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The project presented a significant design and spatial challenge: to entirely repurpose a 656 square-foot annex, previously functioning as a versatile pool house sleeping quarter and poker room, into a luxurious, private residential spa. The client's ambitious vision for this space required the incorporation of several key wellness features: a dedicated sauna, a state-of-the-art steam shower, a cold plunge bath, a secluded massage room, and a well-appointed glam vanity area.
Inheriting a floor plan from a previous design firm needing aesthetic resolution, the lead designer and I faced two main challenges: mitigating excessive natural light for a dimly-lit spa ambiance and concealing an unsightly HVAC bulkhead near the stairwell while maintaining access. The project necessitated a complete redesign, abandoning the previous firm's work. The client provided inspirational images generated via Midjourney AI. The lead designer and I meticulously analyzed these AI visuals, using them as the foundational mood board to translate the aesthetic into a luxurious, personalized, and feasible design scheme.
Devising effective, yet aesthetically pleasing, ways to reduce and control the light from the windows was essential to creating the intended spa atmosphere. To achieve this, several design solutions were implemented across the space.
The newly installed windows in the Cold Plunge and Steam Shower areas utilized switchable window film. In the Massage Room, two walls featured floor-to-ceiling, retractable drapery panels. The Glam Vanity Area's window could be completely hidden by push-button, gliding wood cladding panels. For the remaining windows, decorative wall panels and casing were installed to frame automated roller shades.
RETRACTABLE WOOD CLADDING PANELS
The vanity area presented a unique design challenge: how to achieve a continuous wall surface for privacy and light-blocking, while still allowing easy access to the natural light of the window behind. My solution, engineered with the contractor, involved sliding wood cladding panels that retract behind the mirror panels, fully opening to the window beyond. Subsequent project revisions updated the original model, including new mirror selections and refined finishes.
DECORATIVE WALL PANELS FOR BLACKOUT SHADES
South wall panel design to incorporate casing for blackout shades
South wall panel design to incorporate casing for blackout shades
Model rendered in V-Ray and polished in AI to show effects of sunlight in space
Model rendered in V-Ray and polished in AI to show blackout shades lowered
The lighting and illumination scheme was paramount to the client, who needed to visualize how the selected finishes, fabric, and paint would appear under both artificial light and natural daylight. To meet this requirement, we utilized IES lighting files provided by vendors and rendered the space in V-Ray, offering a realistic visualization of potential changes in appearance under various lighting conditions.
MASSAGE ROOM - LIGHTING TESTS
V-RAY TEXTURE MAPS AND STL FILES
Stairway CNC milled accent wall created by contractor from SketchUp STL file
V-Ray with texture maps to show light on proposed plaster shower walls
V-Ray with texture maps to show light on proposed plaster shower walls
Site photo - install nearing completion
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