Discover how premium light-filtering materials and smart-home automation can secure street-level entryway glass without losing natural daylight. Choosing the right window treatments for a home's front entrance is one of the most challenging design decisions a homeowner can face. The front door is the focal point of a home's curb appeal, often featuring expansive glass panels or side-by-side double doors designed to make a grand architectural statement. During the day, these large glass features are an asset, flooding entryways and foyers with beautiful natural daylight. However, for homes situated on busy local roads or highly trafficked street-level lots, the dynamic completely changes once the sun goes down. The moment interior lights are switched on in the evening, a stark contrast is created with the dark outdoors. This creates a severe privacy issue, leaving the entire foyer completely exposed to passing traffic and pedestrians. Finding a solution that delivers absolute evening privacy without permanently plunging the front entrance into darkness during the day requires understanding how modern window treatment materials and operating systems interact. Light-Filtering vs. Blackout Fabrics The first step in solving street-level privacy is selecting the correct fabric type. Many homeowners mistakenly assume they need heavy, opaque blackout shades to secure their home from outside eyes at night. While blackout fabrics certainly block 100% of the view, they also block 100% of the natural daylight during the day, forcing you to constantly raise and lower the shades just to see inside your own foyer. A more effective approach for entryways utilizes premium light-filtering materials. These specialized fabrics are engineered with a precise, tight weave that operates on the principles of directional light and optical density. Daytime Functionality: When the sun is shining outside, the exterior light levels are significantly higher than the interior light levels. The light-filtering fabric diffuses the intense, direct sunlight into a soft, ambient glow throughout the entryway. This keeps the home bright, eliminates harsh glares, and protects interior hardwood flooring, paint, and trim from damaging UV rays. Night-Time Functionality: At night, the lighting dynamic reverses. The interior foyer lights make the inside bright, while the outside is dark. Because of the specialized tight weave, the fabric blocks the transmission of clear shapes and details. To a person standing out on the street or driving by on a busy road, the view inside is completely obstructed, delivering total privacy when the family is home for the evening. Challenges of Front Door Installations Securing privacy for a double wide front entrance introduces unique structural hurdles that standard windows do not face. Traditional blinds with hanging cords or manual pull chains are poorly suited for front doors. They disrupt the clean architectural lines of a grand foyer, create a safety hazard, and can easily get tangled or damaged when the doors are opened and closed. The window treatments must be mounted high and wide enough above the door trim to ensure that the front doors can swing open and close freely without ever catching on the fabric or the lower hem bar. How We Applied These Principles in Sherrills Ford, NC Applying these exact educational principles to real-world homes is what Cole and I do every day at Bloomin' Blinds of North Charlotte. We recently worked with a homeowner in Sherrills Ford whose beautiful new construction property sat on a highly trafficked road. They loved their double wide front door entrance but felt entirely too exposed to the street at night. We brought our mobile showroom directly to their driveway. This allowed us to hold up premium light-filtering fabric samples directly against their entryway glass, matching the materials perfectly to their home's natural lighting, interior paint, and trim before making a single cut. To solve their street-level privacy issue, we custom-built and installed two matching light-filtering roller shades, mounting them flawlessly side-by-side above the front door frame. To keep the home’s interior design completely cohesive, we carried the exact same style to the back of the house, installing a matching single roller shade on the rear door. Smart Home Window Automation at Your Fingertips Because entryway windows can be tall and awkward to reach manually, our family team integrated advanced smart-home motorization into this Sherrills Ford project. Beyond the convenience of a handheld remote control, these automated roller shades feature seamless Wi-Fi integration. The homeowners can control their privacy through a dedicated smartphone app or link the system directly to their existing voice-activated smart home networks, including Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit. This allows for complete hands-free window automation. The clients can program custom daily routines—such as setting the front entry shades to automatically lower exactly at sunset—or simply use a voice command to secure the foyer instantly from the comfort of the couch.

In the Tuscany region of central Italy, a region made famous around the world for its history, landscapes, traditions, artistic legacy and fine wine, perhaps nothing is more universally recognized than the old world villa’s that are nestled into the rolling countryside. Standing at approximately 10,500 square feet, this custom residence has all of the elegance, style and craftsmanship of those old world homes, but with all of the modern amenities of a new modern luxury home. This stunning residence was recognized by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) as the best custom built home in the country in 2010, a testament to the skillful designers and craftsmen who brought the homeowners vision into reality. When Chad Haas, Founder of VAULT (www.vaultgarage.com), a company that prides itself in furnishing some of the most beautiful garages in the world, was brought into the project, the home and garage had already been built. The accolades of the gorgeous villa already awarded. But the homeowner felt that the exterior and interior of the garage lacked architectural harmony with the rest of the home and so he flew Mr. Haas out to visit the space directly so that he could assist hands-on with re-designing a new look and to add furnishings to accessories the space. “When I first approached the villa from the street, I knew that I’d have my work cut out for me. Everything looked so perfect exactly the way it was designed and built. I questioned myself ‘how was I going to improve upon perfection?’, since remarkable attention was paid to even the smallest of details in the home” asked Haas. The client’s goal was to engage Haas to design and furnish a garage where he could relax, separate from the home, enjoy his growing car collection and entertain family and friends. After spending a short weekend together with the home owner to gather his ideas, Haas returned back to his Beaverton, Oregon-based company with a clearer vision: create the ultimate gentlemen’s retreat through the look of a turn-of-a-century Tuscan ‘car barn’. Absolutely nothing in the garage was overlooked – and it shows. Every design element in the garage for color, texture and material was meticulously thought out to elicit just the right feeling and emotion in everyone that enters what may be one of the most beautifully elegant garages in America, a space commonly overlooked in the construction of homes today. A main focal point of the exterior of garage is the beautiful view from the courtyard, where all three carriage doors can be seen. While the existing wood doors looked acceptable, it was agreed that something more befitting of the quality and beauty of the home were appropriate. Haas designed luxurious castle-style doors handcrafted from solid Mahogany and bathed in a rich dark brown stain that was complemented by hand-wrought iron grills, clavos and door pull hardware. The double-wide door, in particular, is truly remarkable in both its elegance, as well as its one-of-a-kind operation. “The client was concerned in this area of having mounting hardware and a motor on the ceiling. Because the cars in this area do not get brought out on a regular (daily) basis, the doors open manually by hand and operate accordion style on a track”. The homes main overhead garage doors feature jack-shaft operation which removes the clutter of a motor on the garage ceiling, but offers the convenience of powered operation. These extraordinary, custom-made castle doors look just as beautiful on the inside as the out and their unparalleled design and craftsmanship take the exterior of the home to even greater heights than before. On to the interior, a black and white epoxy coating was stripped and replaced with porcelain tiles that resembled Italian travertine stone. To give the car barn a rustic feeling and a presence that it was older, not modern, Haas worked on the development and concept directly with the home owner to collaborate with a local millwork company that designed and hand-finished substantial wood beams from distressed Doug Fir. All of the walls were hand-plastered by a local artist using straw that was harvested from the immediate area surrounding the home and incorporated into the plaster to give it a rustic antique quality. Haas conceived and designed a bar area and cabinetry for a work area that pulled inspiration from old ice boxes of the 1920’s that utilized heavy nickel-plated hardware, again to give storage spaces a rustic appearance. The warm glow from several custom porcelain neon signs, each one meticulously built entirely by hand by VAULT, are dispersed throughout the space and transform the entire room and bring it to life. The client had never previously owned a neon sign before and along with the carriage doors felt that these items have transformed the space more than any other feature. Several antique gas pumps, restored in the client’s favorite petro bran, and a few additional porcelain signs will eventually furnish the rest of the space to complement the clients amazing car collection. In addition to the countless details that set this showcase garage apart, its ability to seamlessly blend with the rest of the home and the natural, rustic setting of the Colorado Rockies, yet house modern automobiles in a manner in which they feel well placed and belong, is also noteworthy. GARAGE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS To learn more about VAULT visit them at: http://www.vaultgarage.com/ And on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VaultGarage PHOTOGRAPHY All photographs were used with the permission of photographer John Vanderpool (john.vanderpool5@gmail.com) You can visit John Vanderpool on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/JVanderpoolPhotography ARCHITECTURE Jerry Gloss, Principal, KGA Architects: http://www.kgarch.com/ HOMEBUILDER Thomas Sattler Home: http://thomassattlerhomes.com/ VEHICLES Here is an overview of the cars that were photographed in this article: 1. 2014 Ferrari 458 Italia 2. 2013 Maserati GranTurismo Sport 3. 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 4. 2008 Porsche Cayenne GTS 5. 2008 Porsche GT3 RS 6. 2013 Porsche 911 Turbo S (997) 7. 2014 Porsche Panamera GTS 8. 2013 Ford SVT Raptor (6.2L CrewCab)’ Overview of project reprinted with permission of DuPont Registry.

