Your Family Decorator: Prima Antiques a reflection of Bob Eigelberger, Sybil de Bourbon Parme’s creativity

By CARLETON VARNEY

Special to the Daily News

There are many things prima, from prima ballerinas on the stage to prima classe on Italian aircraft. And there are lots of prima “Donnas” and prima “Dons,” for that matter. But there is only one Prima Antiques & Gallery in the Palm Beaches, and it’s on Antique Row in West Palm Beach.

Prima, of course, means the best of the best, and if you’re in touch with the history of Palm Beach, you know that Addison Mizner was the prima architect of his time. And today, I would venture to say, a prima custodian of the Addison Mizner image is Robert Eigelberger, known to his friends as Bob.

At his shop, he has assembled a collection of authentic Italian Mediterranean furnishings that’s a must-see for decorators — ceramics, mirrors, tapestries and lighting fixtures, any of which could give a home a touch of Palm Beach glamour.

Bob hails from St. Louis and in 1978 came to Palm Beach, where he became an early force in ensuring that the town’s architectural heritage would not be lost to redevelopment by helping found the town’s Landmark Preservation Commission.

It was Bob’s passion for the Mizner style that led him to turn Warden House, a mansion designed by the architect in the 1920s, into six apartments a couple of decades ago.

Those of you who have visited Warden House at 200 N. Ocean Blvd. know that the original floors, doorway details and terraces were carefully preserved for future owners and generations to enjoy.

Eigelberger lived in one of the apartments prior to his marriage to Suzy Cochran Phipps, his creative partner.

Eigelberger also converted and preserved another mansion, Bienestar, on Root Trail, and Villa Flora on North Ocean Boulevard at the corner of Dunbar Road.

If you visit Prima Antiques, I hope Bob will give you some tidbits about the Mizner indoor/outdoor style of living; his own passion for landscaping is well known.

Or you might meet Sybil de Bourbon Parme, who has been an antiques consultant to the shop for years and is also an interior-decorating consultant. For two years, she worked with the late Gianni Versace on his Miami residence Tutt. She assisted contractors, supervised restorers and advised on faux painting, among her duties there.

She enjoyed a youthful stint in Paris and moved to Palm Beach in the 1980s, where she lived with her family in The Vicarage, the historic home on North Lake Way, and met the Eigelbergers who live across the street.

A woman of many talents, she holds a patent on a turbo charger for motorbikes, acquired from her days in Los Angeles. When I asked Bob if he rode a motorcycle, he responded, “No, but I do ride a Vespa.”

Bob and Sybil share a passion for fantasy, creativity, color, Addison Mizner, tropical gardens, cooking, entertaining and offering shoppers high-quality items — and that is what Prima is all about. Stop by Suite 2 at 3300 S. Dixie Highway and see for yourself.

And tell them Carleton Varney sent you.

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Your Family Decorator: Prima Antiques a reflection of Bob Eigelberger, Sybil de Bourbon Parme’s creativity