Grove Townhouse Coconut Grove Vertical Classic for a Coast-Hopping Fam

Grove Townhouse is located in Coconut Grove, Miami. It is a five-story townhouse built in the 1970s. The project was led by designer Jennifer Bunsa. The owners, Joanna Benjamin and Frank Wooten, are a young family who have been constantly moving between New York and California and finally chose to settle in South Florida. Set in a neighborhood dominated by low-density single-family houses, this vertically arranged townhouse stands out particularly. Its spatial form and living atmosphere are more in line with the classic and mature townhome type found in northeastern American cities.

The overall design is clearly influenced by the traditional row houses in New York, emphasizing a restrained yet hierarchical spatial order, an understated and soft color scheme, as well as the sense of time and visual appeal brought by natural materials. The repeated use of wood is particularly crucial. However, the interior of the original building lacked a clear functional structure, and the boundaries between different spaces were loose. In response to the daily lifestyle of a family, Bonsa and the residential designer Robert Kerr, based on functional logic, systematically reorganized the interior spaces.

The renovated layout is more orderly and directional. The first floor is designated as the area for children's activities and fitness; the middle floors are mainly used for private bedrooms; the fourth floor incorporates a summer kitchen and an outdoor dining area. The floor is paved with tiles inspired by Italian pottery, creating a relaxed and slightly resort-like living scene. The rooftop terrace overlooks Biscayne Bay, becoming the highest point of the entire residence in terms of both visual and emotional aspects. It also provides an open space for daily life to interact with the city and nature.

The public spaces are mainly located on the second floor, which is also the most urbanized floor in the residence. The herringbone patterned white oak flooring clearly delineates the spatial order, and through the setting of wooden doorways and thresholds, it enhances the rhythm changes of the movement lines. The wall of the dining room is covered with plaster over wood panels, preserving the warm texture of the material while giving the space an appropriate formal atmosphere. The white oak elements are present throughout the fireplace background, the kitchen island, and the lower cabinets, forming a continuous and restrained material narrative. The facade of the living room fireplace is ingeniously hidden for the TV by sliding wooden boards, and the suspended layer frame supported by brass achieves a balance between functionality and visual lightness. The kitchen has been expanded in scale through collaboration with the architectural firm M3 Design + Development's Michael C. Noll, transforming the originally scattered layout into an open and proportionally precise core space, ultimately becoming the true focus of family daily life.

Against Grove Townhouse’s white-oak herringbone and the brass-suspended TV panel that quietly hides the hearth, the Selvena Romantic Bloom Shabby Chic Farmhouse Style Pillow Cover lands like a collected memory of countryside drives Joanna and Frank took before settling Coconut Grove. Its heirloom-quality florals—printed in sun-faded rouge and dusty sage—repeat the terracotta tones of the fourth-floor summer-kitchen tiles while the soft cotton weave picks up the matte grain of the bay-window bench, so whether the boys are racing through the play level or guests gather on the rooftop overlooking Biscayne Bay, one quick flip of this reversible pillow shifts the mood from city-formal to cottage-calm without ever disturbing Bunsa’s disciplined wood narrative. Simply toss it onto the modular sofa and the townhouse suddenly breathes with the unhurried charm of a weekend farmhouse, proving that even a five-story vertical plan can make room for a single, romantic bloom.