Discover how premium light-filtering materials and smart-home automation can secure street-level entryway glass without losing natural daylight. Choosing the right window treatments for a home's front entrance is one of the most challenging design decisions a homeowner can face. The front door is the focal point of a home's curb appeal, often featuring expansive glass panels or side-by-side double doors designed to make a grand architectural statement. During the day, these large glass features are an asset, flooding entryways and foyers with beautiful natural daylight. However, for homes situated on busy local roads or highly trafficked street-level lots, the dynamic completely changes once the sun goes down. The moment interior lights are switched on in the evening, a stark contrast is created with the dark outdoors. This creates a severe privacy issue, leaving the entire foyer completely exposed to passing traffic and pedestrians. Finding a solution that delivers absolute evening privacy without permanently plunging the front entrance into darkness during the day requires understanding how modern window treatment materials and operating systems interact. Light-Filtering vs. Blackout Fabrics The first step in solving street-level privacy is selecting the correct fabric type. Many homeowners mistakenly assume they need heavy, opaque blackout shades to secure their home from outside eyes at night. While blackout fabrics certainly block 100% of the view, they also block 100% of the natural daylight during the day, forcing you to constantly raise and lower the shades just to see inside your own foyer. A more effective approach for entryways utilizes premium light-filtering materials. These specialized fabrics are engineered with a precise, tight weave that operates on the principles of directional light and optical density. Daytime Functionality: When the sun is shining outside, the exterior light levels are significantly higher than the interior light levels. The light-filtering fabric diffuses the intense, direct sunlight into a soft, ambient glow throughout the entryway. This keeps the home bright, eliminates harsh glares, and protects interior hardwood flooring, paint, and trim from damaging UV rays. Night-Time Functionality: At night, the lighting dynamic reverses. The interior foyer lights make the inside bright, while the outside is dark. Because of the specialized tight weave, the fabric blocks the transmission of clear shapes and details. To a person standing out on the street or driving by on a busy road, the view inside is completely obstructed, delivering total privacy when the family is home for the evening. Challenges of Front Door Installations Securing privacy for a double wide front entrance introduces unique structural hurdles that standard windows do not face. Traditional blinds with hanging cords or manual pull chains are poorly suited for front doors. They disrupt the clean architectural lines of a grand foyer, create a safety hazard, and can easily get tangled or damaged when the doors are opened and closed. The window treatments must be mounted high and wide enough above the door trim to ensure that the front doors can swing open and close freely without ever catching on the fabric or the lower hem bar. How We Applied These Principles in Sherrills Ford, NC Applying these exact educational principles to real-world homes is what Cole and I do every day at Bloomin' Blinds of North Charlotte. We recently worked with a homeowner in Sherrills Ford whose beautiful new construction property sat on a highly trafficked road. They loved their double wide front door entrance but felt entirely too exposed to the street at night. We brought our mobile showroom directly to their driveway. This allowed us to hold up premium light-filtering fabric samples directly against their entryway glass, matching the materials perfectly to their home's natural lighting, interior paint, and trim before making a single cut. To solve their street-level privacy issue, we custom-built and installed two matching light-filtering roller shades, mounting them flawlessly side-by-side above the front door frame. To keep the home’s interior design completely cohesive, we carried the exact same style to the back of the house, installing a matching single roller shade on the rear door. Smart Home Window Automation at Your Fingertips Because entryway windows can be tall and awkward to reach manually, our family team integrated advanced smart-home motorization into this Sherrills Ford project. Beyond the convenience of a handheld remote control, these automated roller shades feature seamless Wi-Fi integration. The homeowners can control their privacy through a dedicated smartphone app or link the system directly to their existing voice-activated smart home networks, including Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit. This allows for complete hands-free window automation. The clients can program custom daily routines—such as setting the front entry shades to automatically lower exactly at sunset—or simply use a voice command to secure the foyer instantly from the comfort of the couch.

