Outside Amar’e Stoudemire’s Florida home

When professional basketball player and six-time All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire and his wife, Alexis, began looking for a new home in South Florida, neither design nor location was their primary concern. It was more about size, which is not unusual for a man who, at six feet and ten inches, dwarfs most people, furniture, and spaces.

“We just wanted a nice family-style home with no stairs,” explains Alexis, “basically a sanctuary for us to get away from everything.” This was discovered in a 12,000-square-foot residence in Southwest Ranches, 15 miles from Fort Lauderdale. The actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson lives nearby. Amar’e was most drawn to the ten-foot-tall doorways, expansive wall space, and palatial, ultra-high ceilings.

Another essential characteristic is efficiency. Instead of renovating, they desired a speedy move-in for themselves and their four children. They determined their preferred turnkey option from the options available. There was still work to be done to make the residence a home.

With a referral from Vanessa Bryant, wife of Kobe Bryant, they found the ideal candidate: Lori Halprin, who is acclimated to working with athletes who desire near-immediate gratification despite needing to order nearly all custom furniture due to their typically large sizes. “I understand their lifestyle and I know what they’re looking for,” says Halprin, the owner of Envision Fine Furnishings, a Los Angeles-based company that specializes in custom furniture. “Often it’s the first time they’ve slept in a bed without dangling off the side or sat on a sofa that accommodated their height. I also know how to make the rest of the family comfortable.”

Her services include everything from pots and pans and linens to Caracole case goods and 48-inch-deep sofas (ten inches deeper than usual and larger than a twin bed). Alexis explains, “We wanted Amar’e to be able to sit in every piece of furniture in the house, but we didn’t want it to be so large that it made everyone else look small.”

In the dining room, the host and hostess chairs have been enlarged, but Halprin has added a cushion so that Alexis will not find them too large. She also hung Amar’e’s most treasured possessions, their wedding photos, as well as art Halprin purchased at North Carolina’s High Point Market and his sports memorabilia.

Alexis, who has four children ages 12, 10, 9, and 4, was concerned about kid-friendliness. She wanted every surface to be durable and readily cleaned or wiped down. As a nod to his Hebrew Israelite roots and adopted homeland, Amar’e, who recently departed the NBA to play forward for Israel’s Haporeal Jerusalem team, of which he is a co-owner, wanted the expansive home to feel “like the home you grew up in.” We chose warm colors and comfortable furniture so that everyone can enjoy a movie, relax on the sofa, or smoke a cigar while watching their children swim in the pool.

Halprin returned with her team less than one month after flying from Los Angeles to meet the couple and develop a color palette and budget strategy. Due to everyone’s understanding of the vision from the outset, the couple reports that there were no surprises, issues, or disagreements during the process. Halprin used York Wallcoverings on ceilings and other unexpected places.

“My jaw dropped to the ground” was the response of the baller when he saw the home’s enormous front door. “My chin fell all the way to my Nikes, and I had to lift it up again. It was an incredible sensation: “We’re home!”