A sliding pocket door opens from the outdoor pool area to a stainless-steel hot tub and cold plunge pool from Diamond Spas.

Walk down a few steps and you’re in a lounge area where the flickering flames of a gas fireplace might help you meditate or simply relax. 

“The lights are low and the temperature and acoustics are restful,” Hufft says. If you want to start the day here, you could drink your coffee until you’re ready to face the morning news on a flatscreen TV. In the evening, you could relax after a dip in the hot tub, lounging before the fire with a warm drink in hand. 

Day or night, you can de-stress in the walk-in infrared sauna with a steam feature from Sunlighten.

“This custom sauna has panels that wrap around the walls,” Hufft explains. “With infrared technology, heat waves move out from the panels and heat the human body quicker than a traditional sauna.” Infrared spas are touted for detoxification, relaxation, and muscle recovery. With the steam feature, the sauna could be dry or wet.

During the remodel, there were also building challenges. Because of the high moisture in this area, “We had to use non-porous materials,” says Mason Homoly, project manager with Homoly Design + Build, the firm who carried out the construction. That meant plaster instead of sheetrock, porcelain tile, stone, and marine-grade paint on the cabinetry to ward off mildew. “We also had to work with our HVAC guy to make sure the ventilation would bring in sufficient fresh air.”

Even the lighting plan had to adapt to the humid conditions. “We wanted indirect lighting, cove lighting around the ceiling,” Hufft says. Overhead lighting would have been too harsh and the metal surrounds for the lights would have been prone to rust over time.

The overall design of the lower level wellness retreat taps into eastern Asian design, Hufft says. He cites the zen simplicity of Japanese rock gardens that encourage contemplation, minimalistic furnishings that center our attention back to mind and body rather than “stuff,” and the all-important connection to nature, which helps us revive and restores our physical and mental health. Earth tones of wood, dark stone, and leafy green reference the natural world. Hufft’s company also fabricated the casework and some of the furniture.

Could a wellness retreat like this one replace the home gym as a must-have for homeowners? “It’s a lot of fun to think about,” Hufft says. “With all the emphasis on mental health these days, this is a space that involves both body and mind. Relax the body and quiet the mind. I think a space like this could really change the lives of the people who use it.”