Discover how premium light-filtering materials and smart-home automation can secure street-level entryway glass without losing natural daylight. Choosing the right window treatments for a home's front entrance is one of the most challenging design decisions a homeowner can face. The front door is the focal point of a home's curb appeal, often featuring expansive glass panels or side-by-side double doors designed to make a grand architectural statement. During the day, these large glass features are an asset, flooding entryways and foyers with beautiful natural daylight. However, for homes situated on busy local roads or highly trafficked street-level lots, the dynamic completely changes once the sun goes down. The moment interior lights are switched on in the evening, a stark contrast is created with the dark outdoors. This creates a severe privacy issue, leaving the entire foyer completely exposed to passing traffic and pedestrians. Finding a solution that delivers absolute evening privacy without permanently plunging the front entrance into darkness during the day requires understanding how modern window treatment materials and operating systems interact. Light-Filtering vs. Blackout Fabrics The first step in solving street-level privacy is selecting the correct fabric type. Many homeowners mistakenly assume they need heavy, opaque blackout shades to secure their home from outside eyes at night. While blackout fabrics certainly block 100% of the view, they also block 100% of the natural daylight during the day, forcing you to constantly raise and lower the shades just to see inside your own foyer. A more effective approach for entryways utilizes premium light-filtering materials. These specialized fabrics are engineered with a precise, tight weave that operates on the principles of directional light and optical density. Daytime Functionality: When the sun is shining outside, the exterior light levels are significantly higher than the interior light levels. The light-filtering fabric diffuses the intense, direct sunlight into a soft, ambient glow throughout the entryway. This keeps the home bright, eliminates harsh glares, and protects interior hardwood flooring, paint, and trim from damaging UV rays. Night-Time Functionality: At night, the lighting dynamic reverses. The interior foyer lights make the inside bright, while the outside is dark. Because of the specialized tight weave, the fabric blocks the transmission of clear shapes and details. To a person standing out on the street or driving by on a busy road, the view inside is completely obstructed, delivering total privacy when the family is home for the evening. Challenges of Front Door Installations Securing privacy for a double wide front entrance introduces unique structural hurdles that standard windows do not face. Traditional blinds with hanging cords or manual pull chains are poorly suited for front doors. They disrupt the clean architectural lines of a grand foyer, create a safety hazard, and can easily get tangled or damaged when the doors are opened and closed. The window treatments must be mounted high and wide enough above the door trim to ensure that the front doors can swing open and close freely without ever catching on the fabric or the lower hem bar. How We Applied These Principles in Sherrills Ford, NC Applying these exact educational principles to real-world homes is what Cole and I do every day at Bloomin' Blinds of North Charlotte. We recently worked with a homeowner in Sherrills Ford whose beautiful new construction property sat on a highly trafficked road. They loved their double wide front door entrance but felt entirely too exposed to the street at night. We brought our mobile showroom directly to their driveway. This allowed us to hold up premium light-filtering fabric samples directly against their entryway glass, matching the materials perfectly to their home's natural lighting, interior paint, and trim before making a single cut. To solve their street-level privacy issue, we custom-built and installed two matching light-filtering roller shades, mounting them flawlessly side-by-side above the front door frame. To keep the home’s interior design completely cohesive, we carried the exact same style to the back of the house, installing a matching single roller shade on the rear door. Smart Home Window Automation at Your Fingertips Because entryway windows can be tall and awkward to reach manually, our family team integrated advanced smart-home motorization into this Sherrills Ford project. Beyond the convenience of a handheld remote control, these automated roller shades feature seamless Wi-Fi integration. The homeowners can control their privacy through a dedicated smartphone app or link the system directly to their existing voice-activated smart home networks, including Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit. This allows for complete hands-free window automation. The clients can program custom daily routines—such as setting the front entry shades to automatically lower exactly at sunset—or simply use a voice command to secure the foyer instantly from the comfort of the couch.

Discover how premium light-filtering materials and smart-home automation can secure street-level entryway glass without losing natural daylight. Choosing the right window treatments for a home's front entrance is one of the most challenging design decisions a homeowner can face. The front door is the focal point of a home's curb appeal, often featuring expansive glass panels or side-by-side double doors designed to make a grand architectural statement. During the day, these large glass features are an asset, flooding entryways and foyers with beautiful natural daylight. However, for homes situated on busy local roads or highly trafficked street-level lots, the dynamic completely changes once the sun goes down. The moment interior lights are switched on in the evening, a stark contrast is created with the dark outdoors. This creates a severe privacy issue, leaving the entire foyer completely exposed to passing traffic and pedestrians. Finding a solution that delivers absolute evening privacy without permanently plunging the front entrance into darkness during the day requires understanding how modern window treatment materials and operating systems interact. Light-Filtering vs. Blackout Fabrics The first step in solving street-level privacy is selecting the correct fabric type. Many homeowners mistakenly assume they need heavy, opaque blackout shades to secure their home from outside eyes at night. While blackout fabrics certainly block 100% of the view, they also block 100% of the natural daylight during the day, forcing you to constantly raise and lower the shades just to see inside your own foyer. A more effective approach for entryways utilizes premium light-filtering materials. These specialized fabrics are engineered with a precise, tight weave that operates on the principles of directional light and optical density. Daytime Functionality: When the sun is shining outside, the exterior light levels are significantly higher than the interior light levels. The light-filtering fabric diffuses the intense, direct sunlight into a soft, ambient glow throughout the entryway. This keeps the home bright, eliminates harsh glares, and protects interior hardwood flooring, paint, and trim from damaging UV rays. Night-Time Functionality: At night, the lighting dynamic reverses. The interior foyer lights make the inside bright, while the outside is dark. Because of the specialized tight weave, the fabric blocks the transmission of clear shapes and details. To a person standing out on the street or driving by on a busy road, the view inside is completely obstructed, delivering total privacy when the family is home for the evening. Challenges of Front Door Installations Securing privacy for a double wide front entrance introduces unique structural hurdles that standard windows do not face. Traditional blinds with hanging cords or manual pull chains are poorly suited for front doors. They disrupt the clean architectural lines of a grand foyer, create a safety hazard, and can easily get tangled or damaged when the doors are opened and closed. The window treatments must be mounted high and wide enough above the door trim to ensure that the front doors can swing open and close freely without ever catching on the fabric or the lower hem bar. How We Applied These Principles in Sherrills Ford, NC Applying these exact educational principles to real-world homes is what Cole and I do every day at Bloomin' Blinds of North Charlotte. We recently worked with a homeowner in Sherrills Ford whose beautiful new construction property sat on a highly trafficked road. They loved their double wide front door entrance but felt entirely too exposed to the street at night. We brought our mobile showroom directly to their driveway. This allowed us to hold up premium light-filtering fabric samples directly against their entryway glass, matching the materials perfectly to their home's natural lighting, interior paint, and trim before making a single cut. To solve their street-level privacy issue, we custom-built and installed two matching light-filtering roller shades, mounting them flawlessly side-by-side above the front door frame. To keep the home’s interior design completely cohesive, we carried the exact same style to the back of the house, installing a matching single roller shade on the rear door. Smart Home Window Automation at Your Fingertips Because entryway windows can be tall and awkward to reach manually, our family team integrated advanced smart-home motorization into this Sherrills Ford project. Beyond the convenience of a handheld remote control, these automated roller shades feature seamless Wi-Fi integration. The homeowners can control their privacy through a dedicated smartphone app or link the system directly to their existing voice-activated smart home networks, including Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit. This allows for complete hands-free window automation. The clients can program custom daily routines—such as setting the front entry shades to automatically lower exactly at sunset—or simply use a voice command to secure the foyer instantly from the comfort of the couch.

