“Embrace all periods of design,” advises Charles Allem. The Miami-based interior designer, who has a staff of 12, is known for glamorous interiors characterized by sumptuous materials and sleek compositions. He cites the Metropolitan Museum’s majestic Temple of Dendur, dating back to 15 b Egypt, as an inspiration. Now stripped of the vibrant color that decorated it millennia ago, it is still awe-inspiring for the grandeur of its architecture and scale. So it’s not surprising that, when he enters a room, “architecture and scale” are what the designer registers first. To highlight these aspects, which he considers the backbone of an interior, Allem urges clients to keep rooms from being fussy: “Edit! Edit! Edit!” he orders. “Know how and when to draw the line.”

Allem, who grew up in Johannesburg and has had offices in New York and Los Angeles, notes a widening interest in design. “Style and design have impacted so many people, due to home-decorating shows and the ever increasing audience of design magazines,” he remarks. For both residential and commercial projects, Allem custom-designs many of the pieces, including tables, sofas, carpets and lighting. Although he brings a fresh, contemporary feel to all that he touches, “there is nothing truly new,” he admits. “Everything today is just a reinterpretation of the traditional school of thought. Even the most modern design has roots in the old school.”

Charles Allem

305-438-9757

harlesallemdesignom