fbpx

Interior Design Firm Concepto MV Embraces a Fresh, Reliable Style and an Efficient, Heavily Virtual Business Model

A few years after interior designer Marcela Villalobos and her husband, Juan Pablo (aka, J.P.), moved to Miami and opened their boutique interior design firm Concepto MV in 2001, they launched a division exclusively providing a wallpaper hanging service that became an overnight success.

And when the pandemic started making in-person, full-service interior design too challenging, they started offering virtual interior design consultations with partner Ana Maria Caicedo and growing a team. This shift helped their business thrive. “Before, I would have two, three, maybe four full-service clients annually,” Marcela explains. “Since we’ve gone virtual, we’ve had more than 350 from the end of 2021 through today. It’s lucrative and exciting.”

Her design consultants see photos of clients’ homes, charge by the room, and then provide suggestions and links for purchasing furnishings and finishes. In March 2002, Marcela and Ana Maria opened an office in Colombia now that Concepto MV has transformed more than 1,000 homes in South Florida. Concepto MV also creates custom-built high-design furniture.

Interestingly, Villalobos has met only about one-fifth of her virtual clients in the flesh, though she estimates 80 percent of her roster resides in Miami. And while it might seem counterintuitive in the world of interior design, where everyone likes to say they cater to a diverse array of client tastes, the secret to the firm’s success is that Concepto MV has a definitive “look”—organic, modern, neutral and clean.

However, when one of her clients purchased a 1950s-built, 3,600-square-foot home in Key Biscayne with four bedrooms and three bathrooms in 2020, Villalobos knew it would be a hands-on project. “The home was really outdated,” she recalls. Working with Nandez Design and Development in Miami, Villalobos set to work on the full redesign/renovation, which started with painting the walls white and installing 48-inch-square storm-white porcelain tiles from Prosein in Doral. Aside from a convex ceiling with some rafters near the entry foyer—which she transformed into an attractive feature with Thermory’s radiata pine cladding—the home had low ceilings throughout, and one of her top priorities was to let in as much natural light as possible.

Visitors get an immediately feel for what’s to come the moment they step inside. To their left is a stunning wood and marble Tides dining room table from Pure Project Home in Coral Gables, paired with chairs from Italian brand Midj and dynamic pendant lights from Addison House. To the right is a living room with conversation-worthy decor accents, like a cheeky Fornasetti Antipatico vase, gold plant stands and a semi-precious stone-topped accent table. Orange leather chairs from Nicoline Italia provide some spicy color to the otherwise neutral room.

To break up the monotony of the ground covering, Villalobos had Nandez installed a long, whitewashed wood step with an LED strip. “The client wanted a unique art piece that didn’t take away from the space,” she recalls. “This was the perfect solution.” Another Concepto MV signature, which Villalobos installed in the great room, is a vertical wooden slat wall. Here the radiata pine slats helped solve myriad issues, by hiding the stairs and creating a wall to open opportunities for furniture placement.

Beyond the great room is another popular family gathering area where the living room shares space with the kitchen. With Calacatta quartz countertops and LiberaMente cabinetry from Italian brand Scavolini (supplied by Eurocucina Miami) the space is a far cry from its former layout. “It was a very small kitchen,” Villalobos recalls. “And the homeowners have two kids, so we needed a way to hide everything.”

Another Concepto MV signature appears here, as Villalobos used two tones for the cabinetry: classic walnut and a light concrete. “I mix either taupe with a warm wood or black,” she explains. “But I always use wood.” Concepto MV and Nandez also created the porcelain high-top table used by the family for casual meals.

The two aforementioned companies also designed all the bathrooms’ floating vanities, though each of the en suite bathrooms has its own look. As one of the spaces doubles as a cabana bathroom, Villalobos gave it the punch of a powder room with black Dustin anthracite porcelain tiles on the wall and black vessel sinks. Another bathroom, most often used by the homeowners’ daughter, has a textured porcelain wall and rose gold fixtures. Adhering to her clients’ wishes, Villalobos used matte black fixtures and finishes in the primary bathroom, while adding thoughtful touches, such as a generous soaking tub and an extra-long shower niche. “I tend to do an accent wall and the rest are solid walls,” she explains. “And I always backlight mirrors.”

