Linda Nielsen of Reico Kitchen and Bath in Millsboro, DE, partnered with Joyce G Designs to create a stunning classic-style kitchen. The design showcases Merillat Masterpiece cabinets. The wall cabinets feature the Sawyer door style in a Moonshine finish, while the island and wet bar display a Translucent Monument Gray finish. Appliances, countertops, and tile were sourced separately. Joyce, having worked with Linda on previous kitchen projects, was thrilled to collaborate on her own downsized kitchen. "We faced the challenge of working around support columns without disrupting the countertop and seating. Although bar-height islands are not currently trending, I still prefer the separation of the eating area. We achieved a functional work area that keeps the mess away and fits nicely between the columns." "Linda suggested using Masterpiece cabinets. I love the finishes! The stepstool cabinet is my favorite, followed by the large spice cabinets. Seeing the showroom samples was helpful. Linda provided great suggestions and was patient with design changes. I am delighted with my kitchen and how it accommodates entertaining my big Italian family!" According to Linda, the working relationship with Joyce is enjoyable, fostering a free exchange of ideas. "Her kitchen had to meet her needs and the architectural challenges. The mix of paint and specialty-stained cabinets is now the home's focal point." Photos courtesy of Yeatman Photography.

Built for the Bluff, A Sea Ranch Home is Remade from the Inside Out The house had always been grounded, on an ocean bluff at The Sea Ranch. It sits unencumbered, adjacent to one of the most dramatic stretches of the Sonoma coast with protected commons meadow to the east, uninterrupted Pacific views to the west, and a bluff trail running alongside. What it lacked was the feeling of home, one that could hold up its own against the natural landscape. The owners are entrepreneurs with deep involvement across tech, real estate, and development and they know how things are built. The Sea Ranch house had been in their lives for years, a second residence and a place for family to gather. Built for a different time, it felt more compromising than comfortable. Sitting in a closed off nook, the kitchen fit one cook at a time and turned its back on the rest of the house. The entry was dim and compressed, divided by a structural column that presented itself at exactly the wrong moment. The primary suite was small relative to the view outside it. A large rear bedroom sat behind a lowered ceiling with a bathroom that had never been added. The house was certainly worth the trouble of doing it right. What followed was not one project but four, each with its own design challenge, each addressed over a period of time. Where the House Meets the Ocean The most complex piece of the project, in both structural and spatial terms, was the kitchen expansion. The existing room was a single-person galley squeezed in as an afterthought with no meaningful connection to the dining room, the living space, or the deck outside. To make it useful for a family that cooks and gathers, it needed to grow outward into an existing patio and flow into the rooms around it. A big challenge was the roofline. Several planes at different pitches and angles converged directly where additional volume was needed. A new form had to join that geometry without reading as a correction. The solution found the simplest possible connection between the existing angles, a roofline that from outside the structure, appears entirely original. From the bluff trail where the addition is visible, there is no discernible seam. Inside, the kitchen is now open to the living and dining rooms without interruption. A large sliding glass door connects the space onto the rear deck. The deck itself was expanded and oriented so that the body of the house shields it from the coastal wind which is a common consideration that determines whether outdoor space at The Sea Ranch actually gets used. The result is a room that works for large family gatherings where no one feels cutoff, and one that makes the boundary between being inside and outside easy to ignore. Welcoming Light A structural column stood at the convergence of eight distinct roof planes in the entry. It was load-bearing, but it was also the reason the entry had always felt like a hallway rather than a welcoming arrival. With the structural engineer, a custom steel connector was designed to receive beams from six separate directions, redistributing the load through a single new continuous beam. The column was surgically removed. Three triangular skylights were then cut into the roof above, their shapes drawn from the existing geometry of the planes around them. The entry is now bright and open. The skylights feel native to the structure because they follow the logic already present in the roof. Two Suites, Two Views At opposite ends of the house, the two bedroom suites were each reconfigured, and each found a different way to introduce more of the landscape into the room. An addition to the primary suite extended the structure outward to create a wraparound plan with a loop from the bedroom through bath and closet that had not been possible before. The expansion opened a slot view from the tub and shower toward the ocean. The view is precise and private. The ocean view is present and deliberate. The rear bedroom absorbed an adjacent storage room to transform it into a full second suite with a vaulted ceiling, a large bathroom with a tub, a shower, and a sauna. A private fenced garden courtyard sits just beyond the glass bringing the outdoors inside. The tub was placed so that, looking past the courtyard and through the bedroom beyond, the ocean is visible at the far end. It is a long view and it makes the room feel larger and more settled than its footprint would suggest. Glass on Four Sides, Fire at the Center The main living and gathering room had always been caught between two competing facts: glass on four sides meant exceptional views but at The Sea Ranch, it also meant a cold room. A 360-degree cylindrical fireplace was added at the center on a raised stone base, providing radiant heat in every direction and giving the room a focal point around which a group naturally orients itself, whether that means two people at the end of the day or the whole family after dinner. Owners Who Picked Up the Tools The owner was not a passive client. they came with construction knowledge, specific ideas, and the desire to be an active part of the process, a dynamic that other architects may had found difficult, which Klopf Architecture accepted as an asset. They took it upon themselves to complete some of the work during construction, including the installation of a new radiant heating system beneath the floors. The radiant system added to the older and less-desirable forced-air setup. At The Sea Ranch, that change matters as the house sits close enough to the ocean and moving air competes with the sound of it, where radiant heat does not. Solar panels were added to the roof as part of the new system. Insulation was upgraded throughout the walls, roof, and crawl space. The house that had always had the right setting now holds warmth the way a house on the bluff should. They were also deeply involved in the design and selections throughout, and the finished house reflects both of them in ways that are specific rather than generic. The process took longer and moved through more iterations than a more arms-length relationship might have allowed. The result is more defined and personal because of it. The Landscape Holds Priority Every exterior decision was shaped by The Sea Ranch Design Standards, which require that buildings defer to the landscape around them rather than compete with it. Because this house sits on the bluff and is visible from the public trail, the additions faced a close review. Existing materials were matched. Geometries were resolved. The additions had to become indistinguishable from the original building. From the trail, the house reads exactly as it always has — low, cedar-clad, secondary to the meadow and the water. The setting holds priority. Inside, the house has been remade. Klopf Architecture Project Team: Geoff Campen and Trenton Jewett
Contractor: Shawn Bettega Construction
Photography: ©2025 Mariko Reed
Year Completed: 2023
Location: The Sea Ranch, CA

