Miami Design District

The Buick Building, built in 1926 at the southeast corner of NE 2nd Avenue and NE 39th Street, can be seen from I-195 and Biscayne Boulevard. Front and back of the former automobile agency are medallion murals inspired by Roman mythological figures added in 2000 by Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt of R&R Studios. Those in the back may disappear with new construction.

Next door is the prize-winning showroom of Holly Hunt, the Chicago-based designer who pioneered in the Design District more than a decade ago. Her company designs and produces collections of furniture, lighting, textiles and leather.

Local interior designer Raul Carrasco set up shop in the Design District more than 15 years ago, the last 10 across from The Brick Building. Recently he added a Soho showroom for his plush, custom-made furniture collection.

Continue east on 39th Street to the Waterworks, which began as a plumbing supply company in Connecticut in 1925. The new showroom in Miami opened in 2010. Enter and you'll never be satisfied with your old bathroom again. Even the displays in the 3,700-sq.ft. (340-sq.m.) showroom look like art installations. Plus it opens at 9 a.m. if you want an early start.

The Buick Building
3841 NE 2nd Ave.

Holly Hunt
3833 NE 2nd Ave.
Tel: (305) 571-2012

Raul Carrasco
180 NE 39th St.
Tel: (305) 573.7889

Waterworks
167 NE 39 St.
Tel: (305) 573-7593

You'll find a new cluster of high-end furniture showrooms at the western edge of the district on NE 39th Street at Miami Avenue -- three European and one "California Look."

Armani/Casa
10 NE 39th St.
Tel: (305) 573-4331
The new kid on the block with a 3,600-sq.ft. (340-sq.m.) showroom offering elegant furniture, tableware, bedding, fabrics and accessories. It's Armani's third store in the US after New York and Los Angeles

Baltus Collection
3925 N. Miami Ave.
Tel: (305) 575-2620.
The Marbella-based interior and furniture design company opened its US headquarters and first US showroom in 2009. Furniture is hand-built, contemporary interpretations of classic designs. Look for the impressive white block with the black awnings.

Fendi Casa
90 NE 39th St.
Tel: (305) 438-1660
Stop by here to see how the ultra-rich will be living in ultra-luxury on the upper reaches of Collins Avenue. Mansions At Acqualina, where apartments start at $5 million and go up to $50 million, offers Fendi Casa interiors down to the linens with double 'F' logo. This is the first US showroom and stateside headquarters for the luxury-brand design collection.

Kreiss
49 NE 39 St.
Tel: (305) 438-1555
This fourth-generation firm, based in San Diego, opened its showroom -- one of 15 in the US -- here in December 2011. Known for its "California look" of casual elegance. Kreiss clients have included Janet Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Usher.

Remember: showrooms generally are closed on Sundays.

Walk one block north on Miami Avenue and turn east at the Orange Café + Art, an art gallery-café where the locals go weekdays for an inexpensive breakfast or lunch or bubble tea pick-me-up. Sandwiches here have artsy names like Frida Khalo, Picasso and Leonardo.

Amble along shady NE 40th Street, lined on either side with storefront showrooms offering oriental and contemporary rugs, granite countertops, designer lighting, decorating accessories and furniture including sofa beds. You'll also find boutiques like Petite Chic Gifts, specializing in personalized and made-to-order gifts, and Anya Ponorovskaya, the fashion designer who has three Girlcat Boutiques in New York City.

Orange Café + Art
2 NE 40th St.
Tel: (305) 571-4070
Hours: 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Closed Weekends

Petite Chic Gifts
1 NE 40th St, Suite #100
Tel: (305) 753-5133

Anya Ponorovskaya
35 NE 40th St.
Tel: (305) 677-5008

Not counting the activities that spill over into the neighborhood during Art Basel/Miami Beach each December or the pop-up exhibits that can happen most any time, the Design District has more than a dozen galleries and exhibition spaces. Special art, music, shopping and dining events are staged at Art+Design night, the second Saturday each month from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Check out these galleries all within a few steps of one another:

101/exhibit (modern masters and emerging artists)
101 NE 40th St.
Tel: (305) 573-6101.
Tues.-Sat. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Markowicz Fine Art (Pop Art, Mourlot prints, contemporary French artists)
114 NE 40th St.
Tel: (786) 362-5546
Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Arevato Gallery (contemporary Latin American Art)
151 NE 40th St. -- 2nd floor
Tel: (305) 860-3311
Mon.-Sat, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

This pedestrian alley between 39th and 40th streets is named for Richard Plummer, interior decorator to the rich and famous of Miami back, well, when. He worked with Moore Furniture to make the Buena Vista neighborhood a home furnishings center.

The model for passages to come, it is a convenient short-cut to a variety of shops and the inviting courtyard of Michael's Genuine Food and Drink, Zagat listed and in the district since 2007.

Nearby shops to note:

I on the District
120 NE 40th St.
Tel: (305) 573-9400
You can't get much more upscale than ebony sunglasses trimmed in gold for $1895. You'll also find antique frames and the latest in designer eyewear. Don't miss the boutique in the back for accessories such as hats, handbags and wraps as well as children's clothes.

Scotch and Soda
130 NE 40th St.
Tel: (305) 573-1668
This outpost of Dutch couture popped up in the Design District just for Art Basel-Miami 2011 but stayed on by popular demand.

Thread Count
125 NE 40th St.
Tel: (305) 576-5500
Luxury linens for bedroom and bath, specializing in 100% Egyptian cotton milled in Europe. Shop is closed on Saturday morning and all day Sunday.


