BY CHARLYNE VARKONYI SCHAUB
Somewhere between the trip to the Golden Door Spa in California and the PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, homeowners had an epiphany.
Why couldn't they have the same sensuous, indulgent spa experience at home as they do on vacation? They can and they do. The master bathroom has become more than just a pit stop for a shower and a shave. It has become a haven to relax and experience the luxe life.
South Florida interior designers say their clients are demanding large, elaborate systems with body jets, rain showers, steam and even built-in tanning equipment. Televisions are becoming a must-have and so are elaborate glass tiles. Even powder rooms are dressed with the unique custom vanities.
The luxe bath obsession has become so much ingrained in the culture that a TOTO toilet was a character in the movie The Joneses. Demi Moore and David Duchovny introduce their guests to their $5,800 Neorest 600 toilet, which flips open when it senses your approach and has a remote control for cleaning and drying.
Cool and clean
"Most of my clients want a contemporary, minimal, cool look," says Boca Raton designer Patrice Cury. "They want their bathrooms to feel more like a spa with less clutter and one that is easier to clean and maintain."
One of the key elements they are demanding is a shower with all the bells and whistles, such as the one she created in a remodeling of a bachelor's condo in Boca Raton's Admiral's Walk. The accoutrements include four body spas and a ceiling rain shower by upscale German manufacturer Dornbracht, porcelain tiles that change color and a raised basketweave tile by Walker Zanger.
The client, a doctor, told her he wanted a state-of-the-art shower with minimalistic European plumbing.
"He works long hours and it's great to have water coming down from the ceiling like rain and jets to soothe the parts of the body that hurt," she says. "Today everyone is going 100 miles per hour. Who wouldn't want to relax in a gorgeous shower?"
An elaborate shower is also an integral part of the bathroom Sandi Samole of S&B Interiors designed in the 19th floor penthouse of The Bath Club in Miami Beach for Jim Sexton and his wife, Monica. Sexton is founder and CEO of Z-Line Designs, a California company that manufactures computer work stations, armoires and desk systems.
"The deluxe shower has it all over the whirlpool," Samole says. "People will remove tubs so they can have a big shower."
The shower, 8 feet by 2 feet, includes two shower heads, body sprays, ceiling shower and steam. The most unusual aspect is ProSun International's Sunshower, a full-length tanning bed installed in the walls that allows tanning while showering. A bench runs the length of the shower for sitting or lying down.
The shower door is etched in a graduated frosted stick design that has a clear panel in the middle so the view of the water is visible. The walls of the bathroom and shower are covered in glass tiles in teal, gray and sunlit yellow.
Because the shape of the room was long and narrow, Samole designed undulating onyx countertops with a rope lighting underneath to allow them to glow. On top are JSG Oceana glass vessel sinks.
They love to watch
Samole included a flat-screen television in the design, a new must-have. Televisions have come a long way since the first one she installed in a bathroom in 1998, which required a hole be cut in the wall to make the screen flush.
"Now televisions can be built into the mirror," she says. "We use this type when you know you have to have a TV and don't have to angle it. Instead of just a radio, people want something visual while they get dressed."
The Sextons bought two condos pre-construction, which allowed Samole to combine three smaller spaces into one large master bath.
"They wanted a design that was unusual, elegant and fun throughout the apartment," Samole says. "They really left it up to us, and they didn't see it until it was done. He told me if he didn't like it he was going to throw me over the balcony. I brought my parachute."
Tubs out of favor
Robert Feinberg, designer and showroom manager of Allied Kitchen & Bath in Fort Lauderdale, agrees showers are more important to homeowners than bathtubs and whirlpools. When his clients want a tub, it is only because they believe removing it will hurt resale. Others keep one for when their grandchildren visit.
"If you plan to stay in the house, don't worry about what the next person wants," he says. "Do what you want. If you plan to sell soon, it's a different story."
Feinberg included a whirlpool for use by visiting grandkids in a master bathroom remodel for Parkland empty nesters. But the main attraction is a large shower, which includes body sprays and a hand-held shower on one side and a main shower on the other side with a ceiling rain fixture.
The space was completely reconfigured, allowing about 18 ½ by 18 ½ feet for the main bath, 12 by 9 feet for the makeup area and two toilet rooms.
The design is softened with curves – the shape of the shower, the surround of the whirlpool and the soffit above the whirlpool. Granite was used for the tub deck and countertops and the bench seat in the shower to provide consistency.
Vanities steal the show
Master baths may be the stars, but guest baths and powder rooms have good supporting roles. Just ask Palm Beach designer Jennifer Garrigues and Fort Lauderdale designer Carlos Rebolledo.
"My clients want me to find furniture out of wood or something unusual to use as a vanity," Garrigues says. "Often I am looking for something functional and pretty."
That's just what she found for snowbirds from Kentucky who have a second home at Lost Tree Village in Palm Beach Gardens. Garrigues ordered an elaborate wood chest from Syria inlaid with mother-of-pearl with matching mirror. She topped it with simple white marble and a white sink with polished faucets.
"They love the exotic," she says. "They love interesting pieces and are open minded to all kinds of ideas. They love to travel and enjoy anything that is beautiful. I came back with this idea and they fell in love with it."
The same clients also wanted a distinctive powder room. The focal point is the basin, which was originally a fountain. It sits on a custom-made wrought iron gilded vanity with stone top. A single tap dispenses only warm water. Plumbing isn't visible because it is hidden behind the wall and accessible from a closet on the other side. The shell motif is echoed in plaster insets in the built-in shelves and a chair from James & Jeffrey Antiques in West Palm Beach.
"Shells are romantic," she says. "They are intricate and they are wonderful. You need lots of wonderful magic in a powder room. It always makes people smile."
Rebolledo agrees that powder rooms should leave a lingering impression on guests.
A good example is the renovation he did for snowbirds from New Jersey in Whitehall South condominium in Boca Raton. The focal point of the 4-by-7 foot powder room is a green cylinder vanity he found at Designer's Plumbing in the Design Center of the Americas. The 20-inch diameter vanity can be lit from the inside, providing a beautiful glow at night. It works well with the broken glass mosaic tile on the walls. The mirror, a Philippe Starck design, has a clear acrylic frame, which allows the wall tile to show through.
He remodeled a guest bathroom in the same condo with amber gold and rust brown Italian glass on the walls and in the shower. The simple tub, with brushed antique finish waterfall faucets, is used to bathe the grandkids. The vanity is made from one piece of honed Jerusalem limestone on a wrought-iron base.
"They wanted beautiful bathrooms and we gave it to them," he says.
Patrice Cury
Interiors by Patrice Cury, 6422 NW 23rd Lane, Boca Raton, 561-451-0744,
www.interiorsbypatricecury.com.
Robert Feinberg
Allied Kitchen & Bath, 616 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 954-564-1611,
www.alliedkitchenandbath.com.
Jennifer Garrigues
Jennifer Garrigues, 308 Peruvian Ave., Palm Beach, 561-659-7085, www.jennifergarrigues.com.
Carlos Rebolledo
CR2 Interiors, P.O. Box 39732, Fort Lauderdale, 305-305-3550 or Ross Ruffino
at 561-870-7877, www.CR2interiors.com.
Sandi Samole
S&B Interiors, Pinecrest, 305-661-1577, www.sandbinteriors.com.
