• Penthouse Lobby at Plymouth Harbor
  • Penthouse Lobby at Plymouth Harbor
  • Penthouse Lobby at Plymouth Harbor
  • Penthouse Lobby at Plymouth Harbor

Penthouse Lobby at Plymouth Harbor

Sarasota, FL

Location(s): 700 John Ringling Boulevard

Client: Plymouth Harbor on Sarasota Bay

Design Consultant: Anne Folsom Smith Interior Design

Plymouth Harbor on Sarasota Bay, a vibrant Life Plan Community, wished to upgrade its penthouse-level lobby. The penthouse apartments were added onto the roof of this high rise building several years after its 1960s construction, and residual issues remained. The design team’s goals for the Penthouse Lobby renovation were to upgrade the room’s aesthetics and improve its functionality, especially for residents with limited mobility.

WBRC’s initial concept design created a safer traffic pattern and consolidated mechanical, electrical, and fire protection infrastructure — while also showcasing the height of the ceiling using custom woodwork. The plan also improved the room’s acoustics and introduced new residence doors worthy of the penthouse level. To facilitate Phase 1 construction, a central work platform was built to allow residents to enter and exit the lobby safely while the construction team worked to reposition infrastructure and improve accessibility.

During Phase 2 of the project, Anne Folsom Smith Interior Design of Sarasota led the design development, selecting the final furniture and finishes, with Architect of Record WBRC providing construction documents.

Other key design team members included the four households occupying Plymouth Harbor’s Penthouse level, who each contributed their own personal items to the new lobby. This involvement is part of a long-standing tradition at this close-knit community: Residential units at Plymouth Harbor are divided into neighborhoods called Colonies, and each with its own color scheme and a lobby decorated by its residents. Hence, the Penthouse Colony Lobby’s camera-man sculpture, grand piano, and ongoing chess game.  A griant tryptic of Sun Coast-inspired mosaics by artist Michael Solomon ties it all together.