Discover how premium light-filtering materials and smart-home automation can secure street-level entryway glass without losing natural daylight. Choosing the right window treatments for a home's front entrance is one of the most challenging design decisions a homeowner can face. The front door is the focal point of a home's curb appeal, often featuring expansive glass panels or side-by-side double doors designed to make a grand architectural statement. During the day, these large glass features are an asset, flooding entryways and foyers with beautiful natural daylight. However, for homes situated on busy local roads or highly trafficked street-level lots, the dynamic completely changes once the sun goes down. The moment interior lights are switched on in the evening, a stark contrast is created with the dark outdoors. This creates a severe privacy issue, leaving the entire foyer completely exposed to passing traffic and pedestrians. Finding a solution that delivers absolute evening privacy without permanently plunging the front entrance into darkness during the day requires understanding how modern window treatment materials and operating systems interact. Light-Filtering vs. Blackout Fabrics The first step in solving street-level privacy is selecting the correct fabric type. Many homeowners mistakenly assume they need heavy, opaque blackout shades to secure their home from outside eyes at night. While blackout fabrics certainly block 100% of the view, they also block 100% of the natural daylight during the day, forcing you to constantly raise and lower the shades just to see inside your own foyer. A more effective approach for entryways utilizes premium light-filtering materials. These specialized fabrics are engineered with a precise, tight weave that operates on the principles of directional light and optical density. Daytime Functionality: When the sun is shining outside, the exterior light levels are significantly higher than the interior light levels. The light-filtering fabric diffuses the intense, direct sunlight into a soft, ambient glow throughout the entryway. This keeps the home bright, eliminates harsh glares, and protects interior hardwood flooring, paint, and trim from damaging UV rays. Night-Time Functionality: At night, the lighting dynamic reverses. The interior foyer lights make the inside bright, while the outside is dark. Because of the specialized tight weave, the fabric blocks the transmission of clear shapes and details. To a person standing out on the street or driving by on a busy road, the view inside is completely obstructed, delivering total privacy when the family is home for the evening. Challenges of Front Door Installations Securing privacy for a double wide front entrance introduces unique structural hurdles that standard windows do not face. Traditional blinds with hanging cords or manual pull chains are poorly suited for front doors. They disrupt the clean architectural lines of a grand foyer, create a safety hazard, and can easily get tangled or damaged when the doors are opened and closed. The window treatments must be mounted high and wide enough above the door trim to ensure that the front doors can swing open and close freely without ever catching on the fabric or the lower hem bar. How We Applied These Principles in Sherrills Ford, NC Applying these exact educational principles to real-world homes is what Cole and I do every day at Bloomin' Blinds of North Charlotte. We recently worked with a homeowner in Sherrills Ford whose beautiful new construction property sat on a highly trafficked road. They loved their double wide front door entrance but felt entirely too exposed to the street at night. We brought our mobile showroom directly to their driveway. This allowed us to hold up premium light-filtering fabric samples directly against their entryway glass, matching the materials perfectly to their home's natural lighting, interior paint, and trim before making a single cut. To solve their street-level privacy issue, we custom-built and installed two matching light-filtering roller shades, mounting them flawlessly side-by-side above the front door frame. To keep the home’s interior design completely cohesive, we carried the exact same style to the back of the house, installing a matching single roller shade on the rear door. Smart Home Window Automation at Your Fingertips Because entryway windows can be tall and awkward to reach manually, our family team integrated advanced smart-home motorization into this Sherrills Ford project. Beyond the convenience of a handheld remote control, these automated roller shades feature seamless Wi-Fi integration. The homeowners can control their privacy through a dedicated smartphone app or link the system directly to their existing voice-activated smart home networks, including Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit. This allows for complete hands-free window automation. The clients can program custom daily routines—such as setting the front entry shades to automatically lower exactly at sunset—or simply use a voice command to secure the foyer instantly from the comfort of the couch.

Our clients wished to remodel their master bedroom and bath to accommodate their changing mobility challenges. They expressed the importance of maximizing functionality to allow accessibility in a space that was elegant, refined and felt like home. We crafted a design plan that included converting two smaller bedrooms, a small bath and walk-in closet into a spacious master suite with a wheelchair accessible bathroom and three closets. Custom, double pocket doors invite you into the 25-foot wide, light-filled bedroom with generous floor space to maneuver around the bed and furniture. Hardwood floors, recessed lighting and window views to the owner’s gardens make this bedroom particularly warm and inviting. In the bathroom, the 5×7 roll-in shower features natural marble tile with a custom rug pattern. There’s also a new, accessible sink and vanity with plenty of storage. Wider hallways and pocket doors were installed throughout as well as a completely updated seated chairlift that allows access from the garage to the second floor. Altogether, it’s a beautiful space where the homeowners can comfortably live for years to come.

From our Go Fund me Page Feb. 2016 Princess Kaylee is only two and a half years old and was recently diagnosed with cancer. We need your generosity so that we can give her the enchanted room of her dreams as she endures 2.5 years of treatments. We're breaking out our magic wands and designing a gorgeous room for this sweet little girl. With your assistance, we can create a fairy tale space for Kaylee and her family to rest and recover. Kaylee's story hits especially close to home in our tight-knit community. Her mother, Kelly, is an oncology nurse at Rady Children's Hospital. Yes, you read that correctly - her mother has spent the last 8 years compassionately caring after children who have been diagnosed with cancer. In fact, she was one of the dedicated nurses who so wonderfully cared for Savvy Giving by Design's very first recipient, Kasey Harvey. And Kelly is not the only hero in this family. Kaylee's father, Jared, is a local CHP officer who keeps our streets safe and not long ago rescued multiple children after a lengthy stand-off with their abductor. http://www.10news.com/news/chp-officers-relive-moments-in-highway-standoff-121214 Jared and Kelly have two beautiful children. Their son Drew is 5 years-old and daughter Kaylee will turn 3 in August. Kaylee's diagnosis, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, turned this family's world upside down. While her prognosis is, thankfully, very good (with a 93% cure rate), the treatment will be incredibly arduous. Kaylee is facing 2.5 years of ongoing treatment with periods of intense chemotherapy followed by "maintenance" chemo. As hard as it is to believe, Kaylee's treatment will not be complete until she is 5 years-old and preparing to enter kindergarten. Given the ongoing and onerous treatment regimen that Kaylee faces, Savvy Giving by Design knows that she will need a beautiful and comfortable room where she can rest and be visited by family and friends. Kaylee is currently transitioning out of her crib and we have big intentions for this princess-loving little girl. Our plan is to combine fun and functionality with details and personal touches that will show Kaylee that there is an entire community rallying behind her. We will incorporate Kaylee's favorite colors (pink and purple) and turn her fantasies into reality by installing a built-in castle bed that makes her room feel magical and shows this little girl that anything is possible. This room will have some very personal special touches incorporated into it to pay tribute to Kaylee's fairy godmother. When Kelly was 13, she lost her very best friend, Jessica, to cancer. Kelly paid tribute to her dear friend by naming her daughter Kaylee Jessica and she wholeheartedly believes that Jessica will be watching over her little girl as she travels this difficult road. With sufficient funding, we will also be able to do a little makeover for Kaylee's knight in shining armor, her big brother Drew. We recognize and appreciate that Drew faces a struggle all his own as his little sister battles this disease. Savvy Giving by Design is a the philanthropic arm of Savvy Interiors, Inc. We are registered with the state of California as a nonprofit and awaiting our "formal" 501(c)(3) designation by the IRS. Your donations are tax-deductible. All monies collected will go directly to this space! Any excess funds will be distributed directly to the family. Since late 2014, Savvy Giving by Design has transformed 8 spaces and our ultimate goal is to have sufficient funding to take on one project each month. As stated in our founding documents, "Our mission is to provide comfort, support, and healing to families with a child facing a medical crisis by transforming the interior spaces of their homes at no cost to them". We hope you will support our mission to makeover these two rooms for this very deserving family and give Kaylee and Drew's loving parents the gift of knowing that their children are happy, safe, and ready to take on the battle of a lifetime. If you would like to join and follow Kaylee's team page, "Tutu's and Chemo drips," you can do so here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/158667784506286/ To join our ongoing grass roots efforts, please join our Savvy Giving closed group page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/SavvyGivingbyDesign/

