General Clubhouse Design

The clubhouse design celebrates a fresh Florida contemporary interpretation of the building’s original Key West character. Built by Lennar in 2000, the clubhouse already offered handsome, well-proportioned rooms with a comfortable sense of scale. Our goal was to respect that existing architecture while updating the interiors with American-made materials, high-performance textiles, commercial-grade hardwood furniture, dense foam cushion upholstery, natural light, and energy-efficient LED lighting.

Throughout the facility, we lightened the existing heavy wood doors and trim with a whitewashed finish, immediately bringing the interiors into a brighter, more current Florida aesthetic. The design layers tropical accents, Key West-inspired wall murals, select wallpaper moments, coastal colors, and durable furnishings appropriate for a 55-and-older community.

The two-story lobby presented a particular design challenge because its height felt out of scale with the warmth and comfort desired for the space. To create a more intimate, living-room sensibility, we reintroduced a perimeter soffit approximately two-thirds of the way up the walls. We also added pilasters to bring architectural dimension to the large volume, cladding them in a contemporary geometric wood-patina pattern that gives the lobby depth, rhythm, and a refined sense of detail.

While the community preferred to avoid a mirrored, crystal, or overly glamorous look in most areas, the ballroom called for a touch of elegance. We selected subdued glass lighting fixtures with gilt accents, providing just enough sparkle while maintaining a tasteful and sophisticated atmosphere. The design committee chose to avoid herringbone and geometric carpet patterns, instead selecting a large-scale, loose multicolor pattern in blue, white, and gold to complement the lighting and coastal palette.

Each bathroom was designed as its own tropical oasis, combining practical durability with a sense of escape. We also carefully studied the way office staff and maintenance teams used the building, identifying opportunities to improve storage, function, and day-to-day operations.

Accessibility and comfort were central to every decision. Flooring surfaces are ADA-compliant, and furnishings were selected for stability, durability, and ease of use by older adults. Overall, the result is an elegant, comfortable, and highly livable clubhouse that supports the daily life of the Baywinds community beautifully.

Ballroom

The ballroom presented one of the project’s most complex design challenges: unifying a large, 2,000-plus-square-foot L-shaped space into a flexible, elegant, and highly functional event environment. Originally built in 2000 as part of a Key West-style clubhouse by Lennar, the space serves a 55-and-older community and needed to support a wide range of activities without losing its sense of comfort or visual cohesion.

The main branch of the L-shaped room functions as the theater area, complete with a platform stage, blue velvet drapery, and an upper valance that frames the performance space. The adjoining rooms allow the ballroom to operate in several configurations. It can be arranged for theater seating while the adjacent rooms function independently as card rooms. It can also be fully opened for banquet use, accommodating round 6-foot tables with eight comfortable oversized 20-inch-wide chairs at each table. Alternatively, the space can be divided into four separate meeting rooms equipped for Zoom, microphone use, and community gatherings.

The design challenge was to make all four spaces feel unified while allowing them to function independently or together. The solution needed to be relevant to senior living, comfortable for daily use, and beautiful enough to provide the “wow” factor the community desired.

Budget was also a major consideration. Because extensive architectural modifications such as wall paneling, ceiling coffers, or custom millwork were not feasible, we focused the investment where it would have the greatest visual impact. Elegant glass-and-gilt lighting, along with high-quality broadloom hospitality carpet from Couristan, allowed us to create a rich and elevated ballroom atmosphere without excessive construction costs.

The palette is soft, subdued, and coastal: gentle blues, deep navy and royal tones, sandy neutrals, and gilt accents. Visual Comfort glass-and-gold chandeliers and wall sconces bring warmth and sophistication, while wall décor reflects the room’s coastal colors. Together, these elements create a calm and elegant environment with the feeling of a historic hotel ballroom, achieved through carefully chosen gestures rather than costly architectural intervention.

The result is spectacular, refined, and appropriate for an older community that values beauty, comfort, and function. The ballroom now operates beautifully for upscale banquets, theater events, card play, community meetings, board meetings, and multipurpose gatherings, giving Baywinds an elegant and flexible space that feels both gracious and effortless.