Your clients don’t want a hotel; they want the feeling they had at one. On the latest episode of the KBB From the Tap podcast, Scottsdale, Ariz., designer Jaque Bethke breaks down how she translates that resort sensation into residential kitchens and baths. She spent more than two decades in hospitality at Wynn Resorts, and her approach starts long before anyone picks a finish.
Design the Experience, Then the Space
Bethke begins by studying how clients live: when they wake, when they wind down and whether they do full hair and makeup daily. She even notices whether a client’s car is spotless or cluttered. If one partner is tidy and the other is messy, that’s a conflict your design should resolve.
Luxury hotels hide the chaos. For one longtime client couple, Bethke created a single bath with two entries and a divided dressing area. The daily vanity standoff disappeared. What remained was the calm the couple had found at an Icelandic wellness resort. Bethke booked the same trip herself so she could understand exactly what they felt there.
Personalization Is the Real Luxury
Hotels design for a brand; you design for a person. Bethke guides clients through a personal brand exercise that uses archetypes and even asks which flower or tree they identify with. The answers shape material and layout decisions. Calm looks different for everyone. For some clients it’s quiet restraint, and for others it’s richly layered texture.
Durability matters just as much. Choose timeless materials that will still resonate a decade from now. Then add the jewelry: the faucet clients love to touch or the steam shower with body jets that turns a morning routine into a ritual. Design for who clients are becoming, and you’ll be their first call when it’s time to renovate.
Engage Every Sense
Resort atmosphere lives in the details guests don’t consciously notice. Bethke layers scent through diffusers in the vents, along with texture, light and sound. In Scottsdale, she connects indoor and outdoor living and also plans for climates that aren’t as forgiving.
Listen to the full episode for more of Bethke’s playbook on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora and other outlets. Watch for KBB’s expanded coverage of hospitality-driven residential design in 2027.
