HOME-GARDEN

'Top of the line' updates

Christine Davis Special to the Daily News

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that homeowner Ariel Wainer installed a state-of-the-art kitchen in his house on the North End of Palm Beach.

Wainer, after all, is a Miami-based distributor of high-end appliances — and he owns MiaCucina, a chain of kitchen stores that offers well-designed kitchens from across the pond.

“The new kitchen and new bathrooms in this house are top of the line European,” Wainer says. “And the kitchen has Wolf and SubZero appliances.”

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The Italian-designed MiaCucina kitchen also features lacquered wood cabinetry in the cooking area and the adjacent breakfast area. The countertops and the backsplash were fashioned from quartz.

“No money was spared,” Wainer says.

As a real estate investor, he’s always looking for a project to renovate and sell. But the house at 285 Colonial Lane, built in 1962, caught his eye for a different reason when he was house-hunting a couple of years ago.

“I find houses and sell them, but this house, I did it for me and my family. I love Palm Beach,” he says. “But I live in Miami and I am not coming (to the island) that much. That’s why it’s for sale.”

As such, the six-bedroom, eight-and-a-half-bath house with 6,806 square feet of living space, inside and out, is on the market. It’s listed at $5.649 million with agents Toni Hollis and Gloria Moré of Waterfront Properties and Club Communities, with the furnishings available through separate negotiations. A couple of lots east of North Lake Way, the house stands on a lot measuring about a third of an acre, several streets north of the Palm Beach Country Club.

Working with Tektonica Industries Inc. of Tequesta, Wainer renovated the home to give it a bright and modern look. He put in new electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning systems and replaced the roof and floors. Doors and windows now have impact-resistant glass. Outside, the house was re-landscaped and the pool redone.

Wainer describes the house, overall, as “100-percent new.”

As he explains it: “I wanted to create big spaces with a lot of rooms, because my parents and brothers visit. I wanted an office and a gym, and I wanted bedrooms for my kids on the second floor, so if we entertain, they can have their own area.”

The floor plan also works well for parties. Directly north of the foyer is a living room that opens to the loggia, the pool and gardens through a bank of glass doors. The loggia has a summer kitchen.

Flanking the foyer are a bedroom suite to the west and, to the east, the dining room, where glass doors offer backyard views. Nearby is a 146-bottle wine room as well as a humidor.

In the west portion of the house is another guest suite plus the master suite, where the dressing room has an outdoor shower. Doors from the master bedroom open onto the loggia.

A stairway off the gallery leading to the bedrooms accesses two more guest bedroom suites and a sitting area.

East of the loggia are the kitchen, a cabana and two-car garage, and a stairway in this section of the house leads to the staff accommodations.

Floors are covered in marble in the main areas, although the kitchen and bedrooms have wood floors. Bathrooms throughout are appointed in marble.

Wainer says he will miss the house, the street and the neighbors.

“I love the north part of the island, I have three kids, and this neighborhood is nice for kids. Also, I’ll miss the people in Palm Beach and the quality of life.”