Incorporating levels and retaining walls allowed us to make use of this sloped part of the yard, including adding a gas fire pit with built-in seating and custom outdoor lighting.

Mid-sized transitional backyard deck photo in Chicago with a fire pit and a pergola

Split level home updated with new siding, soffits, fascia, windows, roof, and gutters. Photo courtesy of: James Zabilka
Mid-sized 1960s green two-story vinyl gable roof photo in Chicago

Immerse yourself in this green kitchen oasis, where luxurious gold hardware accents every corner. The striking green cabinets steal the spotlight, elegantly contrasting with the crisp white countertops and backsplash. This harmonious blend of colors and textures creates a vibrant yet sophisticated space, inviting you to enjoy both cooking and entertaining in style.

View from the picket garden down to the fireplace.
Photo of a traditional landscaping in Boston.

Designed in sharp contrast to the glass walled living room above, this space sits partially underground. Precisely comfy for movie night.
Example of a large mountain style enclosed slate floor, black floor, wood ceiling and wood wall living room design in Chicago with beige walls, a standard fireplace, a metal fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

fiber cement siding painted Cleveland Green (7" siding), Sweet Vibrations (4" siding), and Texas Leather (11" siding)—all by Benjamin Moore • window trim and clerestory band painted Night Horizon by Benjamin Moore • soffit & fascia painted Camouflage by Benjamin Moore • Photography by Tre Dunham

This Cobble Hill Brownstone for a family of five is a fun and captivating design, the perfect blend of the wife’s love of English country style and the husband’s preference for modern. The young power couple, her the co-founder of Maisonette and him an investor, have three children and a dog, requiring that all the surfaces, finishes and, materials used throughout the home are both beautiful and durable to make every room a carefree space the whole family can enjoy. The primary design challenge for this project was creating both distinct places for the family to live their day to day lives and also a whole floor dedicated to formal entertainment. The clients entertain large dinners on a monthly basis as part of their profession. We solved this by adding an extension on the Garden and Parlor levels. This allowed the Garden level to function as the daily family operations center and the Parlor level to be party central. The kitchen on the garden level is large enough to dine in and accommodate a large catering crew. On the parlor level, we created a large double parlor in the front of the house; this space is dedicated to cocktail hour and after-dinner drinks. The rear of the parlor is a spacious formal dining room that can seat up to 14 guests. The middle "library" space contains a bar and facilitates access to both the front and rear rooms; in this way, it can double as a staging area for the parties. The remaining three floors are sleeping quarters for the family and frequent out of town guests. Designing a row house for private and public functions programmatically returns the building to a configuration in line with its original design. This project was published in Architectural Digest. Photography by Sam Frost

Home Built by Arjay Builders Inc. Photo by Amoura Productions
Eat-in kitchen - large contemporary l-shaped porcelain tile and beige floor eat-in kitchen idea in Omaha with flat-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, quartz countertops, gray backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island, an undermount sink and glass tile backsplash

Example of a mid-sized minimalist gray two-story concrete exterior home design

This vinyl deck features three levels for entertaining. It also includes aluminum railing with turned spindles.
Example of a large classic backyard deck design in Philadelphia with no cover

This brownstone, located in Harlem, consists of five stories which had been duplexed to create a two story rental unit and a 3 story home for the owners. The owner hired us to do a modern renovation of their home and rear garden. The garden was under utilized, barely visible from the interior and could only be accessed via a small steel stair at the rear of the second floor. We enlarged the owner’s home to include the rear third of the floor below which had walk out access to the garden. The additional square footage became a new family room connected to the living room and kitchen on the floor above via a double height space and a new sculptural stair. The rear facade was completely restructured to allow us to install a wall to wall two story window and door system within the new double height space creating a connection not only between the two floors but with the outside. The garden itself was terraced into two levels, the bottom level of which is directly accessed from the new family room space, the upper level accessed via a few stone clad steps. The upper level of the garden features a playful interplay of stone pavers with wood decking adjacent to a large seating area and a new planting bed. Wet bar cabinetry at the family room level is mirrored by an outside cabinetry/grill configuration as another way to visually tie inside to out. The second floor features the dining room, kitchen and living room in a large open space. Wall to wall builtins from the front to the rear transition from storage to dining display to kitchen; ending at an open shelf display with a fireplace feature in the base. The third floor serves as the children’s floor with two bedrooms and two ensuite baths. The fourth floor is a master suite with a large bedroom and a large bathroom bridged by a walnut clad hall that conceals a closet system and features a built in desk. The master bath consists of a tiled partition wall dividing the space to create a large walkthrough shower for two on one side and showcasing a free standing tub on the other. The house is full of custom modern details such as the recessed, lit handrail at the house’s main stair, floor to ceiling glass partitions separating the halls from the stairs and a whimsical builtin bench in the entry.

