One of over fourteen miles of hiking trails at the Shaw Nature Reserve, a footpath through the open woodlands invites visitors to explore. Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden

A new-build, replacement dwelling in a sensitive green belt location, designed to take advantage of the countryside setting and views. By capitalising on volume increases to the existing dwelling through a series of incremental Permitted Development schemes, the home better suits its site and context. By raising a previously ground bearing floor area into a cantilever it can now encapsulate long ranging views from the master bedroom. To create a contemporary rural aesthetic the materials include a zinc roof, pre-weathered burnt timber cladding and brick. Landscaping has been designed by renowned British Garden Designer Andy Sturgeon who created three distinct gardens: a wild flower walk to the pool, a formal crescent-shaped striped lawn and south-facing gravel garden. The garden takes advantage of views across the Thames valley to Hedsor House and Cliveden, as a result of it being elevated and levelled with excavation material from the basement.

After. Without the pantry closet in the way, the whole space is opened up. We resized the coat closet and relocated the door so it opened into the Entry rather than the new Kitchen. This allowed us to change the refrigerator location and add additional cabinets on the right hand side of the Kitchen. Although the size of the Kitchen-proper did not increase, the removal of the closet pantry gave us the extra space needed for the large island with seating that makes the kitchen seem “expanded.” Seen on the right hand side of the photo, the previous location of a Butler’s Pantry/Bar is now the perfect piano nook!

Manufacturer: Golden Eagle Log Homes - http://www.goldeneagleloghomes.com/ Builder: Rich Leavitt – Leavitt Contracting - http://leavittcontracting.com/ Location: Mount Washington Valley, Maine Project Name: South Carolina 2310AR Square Feet: 4,100

For this kitchen and bath remodel in San Francisco's Cole Valley, our client wanted us to open the kitchen up to the living room and create a new modern feel for all of the remodeled areas. Opening the kitchen to the living area provided a structural challenge as the wall we had to remove was load-bearing and there was a separately owned condo on the floor below. Working closely with a structural engineer, we created a strategy to carry the weight to the exterior walls of the building. In order to do this we had to tear off the entire roof and rebuild it with new structural joists which could span from property line to property line. To achieve a dramatic daylighting effect, we created a slot skylight over the back wall of the kitchen with the beams running through the skylight. Cerulean blue, back-painted glass for the backsplash and a thick waterfall edge for the island add more distinctive touches to this kitchen design. In the master bath we created a sinuous counter edge which tracks its way to the floor to create a curb for the shower. Green tile imported from Morocco adds a pop of color in the shower and a custom built indirect LED lighting cove creates a glow of light around the mirror. Photography by Christopher Stark.

This home started with a very small kitchen on the left side of the area where the fridge sits, so it wasn't working at all for the homeowner. The new kitchen certainly changed everything when a bearing wall between the kitchen and dining room was converted to a support beam, unifying the two areas and setting the stage for a beautiful new kitchen space with hutch area as well. Dark Maple Cabinetry combined with Quartz countertops and wire brushed wood plank flooring creates a dramatic, yet comfortable feel in the new kitchen space. Glass subway tile was used for the backsplash, further lending to the sleek appearance of this kitchen. Wow!

We started with a small u-shaped kitchen which really didn't fit with the owners lifestyle, and the desire was to open up the floorplan of the kitchen and connect it better with the family room which is adjacent to the kitchen. We revised the floorplan to include a nice island and extended it with a custom hutch extending the kitchen right to the back door. Bearing wall changes were also made to make the main floor much more open plan. The customer selected painted cabinetry and a beautiful dark wood island, topping it off with Cambria "Brittanica" Quartz countertops. Custom mosaic backsplash was installed to complete the new look. Stunning!

A retired teacher and grandmother, our client raised her family in this Valley view home. With amazing potential for an enhanced territorial view, this project had been on our client’s mind for quite some time. She was very particular in selecting us as her design and build team. With deep roots in her community, it was important to her that she works with a local community-based team to design a new space, while respecting its roots and craftsmanship, that her late husband had helped build.

This home started with a very small kitchen on the left side of the area where the fridge sits, so it wasn't working at all for the homeowner. The new kitchen certainly changed everything when a bearing wall between the kitchen and dining room was converted to a support beam, unifying the two areas and setting the stage for a beautiful new kitchen space with hutch area as well. Dark Maple Cabinetry combined with Quartz countertops and wire brushed wood plank flooring creates a dramatic, yet comfortable feel in the new kitchen space. Glass subway tile was used for the backsplash, further lending to the sleek appearance of this kitchen. Wow!

This home started with a very small kitchen on the left side of the area where the fridge sits, so it wasn't working at all for the homeowner. The new kitchen certainly changed everything when a bearing wall between the kitchen and dining room was converted to a support beam, unifying the two areas and setting the stage for a beautiful new kitchen space with hutch area as well. Dark Maple Cabinetry combined with Quartz countertops and wire brushed wood plank flooring creates a dramatic, yet comfortable feel in the new kitchen space. Glass subway tile was used for the backsplash, further lending to the sleek appearance of this kitchen. Wow!