In the Tuscany region of central Italy, a region made famous around the world for its history, landscapes, traditions, artistic legacy and fine wine, perhaps nothing is more universally recognized than the old world villa’s that are nestled into the rolling countryside. Standing at approximately 10,500 square feet, this custom residence has all of the elegance, style and craftsmanship of those old world homes, but with all of the modern amenities of a new modern luxury home. This stunning residence was recognized by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) as the best custom built home in the country in 2010, a testament to the skillful designers and craftsmen who brought the homeowners vision into reality. When Chad Haas, Founder of VAULT (www.vaultgarage.com), a company that prides itself in furnishing some of the most beautiful garages in the world, was brought into the project, the home and garage had already been built. The accolades of the gorgeous villa already awarded. But the homeowner felt that the exterior and interior of the garage lacked architectural harmony with the rest of the home and so he flew Mr. Haas out to visit the space directly so that he could assist hands-on with re-designing a new look and to add furnishings to accessories the space. “When I first approached the villa from the street, I knew that I’d have my work cut out for me. Everything looked so perfect exactly the way it was designed and built. I questioned myself ‘how was I going to improve upon perfection?’, since remarkable attention was paid to even the smallest of details in the home” asked Haas. The client’s goal was to engage Haas to design and furnish a garage where he could relax, separate from the home, enjoy his growing car collection and entertain family and friends. After spending a short weekend together with the home owner to gather his ideas, Haas returned back to his Beaverton, Oregon-based company with a clearer vision: create the ultimate gentlemen’s retreat through the look of a turn-of-a-century Tuscan ‘car barn’. Absolutely nothing in the garage was overlooked – and it shows. Every design element in the garage for color, texture and material was meticulously thought out to elicit just the right feeling and emotion in everyone that enters what may be one of the most beautifully elegant garages in America, a space commonly overlooked in the construction of homes today. A main focal point of the exterior of garage is the beautiful view from the courtyard, where all three carriage doors can be seen. While the existing wood doors looked acceptable, it was agreed that something more befitting of the quality and beauty of the home were appropriate. Haas designed luxurious castle-style doors handcrafted from solid Mahogany and bathed in a rich dark brown stain that was complemented by hand-wrought iron grills, clavos and door pull hardware. The double-wide door, in particular, is truly remarkable in both its elegance, as well as its one-of-a-kind operation. “The client was concerned in this area of having mounting hardware and a motor on the ceiling. Because the cars in this area do not get brought out on a regular (daily) basis, the doors open manually by hand and operate accordion style on a track”. The homes main overhead garage doors feature jack-shaft operation which removes the clutter of a motor on the garage ceiling, but offers the convenience of powered operation. These extraordinary, custom-made castle doors look just as beautiful on the inside as the out and their unparalleled design and craftsmanship take the exterior of the home to even greater heights than before. On to the interior, a black and white epoxy coating was stripped and replaced with porcelain tiles that resembled Italian travertine stone. To give the car barn a rustic feeling and a presence that it was older, not modern, Haas worked on the development and concept directly with the home owner to collaborate with a local millwork company that designed and hand-finished substantial wood beams from distressed Doug Fir. All of the walls were hand-plastered by a local artist using straw that was harvested from the immediate area surrounding the home and incorporated into the plaster to give it a rustic antique quality. Haas conceived and designed a bar area and cabinetry for a work area that pulled inspiration from old ice boxes of the 1920’s that utilized heavy nickel-plated hardware, again to give storage spaces a rustic appearance. The warm glow from several custom porcelain neon signs, each one meticulously built entirely by hand by VAULT, are dispersed throughout the space and transform the entire room and bring it to life. The client had never previously owned a neon sign before and along with the carriage doors felt that these items have transformed the space more than any other feature. Several antique gas pumps, restored in the client’s favorite petro bran, and a few additional porcelain signs will eventually furnish the rest of the space to complement the clients amazing car collection. In addition to the countless details that set this showcase garage apart, its ability to seamlessly blend with the rest of the home and the natural, rustic setting of the Colorado Rockies, yet house modern automobiles in a manner in which they feel well placed and belong, is also noteworthy. GARAGE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS To learn more about VAULT visit them at: http://www.vaultgarage.com/ And on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VaultGarage PHOTOGRAPHY All photographs were used with the permission of photographer John Vanderpool (john.vanderpool5@gmail.com) You can visit John Vanderpool on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/JVanderpoolPhotography ARCHITECTURE Jerry Gloss, Principal, KGA Architects: http://www.kgarch.com/ HOMEBUILDER Thomas Sattler Home: http://thomassattlerhomes.com/ VEHICLES Here is an overview of the cars that were photographed in this article: 1. 2014 Ferrari 458 Italia 2. 2013 Maserati GranTurismo Sport 3. 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 4. 2008 Porsche Cayenne GTS 5. 2008 Porsche GT3 RS 6. 2013 Porsche 911 Turbo S (997) 7. 2014 Porsche Panamera GTS 8. 2013 Ford SVT Raptor (6.2L CrewCab)’ Overview of project reprinted with permission of DuPont Registry.

This bedroom and full bathroom are part of an adventuresome project my wife and I embarked upon to create a complete apartment in the basement of our townhouse. We designed a floor plan that creatively and efficiently used all of the 385-square-foot-space, without sacrificing beauty, comfort or function – and all without breaking the bank! To maximize our budget, we did the work ourselves and added everything from thrift store finds to DIY wall art to bring it all together. A partial double closet bar adds a little extra space while still leaving room for longer hanging clothes.

