Dual Personality

Complementing the sophisticated elegance that characterizes this Mediterranean-style spec-built luxury home in Naples, Fla., its master bath catches the eye and captures the hearts of south Florida's most discriminating home buyers with his-and-her spaces that meet in the middle in this lavish bath for two. A unique, faux-finished barrel vaulted ceiling above the central tub sets the tone for the room. The fixture is framed by a stepped marble wall and matching pre-cast stone columns at its leading edge. Encircling the tub, a walk-through shower incorporates dual controls, showerheads and jets under a 14-foot ceiling.

"This bathroom is all about symmetry," says interior designer Kim Collins. "It has a very formal balance with definite his-and-her sides that flow together almost seamlessly."

The high ceilings in the bathroom presented a significant design challenge - how to create intimacy in this key retreat space, while making the most of the room's volumes, says Collins.

"The shower area is actually incorporated into a big bay window at the front of the home," says Collins. While extra height was needed for balance on the home's exterior, it translated into an extraordinarily high ceiling inside the bathroom. "The extreme volume of the space could have been disconcerting to someone actually using the shower," she says. "It needed to be brought down to a more human scale."

To accomplish this, Collins combined luxurious materials, a warm color palette and three-dimensional accents to create a space that is both sensual and spectacular. The walls feature a floor-to-ceiling marble finish accented by horizontal and vertical bas relief details in pre-cast stone, including columns and niches that contain classical-style urns. Pre-cast stone also was used for trim around the windows and for the ledge, set at a 6-foot wall height, which defines the start of the shower's privacy wall.

"These details draw they eye down from the ceiling," says Collins.

The home was completed in June 2002 and has been sold.

Style of Home | Mediterranean
Location | Naples, Fla.
Total Square Footage | 6,000
Estimated Market Value | $5 million
Builder | Gulfshore Homes, Bonita Springs, Fla.
Architect | Jackson Kirschner Architects, Melbourne, Fla.
Interior Design | Collins & DuPont Interiors, Bonita Springs, Fla.
Luxury Spec-Built Model Home

Major Products Used | Cabinetry: Distinctive Cabinetry | Countertops: Marble Works | Lighting: Valentino (ceiling fixture); Minka Lavery (vanity) | Plumbing Fixtures: Kohler Co.; Grohe America | Whirlpool Tub: Jacuzzi Whirlpool Bath

Photography by Laurence Taylor