Reprinted with permission from Boca/Delray Life

When Judd and Micaela Malin from  Stanford, Connecticut decided to take a  casual look at some homes in Boca while  visiting Judd’s grandmother, they had no idea that  they’d fall in love with the first one they saw. Plans to  build in The Oaks were quickly put into place. As  time passed and the couple got involved in the  building process, this so-called “vacation house” just  kept feeling more and more like home. 

Judd and Micaela met 6 years ago in Stanford,  where they were both attending school. Judd is a  Connecticut native, while Micaela is originally from  the Philippines. Only 5 weeks after a chance  encounter at a club in Stanford, the couple married.  Talk about whirlwind! About a year and a half later,  their daughter Marina was born. In February of 2003,  Judd treated Micaela to a Valentine’s Day vacation in  Miami. There, a friend of the family showed them a  model home in the Oaks and it was love at first sight  and the start of a dream. 

Judd, a commercial developer, is an avid boater  who wants to be any place where there is plenty of  water and good weather for boating. So it makes  sense that the couple spends their winters in Boca  and their summers in Stanford so that Judd can get  the best of both boating worlds! 

Fast forward three years, the couple had  decorated the majority of the 5 bedroom house by  themselves. It wasn’t easy though. Judd tends to like  contemporary styles, while Micaela prefers a more  traditional look. But like any couple, they learned to  compromise. A little give, a little take. “Judd gave  me full run of the kitchen,” Michaela laughs, “so that’s  my favorite room because I got to pick the cabinets,  the appliances, everything!” But they both felt kind of  stuck when it came to the formal living room. This  two-story room greets guests as they enter the house  and features walls that soar up to 25 feet in height  with stark white walls that just seemed too tall to  tackle! The couple yearned for a place to entertain  that felt “warm and inviting.” 

Micaela, like most women, loves to watch  decorating shows to get ideas and see what other  people have done with their homes. One night while  watching the HGTV show Designers’ Challenge, she  saw a couple who had a large room similar to theirs.  Jokingly, she mentioned to Judd that they should go  on that show. Judd took her seriously and signed  them up on the HGTV website. Only days later, they  received a request to make a video of their home and  family. Once that was sent off, it was only about  another week before they were notified that HGTV  wanted to use their home in the show! “It all  happened so quickly,” says Micaela, “we couldn’t  even believe it!” 

Meanwhile, Brooke Friedman of Brook J Design  Group in Boca received an e-mail from the American  Society of Interior Designers that announced that an  HGTV show was being filmed in Boca. She sent in  her portfolio and was chosen to be one of the three  designers to create a possible décor for the room  and give a presentation to Judd and Micaela. How’s  that for a home-spun coincidence? From there, it was  up to the couple to choose. “Out of the three  designers, Brooke took the time to meet with us, call  us multiple times, and really take our input. Because of that, her design reflected our personalities more so than the other designers,” explains  Micaela. The choice was clear. Brooke would get the money to do a much needed design  makeover on the Malin’s massive living room. 

The style? An Asian/European fusion that somehow mixed Judd’s love of clean  contemporary lines with Micaela’s traditional style. “The room has an earthy, Zen, kind of  feel. It’s very warm,” said Brooke. “Incredibly, Brooke was able to come up with a design  that we both loved. We were like WOW! That has never happened before,” gushed Micaela.  The white walls were the first to go. A soft gray-green brought the room more coziness. Floor  to ceiling silk curtains in a bright copper framed the story-high windows that afford a  gorgeous view of a sky-blue lake. The previously white ceiling was painted a brick red to  coordinate with the window treatments, with the inset featuring a faux finish in a metallic  silver and gold wash. The existing sofa and slipper chairs were kept with their original  upholstery but were updated by switching out the neutral-colored pillows with ones that  added a pop of color with reds and greens. 

One wall features framed grass cloth that lends an Asian feel while the adjacent wall was  broken up into three sections by a stripe of yellow and the addition of two columns that  feature a Venetian marble finish that frame a Wenge buffet table with smoked glass doors.  Mirrors framed with iron detailing reflect the opposite wall and catch the sunlight streaming  in from the windows. 

The seating area is centered around a Macassar Ebony wood finish that highlights reds  and browns with black streaking throughout. “We really love how the custom pieces [the bar  stools, ottomans, coffee table, and side tables] all feature a European style with Asian  colors. The mixture works very well,” Micaela explains. A wool area rug in neutral beige was  also custom made, with an animal print edging (Micaela’s request) and a brownish black  border to outline the coffee table and draw attention to the center of the room. 

“We really wanted the room to reflect both of our backgrounds and traditions, so that  people could really get a sense of who we are when they first enter the home,” Micaela  explained. The décor is accented with traditional pieces from the Philippines while  European style artwork that Judd’s mother, grandmother, and great-grandfather painted  adorns the walls. 

One major change was the addition of a bar. Previously a linen closet, Brooke  transformed this little niche into a fully functional bar, complete with wine cooler, wine rack,  and cutaway sink. Amazingly clever and beautifully functional! Dark cherry cabinets were  custom made to the couple’s request so that the bar would fit everything just right. Green  granite tops and glass mosaic tiles on the back wall of the bar make this area a unique and  awesome addition to their entertainment area. 

To hear more about the Malin’s beautiful home, check out Designers’ Challenge airing on  August 4 on HGTV.