If you’ve ever wanted to admire collectible design while possibly locking eyes with a glamorous ghost, good news. The Future Perfect just opened a gallery inside Villa Paula, a landmarked 1920s mansion in Miami’s Little Haiti that locals swear is one of the city’s most haunted homes. Yes, this is peak Miami: cutting-edge furniture, lush tropical landscaping and maybe a friendly spirit gliding past a Bocci chandelier.
Originally built in 1926 as the Cuban consulate and home of Consul Domingo Milord and his opera-singer wife Paula Milord, the Neoclassical villa holds a serious pedigree. Think stately columns, intricate Cuban tilework, stained-glass windows and floors that have seen almost a century of diplomatic intrigue and artistic salons. The gallery is leaning right into that history, choosing preservation over polish. Doors creak, encaustic tiles glow and rooms unfold like jewel boxes full of texture and mystery.
“Our work has always been about creating environments that transcend traditional gallery models,” said founder David Alhadeff in an official statement. “Miami, with its history of design innovation and vibrant cultural scene, is the perfect place for us to take that vision further. Villa Paula’s history and architecture give us the opportunity to create something that is both site-specific and globally resonant.”
The inaugural exhibition fills intimate rooms and corridors with collectible works from notable names, including Lindsey Adelman, Faye Toogood, Vikram Goyal, Floris Wubben, Christian Woo and Chris Wolston. Pieces sit among the villa’s original features, creating dreamlike tableaus: a mirror by Chen Chen and Kai Williams reflecting a Mario Marenco boucle sofa in a green-washed parlor; sculptural lamps by Autumn Casey glowing in a russet-toned room; Wolston’s fantastical wicker chair and cheeky etched table meeting an ochre space and hand-blown Bocci lighting.
Outside, the vibe gets delightfully feral. Vines twist through bathtubs and bidets like nature reclaiming a colonial daydream, while a banyan tree presides over the garden exhibition area. It’s a little surreal, a little cinematic and deeply Miami.
The Future Perfect already has a track record of turning remarkable residential spaces into transportive design worlds, from a Manhattan townhouse to an LA mansion once owned by Samuel Goldwyn. But Villa Paula just might be its most atmospheric. With Art Basel and Design Miami drawing global tastemakers each December, the timing couldn’t be better.
Stop by for the craftsmanship, the curation, the lush tropical drama. Stay in case Paula Milord decides to make a cameo. Just don’t be surprised if the chandelier sways when no one’s touching it. Miami loves a little mystery.
