Welcome to Miami

Jiun Ho creates a Zen composition for Protomaster & Company's first showroom, located in the Miami design district.

Jen Renzi -- Interior Design, 5/1/2001 12:00:00 AM

For the new Protomaster & Company showroom, a resource for Asian-inspired and classically-styled furniture and accessories, founder John Protomaster desired a "warm, relaxing, and personable" space that would showcase the sensibilities of individual collections on display. Protomaster selected one of his featured furniture designers, Jiun Ho, to help him overhaul the 3,500-sq.-ft. space, originally a warren of small rooms with contrasting floor treatments, varying ceiling heights, and exposed 16-ft. beams sprouting in all directions. Ho imparted a sense of order and geometry, quieting the overhead cacophony with suspended ceiling panels and skimming the floor—a hodge-podge of terrazzo, concrete, and ceramic tile—with a grid of subtly-tinted concrete. After removing walls to enhance the feeling of volume, Ho instated an open floor plan with sliding panels, allowing Protomaster to rearrange frequently as he edits and fine-tunes his merchandise mix. Accents of periwinkle, sage, and a bold Chinese red are a toned-down interpretation of the local preference for tropical hues. "I feel that an interior should be like a painting, a composition," Ho says. "It shouldn't be too overpowering. The most important thing is how people react to and use the space."