The
Artist: Peter Lavenson
Infusing
a home with nature, and subtleness with elegance.
by Rin-rin Yu
July 2004
- The Canvas:
New England panorama, a three-way collaboration, warmth
in winter
- The Palette:
Bluestone and slate, secret trap doors, a house of
glass
- The Masterpiece:
A portable spa blends perfectly into its setting,
a marvel of masonry, Nature’s magnificence with
a ringside seat
Creating
a warm escape in the middle of a New England winter is
right up Peter Lavenson’s alley. His expertise lies
in marrying indoor and outdoor environments. So when a
suburban Bostonian asked Lavenson to collaborate with
an architect and a home builder to create a sunroom and
spa overlooking the woodsy backyard pool, he was up to
the challenge.
“The client wanted a room
where he could get away from everything, smoke his cigars
and look out at the lovely landscape,” says Lavenson,
co-owner of New England Spas and Sunrooms in Natick,
Mass. One important challenge was creating easy access
to the portable spa’s service well without disrupting
the classic look of the stone and tile sunroom. Lavenson
added trap doors in the floor near the spa, incorporating
mahogany wood doors into the stonework.
The sunroom has 18-by-25-feet of wood-framed
windows and an arched ceiling. The floor below the spa
is tiled, and the spa steps paved with bluestone.
Though the architect and builder had
never worked with a portable spa before, the collaboration
among the three tradespeople went smoothly. “It
was an extensive masonry project, and the owner was
a discriminating, high-end client who wanted the best
materials,” Lavenson says. “We just had to
collaborate closely to make sure the spa was set in
nicely and worked with all their masonry needs.”
In the end, the project became the
year-round tranquil garden retreat the family wanted.
The space has a simple yet elegant outdoor poolside
feel, with views of fall foliage or snow-covered treetops,
depending on the season.
Lavenson considers this one of
his best projects. “We blended aesthetics with
practicality in a fairly seamless way that made everybody
happy,” he says.
- Name and
location: Peter Lavenson, co-owner, New England
Spas and Sunrooms, Natick, Mass.
- Specialty: High-quality design;
building and servicing spas and sunrooms that bring
the outdoors inside.
- Inspiration:
Giving the gift of open space and relaxation in the
home to people who spend much of their daily lives
running around and missing family connections.
- Favorite materials: Maintenance-free,
simulated-wood portable spas, which can match cabinetry
and spa skirts.
©
2004, Pool & Spa News
Permission
to reprint granted by copyright owner, publisher of
Pool & Spa News
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