principle bathroom reveal

This year seems to have scrapped everything we knew and were accustomed to for this I'm ready to tackle anything coming at us and frankly, hardly even surprised at this point, attitude. So in spirit of this can do resilience I'm clicking publish on the first blog post for JLa. Pronounced J and La (like falalala la la la). Fun fact about the short of Jennifer Lange Architect, JLa was my nickname dubbed when working in Augusta, Georgia at Studio 3 Design Group with three other Jennifers!

Now on to introduce the first built project for Jennifer Lange Architect, photographed by the very talented Kimberly Mitchell of Portrayable Photography, I give you the game changer for this wonderful family. A new principle bath and dressing room addition creating a second very necessary bathroom for this lovely central Naples home.

Like many houses in this neighborhood it was a 2/1, two bedroom one bathroom! I have a unwritten rule in my life, once there are two adults living under one roof, we need to have at least two bathrooms! The family in this home were amazingly doing great managing the scary waters of only one bathroom for the three of them, but it was a priority for their future to expand and capture the spa-like feel of a primary bath, hence our project was born!

As all projects do, the first step was to start programming the space and gathering all the client's needs and wants. With this wish list complete we are able to begin laying out as many possible schemes that our creativity can conjure up, selectively editing down to the best plans to propose to the clients. The schematic design presentation is definitely one of my favorite moments of a project and I like to place bets on which layout will be selected. As a rule, every scheme presented is something I would be happy with being built, selection comes down to how the family lives. This is super important to remember when doing any construction project. This is your home and it should reflect who you are! Yes it is important to consider "resale value" but even more important is to live in a home that is truly yours.

With our Naples principle bath addition we focused on long sightlines, to expand the feel of the volume, so when all the doors are open, the view continues through the bedroom, bath and out the large window centered over the tub. The client also wanted tons of natural light, a goal most every architect strives for. They even scored a gorgeous transom in the new dressing room. Nothing like that natural light in a closet to see true colors!

The homeowners keep a tidy home, so to help clear the clutter, a strategically placed shampoo ledge is hidden from view until you enter the shower. One of my favorite features! Another is the cantilevered shower bench, something we knew needed to be incorporated from one of the first inspiration images supplied by the client. In all projects it is very helpful to gather images of things that you love from the beginning to set the mood for the project.

Some beautiful adjustments happened in the course of bidding and construction, which included expanding the marble tile flooring into the new dressing room and across the back wall behind the tub. Budgeting these changes really amped up the design and pulled all the rooms together!

It would not be 2020 if we did not make a space for a virtual office, so the converted "his" closet which is now the new entry threshold to the principle suite, houses a little desk space!

Architecture by_ Jennifer Lange Architect

Built by_ Luna Mar Builders

Photography by Portrayable Photography