From our Go Fund me Page Feb. 2016 Princess Kaylee is only two and a half years old and was recently diagnosed with cancer. We need your generosity so that we can give her the enchanted room of her dreams as she endures 2.5 years of treatments. We're breaking out our magic wands and designing a gorgeous room for this sweet little girl. With your assistance, we can create a fairy tale space for Kaylee and her family to rest and recover. Kaylee's story hits especially close to home in our tight-knit community. Her mother, Kelly, is an oncology nurse at Rady Children's Hospital. Yes, you read that correctly - her mother has spent the last 8 years compassionately caring after children who have been diagnosed with cancer. In fact, she was one of the dedicated nurses who so wonderfully cared for Savvy Giving by Design's very first recipient, Kasey Harvey. And Kelly is not the only hero in this family. Kaylee's father, Jared, is a local CHP officer who keeps our streets safe and not long ago rescued multiple children after a lengthy stand-off with their abductor. http://www.10news.com/news/chp-officers-relive-moments-in-highway-standoff-121214 Jared and Kelly have two beautiful children. Their son Drew is 5 years-old and daughter Kaylee will turn 3 in August. Kaylee's diagnosis, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, turned this family's world upside down. While her prognosis is, thankfully, very good (with a 93% cure rate), the treatment will be incredibly arduous. Kaylee is facing 2.5 years of ongoing treatment with periods of intense chemotherapy followed by "maintenance" chemo. As hard as it is to believe, Kaylee's treatment will not be complete until she is 5 years-old and preparing to enter kindergarten. Given the ongoing and onerous treatment regimen that Kaylee faces, Savvy Giving by Design knows that she will need a beautiful and comfortable room where she can rest and be visited by family and friends. Kaylee is currently transitioning out of her crib and we have big intentions for this princess-loving little girl. Our plan is to combine fun and functionality with details and personal touches that will show Kaylee that there is an entire community rallying behind her. We will incorporate Kaylee's favorite colors (pink and purple) and turn her fantasies into reality by installing a built-in castle bed that makes her room feel magical and shows this little girl that anything is possible. This room will have some very personal special touches incorporated into it to pay tribute to Kaylee's fairy godmother. When Kelly was 13, she lost her very best friend, Jessica, to cancer. Kelly paid tribute to her dear friend by naming her daughter Kaylee Jessica and she wholeheartedly believes that Jessica will be watching over her little girl as she travels this difficult road. With sufficient funding, we will also be able to do a little makeover for Kaylee's knight in shining armor, her big brother Drew. We recognize and appreciate that Drew faces a struggle all his own as his little sister battles this disease. Savvy Giving by Design is a the philanthropic arm of Savvy Interiors, Inc. We are registered with the state of California as a nonprofit and awaiting our "formal" 501(c)(3) designation by the IRS. Your donations are tax-deductible. All monies collected will go directly to this space! Any excess funds will be distributed directly to the family. Since late 2014, Savvy Giving by Design has transformed 8 spaces and our ultimate goal is to have sufficient funding to take on one project each month. As stated in our founding documents, "Our mission is to provide comfort, support, and healing to families with a child facing a medical crisis by transforming the interior spaces of their homes at no cost to them". We hope you will support our mission to makeover these two rooms for this very deserving family and give Kaylee and Drew's loving parents the gift of knowing that their children are happy, safe, and ready to take on the battle of a lifetime. If you would like to join and follow Kaylee's team page, "Tutu's and Chemo drips," you can do so here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/158667784506286/ To join our ongoing grass roots efforts, please join our Savvy Giving closed group page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/SavvyGivingbyDesign/

Runner in Style is Tapiz color Boulder
Example of a mid-sized classic wooden l-shaped staircase design in Raleigh with painted risers

In the Tuscany region of central Italy, a region made famous around the world for its history, landscapes, traditions, artistic legacy and fine wine, perhaps nothing is more universally recognized than the old world villa’s that are nestled into the rolling countryside. Standing at approximately 10,500 square feet, this custom residence has all of the elegance, style and craftsmanship of those old world homes, but with all of the modern amenities of a new modern luxury home. This stunning residence was recognized by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) as the best custom built home in the country in 2010, a testament to the skillful designers and craftsmen who brought the homeowners vision into reality. When Chad Haas, Founder of VAULT (www.vaultgarage.com), a company that prides itself in furnishing some of the most beautiful garages in the world, was brought into the project, the home and garage had already been built. The accolades of the gorgeous villa already awarded. But the homeowner felt that the exterior and interior of the garage lacked architectural harmony with the rest of the home and so he flew Mr. Haas out to visit the space directly so that he could assist hands-on with re-designing a new look and to add furnishings to accessories the space. “When I first approached the villa from the street, I knew that I’d have my work cut out for me. Everything looked so perfect exactly the way it was designed and built. I questioned myself ‘how was I going to improve upon perfection?’, since remarkable attention was paid to even the smallest of details in the home” asked Haas. The client’s goal was to engage Haas to design and furnish a garage where he could relax, separate from the home, enjoy his growing car collection and entertain family and friends. After spending a short weekend together with the home owner to gather his ideas, Haas returned back to his Beaverton, Oregon-based company with a clearer vision: create the ultimate gentlemen’s retreat through the look of a turn-of-a-century Tuscan ‘car barn’. Absolutely nothing in the garage was overlooked – and it shows. Every design element in the garage for color, texture and material was meticulously thought out to elicit just the right feeling and emotion in everyone that enters what may be one of the most beautifully elegant garages in America, a space commonly overlooked in the construction of homes today. A main focal point of the exterior of garage is the beautiful view from the courtyard, where all three carriage doors can be seen. While the existing wood doors looked acceptable, it was agreed that something more befitting of the quality and beauty of the home were appropriate. Haas designed luxurious castle-style doors handcrafted from solid Mahogany and bathed in a rich dark brown stain that was complemented by hand-wrought iron grills, clavos and door pull hardware. The double-wide door, in particular, is truly remarkable in both its elegance, as well as its one-of-a-kind operation. “The client was concerned in this area of having mounting hardware and a motor on the ceiling. Because the cars in this area do not get brought out on a regular (daily) basis, the doors open manually by hand and operate accordion style on a track”. The homes main overhead garage doors feature jack-shaft operation which removes the clutter of a motor on the garage ceiling, but offers the convenience of powered operation. These extraordinary, custom-made castle doors look just as beautiful on the inside as the out and their unparalleled design and craftsmanship take the exterior of the home to even greater heights than before. On to the interior, a black and white epoxy coating was stripped and replaced with porcelain tiles that resembled Italian travertine stone. To give the car barn a rustic feeling and a presence that it was older, not modern, Haas worked on the development and concept directly with the home owner to collaborate with a local millwork company that designed and hand-finished substantial wood beams from distressed Doug Fir. All of the walls were hand-plastered by a local artist using straw that was harvested from the immediate area surrounding the home and incorporated into the plaster to give it a rustic antique quality. Haas conceived and designed a bar area and cabinetry for a work area that pulled inspiration from old ice boxes of the 1920’s that utilized heavy nickel-plated hardware, again to give storage spaces a rustic appearance. The warm glow from several custom porcelain neon signs, each one meticulously built entirely by hand by VAULT, are dispersed throughout the space and transform the entire room and bring it to life. The client had never previously owned a neon sign before and along with the carriage doors felt that these items have transformed the space more than any other feature. Several antique gas pumps, restored in the client’s favorite petro bran, and a few additional porcelain signs will eventually furnish the rest of the space to complement the clients amazing car collection. In addition to the countless details that set this showcase garage apart, its ability to seamlessly blend with the rest of the home and the natural, rustic setting of the Colorado Rockies, yet house modern automobiles in a manner in which they feel well placed and belong, is also noteworthy. GARAGE DESIGN & FURNISHINGS To learn more about VAULT visit them at: http://www.vaultgarage.com/ And on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VaultGarage PHOTOGRAPHY All photographs were used with the permission of photographer John Vanderpool (john.vanderpool5@gmail.com) You can visit John Vanderpool on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/JVanderpoolPhotography ARCHITECTURE Jerry Gloss, Principal, KGA Architects: http://www.kgarch.com/ HOMEBUILDER Thomas Sattler Home: http://thomassattlerhomes.com/ VEHICLES Here is an overview of the cars that were photographed in this article: 1. 2014 Ferrari 458 Italia 2. 2013 Maserati GranTurismo Sport 3. 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997) 4. 2008 Porsche Cayenne GTS 5. 2008 Porsche GT3 RS 6. 2013 Porsche 911 Turbo S (997) 7. 2014 Porsche Panamera GTS 8. 2013 Ford SVT Raptor (6.2L CrewCab)’ Overview of project reprinted with permission of DuPont Registry.

