2007 HC&G IDEA HOUSE TOUR

"There were three challenges when I was designing the Spa Retreat," says Brooke Ackerman Bick of Brooke I. Ackerman Interiors. "There was no natural light, you have to walk through the room to get to another room, and I had to design around three soffits at three different levels." Remarkably, you sense none of these things when walking through the lower-level room, which is located between the staircase landing and the Gentleman's Study. Indeed, with one entire wall lined with mirrors and the others covered with lively Moroccan-flavored fabric, it takes time before you realize there are no windows. The stenciled ceiling and large circular light fixture (supplemented by recessed lighting, sconces and a table lamp) help in that regard, too.

As the name suggests, Bick's Spa Retreat is centered around indulgent body treatments: pedicures (on an elevated day bed framed by tied-back curtains), manicures (at a brightly lit, glass-topped table), facials and massages (on a simple massage table) and yoga and Pilates (on a rubberized mat in front of the mirror). "In the Hamptons, so many homeowners have people come to their homes to provide services, I thought, what's the next step? Why not manicures and massages and other body treatments?" Bick says.

The day bed, topped with a thick white cushion peppered with pillows in busy, blue and white patterns, is the room's focal point. To emphasize it, Bick built out the closets on either side to form a niche and raised it on a platform, thus distracting from the soffits at multiple heights. Brown ottomans and a deep tan area rug ground the space with an earthy touch.