In the dining room, the glass-topped table and chairs are by Dan Johnson (from his 1958 “Gazelle” series), the elegant severity of the table neatly complemented by a Claire Falkenstein sculpture and “85 Bulb Chandelier,” an Octopus-like creation from the Droog collective consisting of a mass of—naturally—85 wires and bulbs. Along one wall is a stunning bentwood piece by an anonymous designer: a geometrically precise shelving unit that resembles a beehive. It’s used to showcase an assemblage of Russel Wright spun-aluminum ware, one of the couple’s early collecting efforts. To the female partner in this collecting team, it’s indicative of their shared history: “I’ve always collected California pottery, but the Russel Wright things—he was really the Ralph Lauren of his day—were pieces we picked up at flea markets 25 years ago, generally for under $5 each,” she says. “Now they’re worth a hundred times that, but it’s more important that we get to use them every day. With design, unlike painting and sculpture, you get to sit and eat on it. And every piece brings something back, an experience you might have had with a friend or whatever. To me, it’s a memory of something fun.”

The adjacent breakfast room, to the left of the foyer, contains a Sottsass chandelier from 1988 and a circa-1986 Sansone duo table and “Broadway” chairs by Pesce (the table for Cassina, the chairs for Bernini). Happily, most of the original decorative elements have been left intact. Just off the foyer, the powder room has Formica of the Miami Beach time-warp school and gold-plated fixtures, which gives a sensory experience akin to stepping back in time to the glory days at the Fontainebleau. All of Lapidus’ touches, no matter how dated—the powder room is an immersion in kitsch history—somehow work with the kind of furniture even he couldn’t have envisioned.

At one point in his career, Lapidus, feeling forgotten and abandoned by changing tastes in architecture, burned all his architectural plans. Those for this particular house, which the couple own, are one of the few remaining sets of Lapidus plans.

Fashion has caught up with the designer, and of course, with mid-century modern furniture, which has reached the apogee of its vogue at the annual design fairs that are part of Art Basel and Art Basel Miami Beach every year. Naturally, the prices have risen to match the demand, but the pleasures of collecting go far beyond cost. “Some people walk in and think we’re psychotic, but to us, this stuff is just fun,” the husband says. “Every time I come home and open my front door, I can’t help but smile.”

Tom Austin, a Miami-based writer, is a regular contributor to Art & Antiques. He recently profiled ceramics collector Linda Leonard Schlenger (December 2006).