From our Go Fund me Page Feb. 2016 Princess Kaylee is only two and a half years old and was recently diagnosed with cancer. We need your generosity so that we can give her the enchanted room of her dreams as she endures 2.5 years of treatments. We're breaking out our magic wands and designing a gorgeous room for this sweet little girl. With your assistance, we can create a fairy tale space for Kaylee and her family to rest and recover. Kaylee's story hits especially close to home in our tight-knit community. Her mother, Kelly, is an oncology nurse at Rady Children's Hospital. Yes, you read that correctly - her mother has spent the last 8 years compassionately caring after children who have been diagnosed with cancer. In fact, she was one of the dedicated nurses who so wonderfully cared for Savvy Giving by Design's very first recipient, Kasey Harvey. And Kelly is not the only hero in this family. Kaylee's father, Jared, is a local CHP officer who keeps our streets safe and not long ago rescued multiple children after a lengthy stand-off with their abductor. http://www.10news.com/news/chp-officers-relive-moments-in-highway-standoff-121214 Jared and Kelly have two beautiful children. Their son Drew is 5 years-old and daughter Kaylee will turn 3 in August. Kaylee's diagnosis, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, turned this family's world upside down. While her prognosis is, thankfully, very good (with a 93% cure rate), the treatment will be incredibly arduous. Kaylee is facing 2.5 years of ongoing treatment with periods of intense chemotherapy followed by "maintenance" chemo. As hard as it is to believe, Kaylee's treatment will not be complete until she is 5 years-old and preparing to enter kindergarten. Given the ongoing and onerous treatment regimen that Kaylee faces, Savvy Giving by Design knows that she will need a beautiful and comfortable room where she can rest and be visited by family and friends. Kaylee is currently transitioning out of her crib and we have big intentions for this princess-loving little girl. Our plan is to combine fun and functionality with details and personal touches that will show Kaylee that there is an entire community rallying behind her. We will incorporate Kaylee's favorite colors (pink and purple) and turn her fantasies into reality by installing a built-in castle bed that makes her room feel magical and shows this little girl that anything is possible. This room will have some very personal special touches incorporated into it to pay tribute to Kaylee's fairy godmother. When Kelly was 13, she lost her very best friend, Jessica, to cancer. Kelly paid tribute to her dear friend by naming her daughter Kaylee Jessica and she wholeheartedly believes that Jessica will be watching over her little girl as she travels this difficult road. With sufficient funding, we will also be able to do a little makeover for Kaylee's knight in shining armor, her big brother Drew. We recognize and appreciate that Drew faces a struggle all his own as his little sister battles this disease. Savvy Giving by Design is a the philanthropic arm of Savvy Interiors, Inc. We are registered with the state of California as a nonprofit and awaiting our "formal" 501(c)(3) designation by the IRS. Your donations are tax-deductible. All monies collected will go directly to this space! Any excess funds will be distributed directly to the family. Since late 2014, Savvy Giving by Design has transformed 8 spaces and our ultimate goal is to have sufficient funding to take on one project each month. As stated in our founding documents, "Our mission is to provide comfort, support, and healing to families with a child facing a medical crisis by transforming the interior spaces of their homes at no cost to them". We hope you will support our mission to makeover these two rooms for this very deserving family and give Kaylee and Drew's loving parents the gift of knowing that their children are happy, safe, and ready to take on the battle of a lifetime. If you would like to join and follow Kaylee's team page, "Tutu's and Chemo drips," you can do so here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/158667784506286/ To join our ongoing grass roots efforts, please join our Savvy Giving closed group page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/SavvyGivingbyDesign/

On Rail St, our client came to us with a clear vision: to honor the home’s midcentury heritage while introducing a more modern, globally influenced sensibility. Originally designed in 1956 by George Saunders—an International Style architect and former Tulane professor—the home had great bones, but it needed a thoughtful transformation. We focused on the kitchen, living room, entryway, and backyard, blending clean lines with rich material detail. To help realize their vision, we partnered with Bali-based Azula Designs to assure that international hands touched this space. In the kitchen, Euro-style slab cabinetry conceals the appliances for a seamless, minimalist look. A custom island and dramatic 14-foot bookmatched stone wall create a sculptural centerpiece, with floating stone shelves lit from beneath for soft ambient glow. We embedded Prado flush outlets directly into the stone to preserve its uninterrupted surface. To maintain open sightlines, we installed a downdraft range, eliminating the need for an overhead hood. A new floor-to-ceiling window floods the space with light and deepens the connection to the outdoors. Underfoot, hand-troweled concrete overlay floors in a warm bone tone bring texture and cohesion to the kitchen and living spaces. The original stone chimney and walls were refinished in charcoal limewash, adding depth and a lived-in patina. And in a bold move, we replaced a rear hallway with a 27-foot glass curtain wall—transforming it into a light-filled art gallery corridor that opens to courtyard. ​ Just three doors down sits 15 Tern Street, a sister home also designed by Saunders for the Shalett family. That lineage is deeply personal—multiple generations of the Shaletts lived in both homes— with 1 Rail previously featured in the Preservation Resource Center’s Mid Mod NOLA tour. Led by Sorrell Brown of Rellestate Renovations, alongside architect Michael Bosio and assistant architect Kevin Michniok—all Tulane alumni—this project brings a Tulane family legacy into its next chapter, staying true to our client’s vision every step of the way.

