Italkraft’s Alex Xakoustis Talks 2016 Luxury Home Design Trends

With its great weather, beautiful beaches and non-stop fun, everyone is aching to get to sunny South Florida – and not just for vacation. As the world’s finest are quickly snatching up some of Miami’s hottest real estate properties, they’re also making sure their interiors measure up. Enter Italkraft: a Miami-based, full-service Italian kitchen, bathroom, and closet design and installation company that can be found in 60% of Miami’s luxury real estate market, like the much-anticipated Brickell City Center, SLS, Glass Miami Beach, Regalia, Park Grove and more. And as this haute home design company gears up for a national expansion, we caught up with its fearless leader, Alex Xakoustis, to talk Italkraft and design trends in our favorite city: Miami.

What are the most important elements of home design? One of the most important elements of home design is paying intricate attention to the interior detail of a home. Even the subtlest detail can create a dramatic difference; it takes experience and expertise to mix different materials effectively and create a flawless look, while still maintaining functionality.

What is the most important room of a house, and why? The kitchen – it’s heart of the home. You spend most of your time in the kitchen, entertaining family and friends. As a matter of fact, there has been an increased interest in the transitional kitchen, which opens up the space and combines it with elements from the living room to create a larger functional space.

What home design trends are you seeing specifically in the Miami market? Why is that? Modern and contemporary styles have been very popular lately, I think mainly because clients are gaining awareness of the functionality of this style and seeing how they can incorporate it into any home. The key is this: find out how modern you can go to still fit the mood of your original architecture, and you can do it.

Why do you love what you do? I love the challenge of constantly needing to create something new, the opportunity to explore new materials, and ultimately, having an opportunity to satisfy the client. 

What sets Italkraft apart from other luxury home designers? We’ve delivered 150,000 homes and more than 1,000 ultra luxury homes. We have accessibility to raw materials that clients never thought of using in a kitchen, and some of which that other companies just don’t have access to. We manufacture all of our materials in Italy and ship them to the U.S., make client satisfaction our number one priority, and put our heart in every project we do – delivering a quality product every time.

Why is now the right time for a national expansion? When we spoke to national developers, we discovered that the process and logistics we’ve implemented in our business are unparalleled to any other business in the market. We have re-vamped the entire kitchen design and installation field and have made a great name for ourselves, here in Miami. Because of the high volume of clientele, we’ve positioned ourselves as a major buyer of raw materials, and have kept our prices competitive on a national level. After careful planning for the past two years, it’s finally happening.

What’s in store for the next phase of Italkraft? We’ve just partnered with Poliform, a leading Italian furnishings manufacturer. With large-scale luxury construction projects on the rise, we’re seeing an increased demand for the best systems on the market. We wanted to offer an ultra-premium package, so we sought out the best – that’s where Poliform comes in.