A Miami Ranch Glow-Up From Outdated to Contemporary

Specializing in spaces with a sense of culture, interior designer Kenzie Leon Perry was the perfect choice for a family looking to breathe new life into a Miami home that hadn’t been updated for more than a decade. The nearly 2,400 square foot ranch-style house had been expanded several times. The increased area includes a larger kitchen, laundry space, breakfast area and a small workspace.

Miami-born artist and designer, Kenzie Leon Perry, is the creative mind behind Ze Haus Interior Design Studio. Raised in the midst of his mother’s interior design business, Kenzie augmented his early training with a bachelor’s degree in interior design and a number of years working as a senior designer for a major Caribbean resort chain. Now at the helm of his own brand, he’s looking to bring that same sense of luxury to the business and personal spaces of all his clients.

From the beginning, the kitchen was the focal point of the whole remodel project. “The existing kitchen was very traditional with extremely dark cabinets and marble countertops in addition to an odd-shaped island that swallowed up a lot of space,” Kenzie recalls. “We did a full gut renovation that elevated the design and made the home more modern.” The process began in July 2020 and would last until just before Thanksgiving of that year.

A modern kitchen update comes with a lot of new conveniences and amenities. “Along the way, we added upgrades like a built-in coffee maker, a double combination built-in oven, an additional cabinet, and a custom floating media unit.” But every inclusion wasn’t so simple. “The kitchen island was the most complicated part of the home to design,” Kenzie remembers. “Lining up the existing electrical points for the stove and retractable range was important. Several cavities had to be designed within the island to make sure everything functioned properly.”