On Rail St, our client came to us with a clear vision: to honor the home’s midcentury heritage while introducing a more modern, globally influenced sensibility. Originally designed in 1956 by George Saunders—an International Style architect and former Tulane professor—the home had great bones, but it needed a thoughtful transformation. We focused on the kitchen, living room, entryway, and backyard, blending clean lines with rich material detail. To help realize their vision, we partnered with Bali-based Azula Designs to assure that international hands touched this space. In the kitchen, Euro-style slab cabinetry conceals the appliances for a seamless, minimalist look. A custom island and dramatic 14-foot bookmatched stone wall create a sculptural centerpiece, with floating stone shelves lit from beneath for soft ambient glow. We embedded Prado flush outlets directly into the stone to preserve its uninterrupted surface. To maintain open sightlines, we installed a downdraft range, eliminating the need for an overhead hood. A new floor-to-ceiling window floods the space with light and deepens the connection to the outdoors. Underfoot, hand-troweled concrete overlay floors in a warm bone tone bring texture and cohesion to the kitchen and living spaces. The original stone chimney and walls were refinished in charcoal limewash, adding depth and a lived-in patina. And in a bold move, we replaced a rear hallway with a 27-foot glass curtain wall—transforming it into a light-filled art gallery corridor that opens to courtyard. ​ Just three doors down sits 15 Tern Street, a sister home also designed by Saunders for the Shalett family. That lineage is deeply personal—multiple generations of the Shaletts lived in both homes— with 1 Rail previously featured in the Preservation Resource Center’s Mid Mod NOLA tour. Led by Sorrell Brown of Rellestate Renovations, alongside architect Michael Bosio and assistant architect Kevin Michniok—all Tulane alumni—this project brings a Tulane family legacy into its next chapter, staying true to our client’s vision every step of the way.

On Rail St, our client came to us with a clear vision: to honor the home’s midcentury heritage while introducing a more modern, globally influenced sensibility. Originally designed in 1956 by George Saunders—an International Style architect and former Tulane professor—the home had great bones, but it needed a thoughtful transformation. We focused on the kitchen, living room, entryway, and backyard, blending clean lines with rich material detail. To help realize their vision, we partnered with Bali-based Azula Designs to assure that international hands touched this space. In the kitchen, Euro-style slab cabinetry conceals the appliances for a seamless, minimalist look. A custom island and dramatic 14-foot bookmatched stone wall create a sculptural centerpiece, with floating stone shelves lit from beneath for soft ambient glow. We embedded Prado flush outlets directly into the stone to preserve its uninterrupted surface. To maintain open sightlines, we installed a downdraft range, eliminating the need for an overhead hood. A new floor-to-ceiling window floods the space with light and deepens the connection to the outdoors. Underfoot, hand-troweled concrete overlay floors in a warm bone tone bring texture and cohesion to the kitchen and living spaces. The original stone chimney and walls were refinished in charcoal limewash, adding depth and a lived-in patina. And in a bold move, we replaced a rear hallway with a 27-foot glass curtain wall—transforming it into a light-filled art gallery corridor that opens to courtyard. ​ Just three doors down sits 15 Tern Street, a sister home also designed by Saunders for the Shalett family. That lineage is deeply personal—multiple generations of the Shaletts lived in both homes— with 1 Rail previously featured in the Preservation Resource Center’s Mid Mod NOLA tour. Led by Sorrell Brown of Rellestate Renovations, alongside architect Michael Bosio and assistant architect Kevin Michniok—all Tulane alumni—this project brings a Tulane family legacy into its next chapter, staying true to our client’s vision every step of the way.

On Rail St, our client came to us with a clear vision: to honor the home’s midcentury heritage while introducing a more modern, globally influenced sensibility. Originally designed in 1956 by George Saunders—an International Style architect and former Tulane professor—the home had great bones, but it needed a thoughtful transformation. We focused on the kitchen, living room, entryway, and backyard, blending clean lines with rich material detail. To help realize their vision, we partnered with Bali-based Azula Designs to assure that international hands touched this space. In the kitchen, Euro-style slab cabinetry conceals the appliances for a seamless, minimalist look. A custom island and dramatic 14-foot bookmatched stone wall create a sculptural centerpiece, with floating stone shelves lit from beneath for soft ambient glow. We embedded Prado flush outlets directly into the stone to preserve its uninterrupted surface. To maintain open sightlines, we installed a downdraft range, eliminating the need for an overhead hood. A new floor-to-ceiling window floods the space with light and deepens the connection to the outdoors. Underfoot, hand-troweled concrete overlay floors in a warm bone tone bring texture and cohesion to the kitchen and living spaces. The original stone chimney and walls were refinished in charcoal limewash, adding depth and a lived-in patina. And in a bold move, we replaced a rear hallway with a 27-foot glass curtain wall—transforming it into a light-filled art gallery corridor that opens to courtyard. ​ Just three doors down sits 15 Tern Street, a sister home also designed by Saunders for the Shalett family. That lineage is deeply personal—multiple generations of the Shaletts lived in both homes— with 1 Rail previously featured in the Preservation Resource Center’s Mid Mod NOLA tour. Led by Sorrell Brown of Rellestate Renovations, alongside architect Michael Bosio and assistant architect Kevin Michniok—all Tulane alumni—this project brings a Tulane family legacy into its next chapter, staying true to our client’s vision every step of the way.

On Rail St, our client came to us with a clear vision: to honor the home’s midcentury heritage while introducing a more modern, globally influenced sensibility. Originally designed in 1956 by George Saunders—an International Style architect and former Tulane professor—the home had great bones, but it needed a thoughtful transformation. We focused on the kitchen, living room, entryway, and backyard, blending clean lines with rich material detail. To help realize their vision, we partnered with Bali-based Azula Designs to assure that international hands touched this space. In the kitchen, Euro-style slab cabinetry conceals the appliances for a seamless, minimalist look. A custom island and dramatic 14-foot bookmatched stone wall create a sculptural centerpiece, with floating stone shelves lit from beneath for soft ambient glow. We embedded Prado flush outlets directly into the stone to preserve its uninterrupted surface. To maintain open sightlines, we installed a downdraft range, eliminating the need for an overhead hood. A new floor-to-ceiling window floods the space with light and deepens the connection to the outdoors. Underfoot, hand-troweled concrete overlay floors in a warm bone tone bring texture and cohesion to the kitchen and living spaces. The original stone chimney and walls were refinished in charcoal limewash, adding depth and a lived-in patina. And in a bold move, we replaced a rear hallway with a 27-foot glass curtain wall—transforming it into a light-filled art gallery corridor that opens to courtyard. ​ Just three doors down sits 15 Tern Street, a sister home also designed by Saunders for the Shalett family. That lineage is deeply personal—multiple generations of the Shaletts lived in both homes— with 1 Rail previously featured in the Preservation Resource Center’s Mid Mod NOLA tour. Led by Sorrell Brown of Rellestate Renovations, alongside architect Michael Bosio and assistant architect Kevin Michniok—all Tulane alumni—this project brings a Tulane family legacy into its next chapter, staying true to our client’s vision every step of the way.