Finding Nemo

NeMo, Winter Park, Fla.

Grand, best master bath in a custom home

Phil Kean designed and built this custom home on spec, envisioning a buyer who would embrace indoor/outdoor living, value natural materials, and appreciate contemporary design.

Influenced by the work of mid-century architects such as Paul Rudolph, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Rudolph Schindler, Kean created a master bath that feels like a trip to the spa. The space is split into two volumes—one containing the everyday bath; the other, a spa bath—that are separated by a breezeway and sliding glass doors.

Private yet open and airy, the everyday bath (see inset photo) displays lush materials such as travertine limestone floors, ipe (on the floor and tub surround), and crema marfil marble countertops. In the modernist spirit, the designer extended these ­interior materials—ipe, travertine—to the outside, including an exterior shower area adjacent to the two bathrooms.

In addition to the sliding doors, floating wall cabinets permit a free flow of light. Etched glass walls permit light but offer the toilet and bidet privacy from the shower and bathing areas. “The glass allows light to move throughout the bathroom, and it makes the space feel softer,” Kean says.

In the end, Kean was unable to part with his master work and ended up keeping the house. It turns out that the homeowner he envisioned living there was actually himself.

Entrant/Builder: Phil Kean Designs, Winter Park, Fla.; Interior designer: CRT Studio, Winter Park