Example of a large trendy backyard outdoor kitchen deck design in San Diego with no cover

This 1912 traditional style house sits on the edge of Cheesman Park with four levels that needed updating to better suit the young family’s needs. A custom wine room was constructed on the lower level to accommodate an area for entertaining guests. The main level was divided into a smaller family room area with a double door opening into the formal living room. The kitchen and butler’s pantry were combined and remodeled for better function. The second level master bathroom was relocated and created out of an adjacent bedroom, incorporating an existing fireplace and Juliet balcony that looks out to the park. A new staircase was constructed on the third level as a continuation of the grand staircase in the center of the house. A gathering and play space opens off the stairs and connects to the third-floor deck. A Jill & Jill bathroom remodel was constructed between the girls’ rooms.

Large elegant backyard deck photo in Nashville with a pergola

Example of a trendy brick and custom-shaped infinity pool design in Providence

AV Architects + Builders Location: McLean, VA, USA Our newest custom modern home, located in the heart of McLean, Virginia measures just over 8,700 square feet. Situated on a beautiful lot on Old Chesterbrook Road, the modern home design takes advantage of the lot’s natural contours and sight-lines. Spread throughout three levels, the home contains five bedrooms, six full bathrooms, one half-bath, and a three-car garage. The main level of our modern home design features an open-floor plan designed to entertain family and friends. The entry flows into both the grand dining room and the central area, dedicated to the kitchen, breakfast and a double height great room that opens to a large outdoor deck with picturesque views of the expansive backyard. Located just off the garage is a functional mudroom that features plenty of storage space. In addition to a large home office and powder room, the entire left wing is dedicated to a private master suite with an expansive custom his/her walk-in closet, a master bath with a rainfall shower and a free-standing soaking tub with his/her vanities. The upper level of our modern home design features three generously sized en-suite bedrooms with full baths and closets with a full-size laundry room with plenty of storage space. The lower level of our modern home design also features an en-suite guest bedroom with full bath and walk-in closets amenities. It also includes an expansive recreational room with a glass enclosed wine cellar to house your prized wine collection. To finish out the lower level, we added a full exercise room paired with a full bath with direct access to the outdoor terrace and complimented the house with plenty of storage space. The materials we used for our modern home design are of the highest quality brands. We wanted to hand-select materials that would last for years to come, require little to no maintenance, and compliment the modern aesthetic of the home. The home features aluminum-clad oversized windows, Nichiha rectangular siding, and brick with a pastel finish; all brought together under a vacation style hip roof. Overall, we wanted to create a modern home design that feels like a retreat but still offers all the required amenities a family needs to keep up with the fast pace of Northern Virginia.

This vinyl deck features three levels for entertaining. It also includes aluminum railing with turned spindles.
Large elegant backyard deck photo in Philadelphia with no cover

The Atherton House is a family compound for a professional couple in the tech industry, and their two teenage children. After living in Singapore, then Hong Kong, and building homes there, they looked forward to continuing their search for a new place to start a life and set down roots. The site is located on Atherton Avenue on a flat, 1 acre lot. The neighboring lots are of a similar size, and are filled with mature planting and gardens. The brief on this site was to create a house that would comfortably accommodate the busy lives of each of the family members, as well as provide opportunities for wonder and awe. Views on the site are internal. Our goal was to create an indoor- outdoor home that embraced the benign California climate. The building was conceived as a classic “H” plan with two wings attached by a double height entertaining space. The “H” shape allows for alcoves of the yard to be embraced by the mass of the building, creating different types of exterior space. The two wings of the home provide some sense of enclosure and privacy along the side property lines. The south wing contains three bedroom suites at the second level, as well as laundry. At the first level there is a guest suite facing east, powder room and a Library facing west. The north wing is entirely given over to the Primary suite at the top level, including the main bedroom, dressing and bathroom. The bedroom opens out to a roof terrace to the west, overlooking a pool and courtyard below. At the ground floor, the north wing contains the family room, kitchen and dining room. The family room and dining room each have pocketing sliding glass doors that dissolve the boundary between inside and outside. Connecting the wings is a double high living space meant to be comfortable, delightful and awe-inspiring. A custom fabricated two story circular stair of steel and glass connects the upper level to the main level, and down to the basement “lounge” below. An acrylic and steel bridge begins near one end of the stair landing and flies 40 feet to the children’s bedroom wing. People going about their day moving through the stair and bridge become both observed and observer. The front (EAST) wall is the all important receiving place for guests and family alike. There the interplay between yin and yang, weathering steel and the mature olive tree, empower the entrance. Most other materials are white and pure. The mechanical systems are efficiently combined hydronic heating and cooling, with no forced air required.