Luxurious owner suites feature several rooms.

 

Originally published by TC  Brown on Columbus Monthly | Monday, Novber 6, 2018

Amenities seem to pop in and out of lavishly constructed homes and this year’s BIA Tour of Homes was no exception—especially within the confines of expansive owner suites built into each home.

It wasn’t long ago that designers tossed cold water on the installation of free-standing bathtubs. But a peek inside homes at the recent parade in Jerome Village uncovered soaking tubs as a renewed and hot amenity.

And those tubs are getting prettier, too. Judges bestowed a gold award on the second-floor master suite in Manor Homes Midwestern’s mountain, chalet-style home. It featured a galvanized steel, freestanding, rivet-lined tub, perched on a raised deck that was covered with natural pebble flooring.

“These tubs are a big-time trend and this one is extremely heavy,” says Molly Croak, co-owner with Joy Coulter of Couture Design, the home’s interior designers. “The nice thing about free-standing tubs is it makes the room feel bigger.”

A gigantic, programmable walk-in shower, with a bench and dual showerheads stood nearby—another trend today.

“It’s a smart shower, so you can lay in bed, say ‘Turn on the shower,’ set it to the degree you want and the water doesn’t run until it is warmed up to that point,” Croak says.

The Manor also included a separate seating area with a long white sofa, narrow coffee table and a large walk-in closet. Décor involved pendant lighting and a rustic, reclaimed wooden headboard.

Another tendency for today’s owner suites includes space for capturing serenity—a realm of retreat. Coppertree Homes embraced the concept with its combination yoga, meditation and workout room as part of its second floor suite.

With muted gray walls, blackout window treatments, candles and mindful decorative mantras reminding one to refresh, relax and unplug, this 160-square-foot space provides a perfect escape from the pressure cooker of endless responsibilities.

Another of the suite’s unique features was literally hidden within the large walk-in closet, where the closet’s shelving concealed a door to a secret room, which was also lined with shelves—the perfect hiding spot for gifts or valuables.

An outdoor escape would have been a good theme for Memmer Homes’ owner suite, which captured a bronze award for its first floor bedroom suite. (First floor owner’s suites are another trend.) Three immense, side-by-side windows spot-lighted the room’s interior with bright, natural light.

Windows were bordered at the bottom with seats and shelving, and they provided more illumination in the expansive walk-in closet.

“The master bedroom is not all that big, but we wanted to keep it light and airy, so it did not need to be huge,” says Kelly Scott, of Kelly Scott Interiors. “We also used a mix of metals and material and texture to inject a modern element.”