowner.

“We wanted it to feel open and contemporary, very comfortable but not cluttered,” Levy says.

Rather than a single overhead fixture, the designers created a sculptural focal point near the sitting area, using a cluster of three pendant lights by Ngala Trading, a South African company. “We felt it was more of an art installation,” Levy explains.

The primary bathroom posed one of the project’s greatest challenges. Floor-to-ceiling windows flood the space with light, requiring a careful balance between privacy and visual openness. 

“We played a lot with design,” Levy says. “To me, it’s the showstopper of the house.” 

Large-format terrazzo floors set the tone, while a custom vanity appears to float in front of the window wall, maximizing light. A recessed stone base conceals the plumbing, reinforcing the illusion of weightlessness. Custom mirrors accentuate the floating effect, as they extend from the vanity to the ceiling. Jewelry-inspired light fixtures from Visual Comfort intersect at the ceiling, introducing elements of movement and polish to the space. 

That same attention to detail carries through every bathroom in the home. “Each bathroom we designed has its own personal characteristics,” Levy explains. “We paid a lot of attention to vanity design. We wanted every single vanity to feel like a piece of furniture. Every piece is unique and artful. As much as it has to be beautiful, it has to be practical.” 

As the project concluded, Levy and her team received praise from Norman, a builder known for executing some of South Florida’s most complex luxury homes, who cited the level of customization and unique detail as something he had not seen before — a validation that resonated deeply.

“We knew the level of our design by far exceeded his expectations,” Levy says. “We just want to do the best. We’re very competitive like that.”