Awash in greys, the adjoining primary bedroom is a slight tonal departure from the rest of the home, but it still subscribes to Concepto MV’s design principles and works well for the family. A long desk/vanity stretches across the bay window and Concepto MV installed the Phillip Jeffries wallpaper that wraps the room in texture. Since the clients mentioned they watch television as a family in that space, Villalobos added a cushiony half sofa at the end of the bed for the kids.

The brood also has lots of communal space outdoors, since Villalobos worked with Nandez to incorporate two pergolas, composite decking and other updates. They also changed the pool tiles from blue to black for a more modern, distinctive quality. Now the family has an outdoor kitchen to enjoy, along with shaded seating areas where they can watch television, listen to music and relax. “They’re happy,” Villalobos says succinctly. “And that is what is most important.”

You May Also Like
EBH Design Group Unveils Chateau Allison Project

The design was completed in four months, thanks to NAFA Constructions, the general contractor that turned the design team’s vision into reality.

Read More
Chateau-Allison-Miami
Dive Into Diversity

Institutions offer embracement and education in South Florida.

Read More
Diversity
Farrey’s Lighting, Bath, Kitchen and Hardware Celebrate 100 Years in Miami

The company boasts showrooms in North Miami and Coconut Grove.

Read More
How IDDI Combines Design and Business Strategies

It’s all about design with a purpose for Sherif Ayad and ID & Design International.

Read More
Other Posts
BBQGuys Opens West Palm Beach Backyard Design Center 

The specialty e-commerce platform specializes in backyard grills, outdoor kitchens, furniture, and more.

Read More
Wilton Manors Hosts Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Public Art Installation 

It will be one of over two dozen public art installations in the city.

Read More
Farrey’s Lighting, Bath, Kitchen and Hardware Commemorates 100 Years of Service in South Florida 

The family-owned business has showrooms in North Miami and Coconut Grove.

Read More
West Palm Beach Residence Selected for Seventh Annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House 

The Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County will benefit from the event.

Read More
Kips Bay Decorator Show House

Drew Limsky

Drew Limsky

Editor-in-Chief

BIOGRAPHY

Drew Limsky joined Lifestyle Media Group in August 2020 as Editor-in-Chief of South Florida Business & Wealth. His first issue of SFBW, October 2020, heralded a reimagined structure, with new content categories and a slew of fresh visual themes. “As sort of a cross between Forbes and Robb Report, with a dash of GQ and Vogue,” Limsky says, “SFBW reflects South Florida’s increasingly sophisticated and dynamic business and cultural landscape.”

Limsky, an avid traveler, swimmer and film buff who holds a law degree and Ph.D. from New York University, likes to say, “I’m a doctor, but I can’t operate—except on your brand.” He wrote his dissertation on the nonfiction work of Joan Didion. Prior to that, Limsky received his B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from Emory University and earned his M.A. in literature at American University in connection with a Masters Scholar Award fellowship.

Limsky came to SFBW at the apex of a storied career in journalism and publishing that includes six previous lead editorial roles, including for some of the world’s best-known brands. He served as global editor-in-chief of Lexus magazine, founding editor-in-chief of custom lifestyle magazines for Cadillac and Holland America Line, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Modern Luxury Interiors South Florida. He also was the executive editor for B2B magazines for Acura and Honda Financial Services, and he served as travel editor for Conde Nast. Magazines under Limsky’s editorship have garnered more than 75 industry awards.

He has also written for many of the country’s top newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe, USA Today, Worth, Robb Report, Afar, Time Out New York, National Geographic Traveler, Men’s Journal, Ritz-Carlton, Elite Traveler, Florida Design, Metropolis and Architectural Digest Mexico. His other clients have included Four Seasons, Acqualina Resort & Residences, Yahoo!, American Airlines, Wynn, Douglas Elliman and Corcoran. As an adjunct assistant professor, Limsky has taught journalism, film and creative writing at the City University of New York, Pace University, American University and other colleges.