For this kitchen and bath remodel in San Francisco's Cole Valley, our client wanted us to open the kitchen up to the living room and create a new modern feel for all of the remodeled areas. Opening the kitchen to the living area provided a structural challenge as the wall we had to remove was load-bearing and there was a separately owned condo on the floor below. Working closely with a structural engineer, we created a strategy to carry the weight to the exterior walls of the building. In order to do this we had to tear off the entire roof and rebuild it with new structural joists which could span from property line to property line. To achieve a dramatic daylighting effect, we created a slot skylight over the back wall of the kitchen with the beams running through the skylight. Cerulean blue, back-painted glass for the backsplash and a thick waterfall edge for the island add more distinctive touches to this kitchen design. In the master bath we created a sinuous counter edge which tracks its way to the floor to create a curb for the shower. Green tile imported from Morocco adds a pop of color in the shower and a custom built indirect LED lighting cove creates a glow of light around the mirror. Photography by Christopher Stark.

We started with a small u-shaped kitchen which really didn't fit with the owners lifestyle, and the desire was to open up the floorplan of the kitchen and connect it better with the family room which is adjacent to the kitchen. We revised the floorplan to include a nice island and extended it with a custom hutch extending the kitchen right to the back door. Bearing wall changes were also made to make the main floor much more open plan. The customer selected painted cabinetry and a beautiful dark wood island, topping it off with Cambria "Brittanica" Quartz countertops. Custom mosaic backsplash was installed to complete the new look. Stunning!

They say a beautiful home needs a strong foundation, and for this incredible renovation, we took that literally! ? While the finished space looks like an absolute dream, the real magic happened behind the drywall. Our team tackled some extensive load-bearing engineering, carefully removing major structural walls and installing heavy-duty support beams to completely open up the floor plan. It takes a lot of hidden muscle to create a space this airy, bright, and seamless! Swipe through the gallery to see the journey from raw framing and structural steel to the stunning final reveal. What do you think of this open-concept glow-up?

This home started with a very small kitchen on the left side of the area where the fridge sits, so it wasn't working at all for the homeowner. The new kitchen certainly changed everything when a bearing wall between the kitchen and dining room was converted to a support beam, unifying the two areas and setting the stage for a beautiful new kitchen space with hutch area as well. Dark Maple Cabinetry combined with Quartz countertops and wire brushed wood plank flooring creates a dramatic, yet comfortable feel in the new kitchen space. Glass subway tile was used for the backsplash, further lending to the sleek appearance of this kitchen. Wow!

We started with a small u-shaped kitchen which really didn't fit with the owners lifestyle, and the desire was to open up the floorplan of the kitchen and connect it better with the family room which is adjacent to the kitchen. We revised the floorplan to include a nice island and extended it with a custom hutch extending the kitchen right to the back door. Bearing wall changes were also made to make the main floor much more open plan. The customer selected painted cabinetry and a beautiful dark wood island, topping it off with Cambria "Brittanica" Quartz countertops. Custom mosaic backsplash was installed to complete the new look. Stunning!

We started with a small u-shaped kitchen which really didn't fit with the owners lifestyle, and the desire was to open up the floorplan of the kitchen and connect it better with the family room which is adjacent to the kitchen. We revised the floorplan to include a nice island and extended it with a custom hutch extending the kitchen right to the back door. Bearing wall changes were also made to make the main floor much more open plan. The customer selected painted cabinetry and a beautiful dark wood island, topping it off with Cambria "Brittanica" Quartz countertops. Custom mosaic backsplash was installed to complete the new look. Stunning!

We started with a small u-shaped kitchen which really didn't fit with the owners lifestyle, and the desire was to open up the floorplan of the kitchen and connect it better with the family room which is adjacent to the kitchen. We revised the floorplan to include a nice island and extended it with a custom hutch extending the kitchen right to the back door. Bearing wall changes were also made to make the main floor much more open plan. The customer selected painted cabinetry and a beautiful dark wood island, topping it off with Cambria "Brittanica" Quartz countertops. Custom mosaic backsplash was installed to complete the new look. Stunning!

They say a beautiful home needs a strong foundation, and for this incredible renovation, we took that literally! ? While the finished space looks like an absolute dream, the real magic happened behind the drywall. Our team tackled some extensive load-bearing engineering, carefully removing major structural walls and installing heavy-duty support beams to completely open up the floor plan. It takes a lot of hidden muscle to create a space this airy, bright, and seamless! Swipe through the gallery to see the journey from raw framing and structural steel to the stunning final reveal. What do you think of this open-concept glow-up?

They say a beautiful home needs a strong foundation, and for this incredible renovation, we took that literally! ? While the finished space looks like an absolute dream, the real magic happened behind the drywall. Our team tackled some extensive load-bearing engineering, carefully removing major structural walls and installing heavy-duty support beams to completely open up the floor plan. It takes a lot of hidden muscle to create a space this airy, bright, and seamless! Swipe through the gallery to see the journey from raw framing and structural steel to the stunning final reveal. What do you think of this open-concept glow-up?