Trendy gray two-story stucco exterior home photo in Edmonton with a shed roof

Blake Marvin
Example of a minimalist open concept concrete floor family room design in San Francisco with white walls, a ribbon fireplace and a wall-mounted tv

This house is discreetly tucked into its wooded site in the Mad River Valley near the Sugarbush Resort in Vermont. The soaring roof lines complement the slope of the land and open up views though large windows to a meadow planted with native wildflowers. The house was built with natural materials of cedar shingles, fir beams and native stone walls. These materials are complemented with innovative touches including concrete floors, composite exterior wall panels and exposed steel beams. The home is passively heated by the sun, aided by triple pane windows and super-insulated walls. Photo by: Nat Rea Photography

The owners requested that their home harmonize with the spirit of the surrounding Colorado mountain setting and enhance their outdoor recreational lifestyle - while reflecting their contemporary architectural tastes. The site was burdened with a myriad of strict design criteria enforced by the neighborhood covenants and architectural review board. Creating a distinct design challenge, the covenants included a narrow interpretation of a “mountain style” home which established predetermined roof pitches, glazing percentages and material palettes - at direct odds with the client‘s vision of a flat-roofed, glass, “contemporary” home. Our solution finds inspiration and opportunities within the site covenant’s strict definitions. It promotes and celebrates the client’s outdoor lifestyle and resolves the definition of a contemporary “mountain style” home by reducing the architecture to its most basic vernacular forms and relying upon local materials. The home utilizes a simple base, middle and top that echoes the surrounding mountains and vegetation. The massing takes its cues from the prevalent lodgepole pine trees that grow at the mountain’s high altitudes. These pine trees have a distinct growth pattern, highlighted by a single vertical trunk and a peaked, densely foliated growth zone above a sparse base. This growth pattern is referenced by placing the wood-clad body of the home at the second story above an open base composed of wood posts and glass. A simple peaked roof rests lightly atop the home - visually floating above a triangular glass transom. The home itself is neatly inserted amongst an existing grove of lodgepole pines and oriented to take advantage of panoramic views of the adjacent meadow and Continental Divide beyond. The main functions of the house are arranged into public and private areas and this division is made apparent on the home’s exterior. Two large roof forms, clad in pre-patinated zinc, are separated by a sheltering central deck - which signals the main entry to the home. At this connection, the roof deck is opened to allow a cluster of aspen trees to grow – further reinforcing nature as an integral part of arrival. Outdoor living spaces are provided on all levels of the house and are positioned to take advantage of sunrise and sunset moments. The distinction between interior and exterior space is blurred via the use of large expanses of glass. The dry stacked stone base and natural cedar cladding both reappear within the home’s interior spaces. This home offers a unique solution to the client’s requests while satisfying the design requirements of the neighborhood covenants. The house provides a variety of indoor and outdoor living spaces that can be utilized in all seasons. Most importantly, the house takes its cues directly from its natural surroundings and local building traditions to become a prototype solution for the “modern mountain house”. Overview Ranch Creek Ranch Winter Park, Colorado Completion Date October, 2007 Services Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture

Modern LED sconce on custom cedar cladded wall. Design by Nancy Gracia of Bare Root Design Studio. Photo Courtesy: M. Kyle
Example of a minimalist sunroom design in Philadelphia

Randolph Ashey Photography
Example of a farmhouse shed design in Portland Maine

Brad Feinknopf
Example of a trendy home design design in Tampa

Inspiration for a farmhouse kitchen remodel in Boston

Clear Cedar interior cladding is used for rtim, wall and ceiling surfaces. Colin Healy
Small trendy stone screened-in back porch idea in New York with a roof extension

Corey Gaffer
Example of a mountain style one-car carport design in Minneapolis

Exterior elevation featuring outdoor fireplace cladded in standing seam metal. Cedar siding light natural stained to complement the darker elements.
Coastal two-story metal exterior home idea in Vancouver

Modern residential architecture featuring Windsor Pinnacle wood clad windows and patio doors with black clad exteriors and (after-market) black painted interiors.

This gorgeous modern beach house combines a white canvas with pops of color and designer details, showcased in the custom brass hardware on the modern white cabinets and the designer lighting choices such as the natural basket pendant chandelier hanging above the dining table. The stools are white leather with wooden legs for easy clean and comfort. The counter tops are white quartz (Britannica Cambria) which waterfalls down the front of the island. The stainless steel wolf gas range sits beneath a modern stainless steel range hood. The walls are clad in a white painted horizontal paneling which wraps onto the vaulted ceiling. The flooring is gray porcelain tile, and the glass sliding doors are teak.

Photography by Mike Jensen
Large arts and crafts gray two-story mixed siding house exterior photo in Seattle with a shed roof

This project began as a design-build proposal to build an addition for an indoor swim spa and exercise room to a ranch style house. The Clients were seeking a functional and inviting space reminiscent of the luxury resorts and space they have visited during their international travels. One of the biggest challenges was to fit the program within the site and buildable area constraints. In order to maximize floor area, the exterior walls of the addition were located parallel to the property lines along the required setbacks, which resulted in a non-orthagonal geometry in plan. The volume of the addition began to take shape with large floor to ceiling openings strengthening the connection to the outdoors with roof line that rises northward to capture daylight. A series of operable skylights ventilate the room and allow more daylight to penetrate into the adjacent existing den. Inspired by modern additions made to historic structures in Europe, we made a conscious decision to not try to blend the addition into the language of the existing ranch house, choosing instead to juxtapose a structure that was layered and felt light next to the cement tile roof and framed picture windows. The interior walls were finished with a marine grade plywood to withstand a humid environment, and the exteriors were clad with a cedar rainscreen to give privacy where needed and gradually reduced to allow for more glass and visibility. The Clients are immersed in the technological environment of Silicon Valley and appreciated the simple geometries and aesthetics of modern design. david wakely

Irish Perspective Photography
Example of a minimalist patio design in Dublin

Front exterior view of the new residence with the cedar shake roof and siding, copper gutters and down spouts, and true stone cladding for the porch and ground floor siding. Photo by Aaron Leitz

Inspiration for a country porch remodel in Kansas City

Exterior view of side of house, highlighting fiber cement board cladding, cedar projected window volumes, thermally modified wood shade structure, and granite clad chimney.