Dining:
Michael's Genuine Food & Drink
130 NE 40th St.
Tel: (305) 573-5550
Lunch, Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Dinner, Monday-Thursday, 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. (midnight Friday and Sat., 10 p.m. Sun.)
Sunday brunch, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Thanks to a pineapple grower, the Buena Vista neighborhood has been a home furnishings mecca almost from the start. T.V. Moore turned land developer at the start of the 1920s land boom, creating homes for snowbirds and a bustling business center to serve them.

His Moore Furniture Company, one of the first stores in the US selling only furniture, opened in 1921, designed around the village post office built the previous year at NE 40th Street and NE 2nd Avenue. The three-story building is now a popular event space.

The post office, masonry vernacular with neoclassical features and louvered windows, has been through many reincarnations. Celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein opened a tapas restaurant called Sra. Martinez (her maiden name) in 2008. Last year she added the Crumb on Parchment, hidden in an interior patio in the building across the street. It's easy to miss the cozy café, one of the few places for an early morning coffee. Look for a chalk board on the sidewalk on NE 2nd Avenue or cut through the new Ornare showroom and get some tips from Brazil on classy closet organization.

Many 1920s homes survive in the East Buena Vista Historic District between NE 2nd and Miami Avenues and NE 42nd to NE 48th Avenues. Drive through the neighborhood at the end of the walk to view Mediterranean Rival, Mission, Pueblo, Bungalow, Art Deco and masonry vernacular architecture.

Crumb on Parchment
3930 NE 2nd Ave,
Tel: (305) 572-9444
M-F, 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Sra. Martinez
4000 NE 2nd Ave.
Tel: (305) 573-5474
M - W, noon - 11 p.m.
Th - Fri. noon - 12 a.m.
Sat. 6 p.m. - midnight

Ornare
3930 NW 2nd Ave.
Tel: (305) 438.0260
Closed Sundays

Founded in 1990 when the Design District was only beginning to revive, DASH is ranked Florida's #1 high school and the nation's #2 magnet school by U.S. News & World Report. Among its graduates is the Columbian-born Esteban Cortázar, who was head designer at Emanuel Ungaro and now has his own brand.

Look at the nearly transparent wall in front of the school. Because this is the Design District, this just isn't any wall. It's an art installation.

Marc Newsom, the Australian talent who has designed everything from watches to limited edition furniture to jet interiors to signed sculpture, created the 300-foot-long (100 meters) after being chosen Designer of the Year by Miami Design in 2006. Looked at a certain way, it appears to ripple.

Check to see if any student shows are on view.
4001 NE 2nd St.
Tel: (305) 573-7135

Head north from 40th Street to explore bespoken suits and rugs, silk flowers that look more real than real and a Greek taverna recreated in a 1940s Miami cottage. On the west side of the street, you'll come to:

Duncan Quinn
4040 NE 2nd Ave.
Tel: (305) 671-3820
Tues - Sat: 11am - 7pm
Sun, Mon: By Appointment
Namesake shop of the London barrister turned tailor offers made-to-measure suits costing into the four figures and must-haves items like couturier motorcycle helmets and croquet shirts. It's Saville Row with an edge and an affection for rogue gentlemen like James Bond. Opened as a stylish pop-up at the 2009 Art Basel/Miami Beach, it stuck around to be voted best men's store in MIami in 2012 by Miami New Times.

The Rug Company
4040 NE 2nd Ave.
Tel: (305) 576-9868
Closed Sundays
Ready made or bespoken, the handmade rugs of this London-based firm combine contemporary design with traditional weaving and notting techniques. Fashion designers Vivienne Westwood, Diane von Furstenberg, Paul Smith and the late Alexander McQueen have created collections for the company, which also has a boutique line of tapestry cushions and needlepoint wall-hangings

Emilio Robba
4242 NE 2nd Ave.
Tel: (305) 572-0203
Closed weekends
Through the window or even inside up close, this showroom looks like an exclusive florist shop where each bloom is perfection. The bloom is perfection, but it is because Robba has sculpted it from silk. You may have seen his work in elegant hotels, on luxury cruises or at Monet's Giverny in France. As if "permanent botanicals" weren't enough, he also amazes with his accent furniture, lighting, home fragrances, nature photography and limited edition of Daum crystal. Ring at the door to be let in.

Mandolin Aegean Bistro
4312 NE 2nd Ave.
Tel: (305) 576-6066
M-Sat, noon to 11 p.m.
Sun, noon to 10 p.m
At the end of your shopping tour, kick back with a jug of white sangria, Turkish and Greek appetizers and specialities like grilled octopus and village pasta (noodles with ground beef and béchamel sauce). Except for the chilliest months (by Miami standards), sit in the romantic tented garden. Otherwise, find a table in the intimate dining room.

No need to walk back to your car if you've parked it elsewhere with a Design District valet. The valet at the bistro will fetch it for you at no extra cost.




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When Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz's international contemporary art collection outgrew their bayfront home on Key Biscayne, the Cuban-born couple built a three-story, 30,000-sq.ft. (almost 3,000 sq.m.) space in the northwest corner of the Design District to make room for more. They launched the building, designed by John Marquette, just in time for Art Basel Miami in 2009.

Project rooms rotate throughout the year and include space for local artists. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., admission is free. Metered parking is available on the street or you can drop your car across the street with the district's $3 valet parking.

While it is only a few blocks from the center of the Design District, we suggest arriving by car rather than by foot when days are hot.

23 NE 41 Street at North Miami Avenue
Tel: (305) 576-6112