{"id":81937,"date":"2025-12-13T06:37:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T06:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/81937\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T06:37:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T06:37:17","slug":"the-future-perfect-expands-to-miami-in-a-supposedly-haunted-villa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/81937\/","title":{"rendered":"The Future Perfect Expands to Miami in a Supposedly Haunted Villa\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amid the vibrant streets of Little Haiti, where bougainvilleas spill over porch railings and shade the neighborhood\u2019s wood-framed bungalows, one stately villa immediately asserts itself. Designed in 1926 by Havana architect Cayetano Freira, the residence served as both consulate and private quarters for Cuban Consul Dimingo Milord and his wife, the celebrated opera singer Paula Milord. An exemplar of early 20th-century Neoclassical architecture, the white stucco villa carries rooftop balustrades, commanding columns, and richly patterned Cuban patio tiles. During its diplomatic heyday, Milord hosted artists, musicians, and intellectuals within its walls until political upheaval and economic collapse forced the consulate\u2019s closure in 1930. Paula died two years later, yet her name still appears in plaster above the entrance. Local lore insists she was buried on the grounds, and for decades, whispers of her presence have followed the house.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Wicker\"Wicker<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVilla Paula.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Joe Kramm<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Bathroom\"Bathroom<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVilla Paula.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Joe Kramm<\/p>\n

An investigative report dismissed any claims of paranormal activity years ago, but The Future Perfect founder David Alhadeff<\/a> is embracing the villa\u2019s mythology in his own way. He recently inaugurated Villa Paula as the newest outpost of Casa Perfect, his roving gallery concept that reimagines historic residences as immersive settings for collectible works. The program launched in a West Village townhouse in 2019 and later expanded to Los Angeles inside a Trousdale Estates home once owned by Elvis Presley. Miami emerged as a natural progression. \u201cThe city has an incredible confluence of culture, energy, and design history,\u201d Alhadeff says. \u201cI always knew that when the right space appeared, it would be immediately obvious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Dimly\"Dimly<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVilla Paula.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Joe Kramm<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Large\"Large<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVilla Paula.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Joe Kramm<\/p>\n

That recognition struck the moment he crossed Villa Paula\u2019s threshold. \u201cIt was that rare, unmistakable moment of recognition,\u201d he recalls. \u201cThe house has a narrative presence: you feel it before you see it. Its history as the former Cuban consulate, coupled with the mythology that\u2019s grown around it, gives the space an almost cinematic quality. I\u2019m drawn to places that carry stories in their bones, and Villa Paula does that effortlessly.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Elegant\"Elegant<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVilla Paula.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Joe Kramm<\/p>\n

Alhadeff soon acquired the roughly 2,000-square-foot villa and began restoration alongside longtime managing director Laura Young, guided by a commitment to intervene lightly. Original doors, windows, floors, and tiles remain intact, their wear treated as essential. Stained-glass windows still scatter color across Cuban encaustic tiles and aged woodwork. \u201cThese details don\u2019t just decorate the house, they tell you who it is,\u201d Alhadeff says. \u201cThe patina, the imperfections, even an exposed conduit are all part of Villa Paula\u2019s heartbeat.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Room\"Room<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVilla Paula.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Joe Kramm<\/p>\n

With the inaugural presentation of coveted treasures installed, that heartbeat quickens. As visitors traverse the central corridor and turn into the home\u2019s branching rooms, charged encounters quickly reveal themselves. A cluster of blown-glass Bocci<\/a> pendants washes an anthropomorphic wicker chair by Chris Wolston<\/a> in shifting light. One bath hosts a saturated ceramic stool by Reinaldo Sanguino; another glows beneath an intricate Lindsey Adelman chandelier composed of 59 bulbs. Autumn Casey contributed a Tiffany-inspired lamp alongside a six-foot-tall sculpture of a woodpecker thrusting its beak through a doorway, greeting eager Miami Art Week<\/a> attendees with winks of surreal humor.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Room\"Room<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVilla Paula.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Joe Kramm<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Cozy\"Cozy<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVilla Paula.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Joe Kramm<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of a neutral container, you\u2019re moving through a sequence of deeply evocative rooms, each one with its own light, palette, and emotional temperature,\u201d Young explains. Certain works seemed to claim their settings instinctively, as though the house itself guided their placement. \u201cThe only responsible approach was to work with [the architecture\u2019s] character rather than flatten it.\u201d As future rotations, collaborations, and commissions unfold, that dialogue will continue to shape the program. \u201cIn many ways, Miami is teaching us how to be here,\u201d she adds, \u201cand that\u2019s what makes this location so exciting.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"White\"White<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVilla Paula.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto: Joe Kramm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Amid the vibrant streets of Little Haiti, where bougainvilleas spill over porch railings and shade the neighborhood\u2019s wood-framed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81938,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[45558,123,36615,125,124,21395],"class_list":["post-81937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-casa-perfect","tag-miami","tag-miami-art-week","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-the-future-perfect"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}