Mizner-inspired magic: It’s in this designer’s DNA

Via Mizner is so classic Palm Beach, it’s like a time warp, as if pixie dust from a century of society soirees covers its courtyards and cul-de-sacs.

Addison Mizner found his inspiration for Worth Avenue’s vias from a place with its own patina: Andalusia in southern Spain, where Moorish rulers built castles and cathedrals with tiled towers, dramatic archways and intricate plasterwork.

No wonder a young interior designer from Toronto fell in love when she visited Via Mizner for the first time 20 years ago.

Alexandra Naranjo’s ancestors — and her design DNA — are from Andalusia. The texture, color and whimsy Mizner created in Palm Beach felt familiar.

“I instantly felt incredibly comfortable here,” says the designer, who recently became a seasonal resident of Palm Beach and opened her design studio on Antique Row in West Palm Beach in February.

“Mizner made a mini-Andalusian town in Palm Beach,” she says. “This is truly home.”

More: Island Life: Profiles of folks who celebrate Palm Beach living

Naranjo has designed the interiors of some of Canada’s grandest homes, and she made a mark in Palm Beach in 2021, when she was invited to design a bathroom at the Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse. She used vibrant wallpaper and colorful fixtures to create a tiny tropical oasis — and soon landed Palm Beach clients who knew she could make their homes look happy.

“Happy wallpaper and color — they lift your spirits,” Naranjo says.

Don’t call her if you want a bland space. “I’m a maximalist traditional girl,” she says. “I want to encourage people to get out of the white box and express their personalities in their home.”

If you’re scared to go wild with color, Naranjo suggests you start with a powder room, just as she did at Kips Bay. “Go insane with color! It’s a small commitment.”

A kitchen she designed in shades of green was featured in the April issue of “Architectural Digest,” and she’s recently done a Palm Beach kitchen in seafoam blue. Her own kitchen is buttercup yellow.

Naranjo employs five “architectural technologists” to translate her vision to 3D drawings, and she has projects around the world.

When she found the right spot for Alexandra Naranjo Designs, at 4209 S. Dixie Highway, it was everything she isn’t: a nondescript concrete block. She transformed it — using a bouquet of color inside and Mizner inspiration throughout.

“I did a lot of research before I developed the showroom,” she says. “Mizner is the one who talked to me the most. His work inspired the door, the railing, the millwork inside, a lot of curvatures, the basketweave details. Maybe my DNA is helping, too.”

The weather infuses what she creates and how she enjoys Palm Beach life. You may spot her sipping a Chianti at Pizza Al Fresco in Via Mizner or dining on the cacio e pepe in the courtyard at Sant Ambroeus.

“We have beautiful, tropical lush vistas around us — the greenery, the orchids of every color, the ocean. It's enticing to create interiors that reflect that lush beauty.”

And there’s another zesty connection to her new home: “Naranjo” means orange tree in Spanish.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Mizner-inspired magic: It’s in Palm Beach designer’s DNA