Suite Escapes

Katie Langer Home & Design, Real Estate

Photography by Ethan Kaminsky, Interior design by Jeffrey Jurasky & Associates, Inc.

Just inside the front entrance of Jim and Susan Blair’s home at Tradition Golf Club in La Quinta awaits a modern marvel: the powder room.

Upon entry, the motion-sensor sink automatically turns on. Preset warm water cascades in waterfall fashion out of the quartzite-tiled wall and into the sink, which is made from several slabs of natural-colored marble cut at V-shaped angles.

“Guests come in the house, go in the powder room, and close the door. It’s the one time they’re alone to experience the environment in which the homeowners live,” says Jeffrey Jurasky, president and head designer at Jeffrey Jurasky & Associates, Inc., who created the sink ensemble. “It’s the one short-term opportunity the owners have to succeed in wowing their guests.”

It’s also a preview of the longer-term peaceful stay they’ll have in the Blairs’ “second master suite.” The Blairs dismissed the idea of building a detached guest house. “We wanted to keep our guests within the walls of the home so they would feel close, yet give them privacy,” Jim Blair says. “Having this second master suite, with the same features as we have, gives our guests maximum comfort.”

Jurasky helped them create two well-designed, well-appointed private master suites with all the comforts of home. “Each decade has had a different focus, and after the millennium, the focus turned to enriching lives, being health-conscious and introspective,” he says, adding that this focus spurred the move toward making bedrooms serene and spa-like.

The Blairs’ goal for the overall design of the master suites was to incorporate the same Southwestern hacienda-style architecture and design prominent in the rest of their home while keeping the rooms plush. This meant using exterior materials like natural stone and wood and adding luxurious amenities for comfort and softness.

Jurasky accomplished the desired atmosphere by using earth tones on the walls (the main suite is painted beige and the second chocolate brown); lots of natural stone, tile, and wood throughout; and many pleasantries like large, comfortable couches and chairs, electronic shades controlled from the bed, built-in dressers and entertainment centers, and recessed lamps with various settings for different uses.

For example, the cathedral ceilings in both suites are made of hand-hewn, distressed Douglas fir slats and beams. “It’s a striking look because the wood is natural and old-looking, and the rust-colored beam supports add to the effect,” Blair says.

The walls of the room are anything but stark with fireplaces as the focal points. Colorado River stone flanks the floor-to-ceiling fireplaces and chimneys, creating depth and an all-around earthen feel to the rooms. In the master suite, Western-style, four-panel French doors made of mesquite wood open to the outdoor pool, Jacuzzi, and deck, and provide a panoramic view of the golf course from the bed.

Also in the master suite, Jurasky created a sleeping alcove for the California king bed that is set into the wall 16 inches. The built-in headboard takes up the alcove’s wall space and is a luxurious, quilted pillow surface that defines softness and quiets the room.
t the foot of the bed rests a large love seat in creamy beige with matching chairs. “They’re big, floppy, and comfortable,” Blair says. “The pure utility of them … encourages comfort and total relaxation.” The Blairs spend a lot of time in these furnishings talking, doing puzzles, and watching the evening news.

Sunken two steps down from the main area of the master suite is the dressing area with a walk-in closet and the master bath. The bathroom features an 8-foot-long Jacuzzi tub, a dual walk-in shower with his-and-her entrances, his-and-her water closets and counters with sinks, a vanity with another sink, and large wall mirrors. A variety of stone and tile—slate, granite and marble slabs, limestone accents, glass tile, and metal accent tiles—decorate the bathroom area: on the floor, encasing the Jacuzzi, on the counters, and surrounding the shower. Bringing more of the outside in, each side of the shower has a small window to create an open-air feeling of showering outside, but with the privacy of a shutter.

“We go into our suite at the end of the day after playing golf and before we go out for dinner. We use the patio and outdoor spa a lot, and we love having the great view of the golf course and mountains,” Blair says. “One of our favorite things about the suite is our feeling of proximity with the primary living areas in the house while allowing us to maintain our privacy.”
Guests enter the second master suite via a private hallway off the main gallery. Along with the same type of stone-flanked fireplace and wooden ceiling and beams, the second master suite also has a unique bed, comfy chairs, and an excellent view.

According to Jurasky, one “wow factor” of this room is the bed’s headboard. He found an old wrought-iron frame at a Mexican import house and designed the headboard to incorporate the frame with textured wood. On either side of the bed is a nightstand with built-in breadboards that have cork surfaces — perfect for setting down a glass of wine or cup of coffee, Jurasky says.

Similar to the master suite’s private patio and outdoor pool and Jacuzzi, the second master suite also has its own patio, which opens up to a magnificent mountain view. “Late in the day, the sun is on the side of the house where the second master suite is, and it’s very pretty to watch the sun go down over the mountains,” Blair says.

The second master bath also showcases grandeur with twin sinks, a large walk-in shower, and a soaking tub, all surrounded by the same types of tile and stone as in the master bathroom.
“Our guests have been known to bring their gin and tonics into the second master suite,” Blair says. “When they come out, they say, ‘That’s a room we don’t want to leave.’”