Creating a Warmer Welcome The Naples Players’ Lobby Gets Overdue Refresh When The Naples Players opened its doors on 5th Avenue in the 1990s, it gave downtown Naples a fresh and exciting new look. The tens of thousands of patrons spurred growth and revitalized the avenue. However, more than twenty years later, the theater aesthetically remained frozen in time.
Balancing the need for a large-scale renovation
The theater’s restrooms, a natural extension of
against the practicality of a cost-effective revi-
the lobby, also suffered. But with Josie’s inge-
talization, The Naples Players enlisted celebrat-
nuity and design tricks, the space underwent a
ed interior design company Josie Presar Design
dramatic transformation.
to provide a cosmetic refresh to the lobby.
wood look, added wall covering, changed out
overall color palette of the space while also
the faucets, and swapped in new back-lit mir-
modernizing patterns and materials of the fin-
rors to completely update and modernize the
ishes,” Josie said. “To add warmth and visual
look of the space,” she said.
perspective to the lobby, we added a new slat wood material around the entrance to the Tobye Studio Theater at the rear of the space.”
“One of the most intriguing aspects of design tive Artistic Director Bryce Alexander said. “Our tistically, culturally, politically—and so do our ideas of how our professional, private, and community spaces look and function.” With different shades of paint patching the walls, wine stains dotting the carpet, and a color palette that fell out of vogue many years ago, The Naples Players lobby was no longer a reflection of today’s world class theatre performed in Blackburn Hall or Tobye Studio Theater.
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While the facility still needs major modifications to suit the theater’s growing needs, the atmosphere remains conducive to a high value artistic experience.
work is that it is constantly evolving,” Executastes and preferences change over time—ar-
“We reskinned the bathroom partitions with a
“We focused on updating and softening the
The main lobby undergoes its first major renovation since opening its doors in the 1990s.