This project was the result of the owner’s desire to install a swimming pool and outdoor living space inspired by tropical resorts they had visited on family vacations. The one element asked for specifically was a large waterfall spilling into the pool. The challenge for the designers was how to achieve the look the owner’s wished without the use of clichéd items such as thatched huts and tiki torches. The designers decided lush full plantings using plants found in the northeast region that met certain design criteria would be the primary way of giving the tropical feel. Boulder outcroppings, irregular stone paving and fire bowls along the back of the pool would complete the look. The property is located in a newer subdivision with homes on both sides and a school to the rear. A walkway connects the neighborhood and the school along one side. The desired privacy would be addressed by the placement of plants and trees around the perimeter in mounded beds. Placing the waterfall to the rear of the pool helped block the view of the school beyond. The township had restrictions on the amount of impervious material allowable on site. The patio was designed to the maximum allowable size with square footage going to where it would be most usable. Planting beds were cut into the patio to decrease unnecessary square footage, divide spaces, and allow for more places to add plants and trees. A rectangular swimming pool was chosen to make it easier to install an automatic pool cover. The pool was designed, with input from the landscape designers, and contracted separately by the owner. The landscape designers chose the location of pool and waterfall so that it was prominently placed to be the focal point of the backyard. The pool includes a curving sunbathing shelf running from end to end, finished in a lighter color to make it more visible, with removable umbrellas for shade and to add to the resort feel. To tie into the boulders used throughout the design, a large boulder was used as a substitute for a diving board. The yard sloped down towards the back of the property which required a large amount of soil to be added and large boulder retaining wall along the back. For the planting design, the designers choose to focus on plants with larger leaves, various leaf colors and textures, and plants with large flowers in bold colors. These plants were then arranged into a loose lush planting scheme mixed with more traditional northeast plants such as pines, grasses, and roses. Unique plants such as hardy bananas were added for their tropical and exotic look. The full planting beds help to nestle in and enclose the living space. Broken flagstone was chosen for the patio and intentionally left irregular at the edges. PA flagstone was avoided and a stone with gold and brown tones was chosen. Boulder outcroppings added to the natural and tropical theme. The fire pit was designed with a large built-in bench to increase the amount of seating. The designers chose a rounded smooth shape and incorporated the same stone as the pool coping for the caps and bench. For entertaining guests the outdoor kitchen was outfitted with a large gas grill, beverage taps, refrigerator, sink and a dedicated lobster cooker. The kitchen was finished with granite countertops and stainless steel cabinets. Two strategically placed fire bowls, along with the low voltage lighting, add additional interest to the space at night. While the designers were faced with many challenges the resulting design incorporated enough elements to achieve the desired look and feel. Using plants appropriate to the northeast that fit the design criteria and carefully choosing hardscaping materials was essential. The owner’s feel they now have their own tropical theme resort right in their Pennsylvania backyard.

Most designers will tell you the most difficult project is to work on is your own home. My kitchen remodel was no different for me. We loved our previous downtown loft with the large open spaces and wanted to recreate that feel in our new suburban townhouse. The townhome had wonderful views of the woods but lacked an open floor plan, sophisticated finishes and character we desired. The original kitchen, though open to the living area, had two small islands. One cut the kitchen off from the living areas. The other island had the cooktop and not the sink as I had wished. In fact the sink faced the wall. The challenge was to improve the flow of the room, take advantage of the view and make it more conducive for entertaining. The island was expanded to hold the sink and seating to gather while entertaining. It faces the living space and the views of the woods. All the appliances including a steam oven and TV had to be located on the wall behind the island. A custom appliance cabinet was designed to hold the microwave drawer, steam oven and TV. That unit along with the refrigerator and range make the entire wall appear balanced without being cluttered. With a large open plan, the finishes needed to be as sophisticated as the adjacent living room. The furniture quality cabinetry is creamy white with a grey highlight and the island is a natural stained walnut; colors and materials that are repeated throughout the house. The backsplash tile is a custom cut limestone that matches the new fireplace surround in the adjacent living room. Mission accomplished – the new space is opened up. It’s far more organized and sophisticated. And it functions perfectly while entertaining in our “loft in the woods”.

A client who had seen our stunning installation at Spring Hill Suites in Oceanside, California wanted to surprise his wife for her birthday and give her a 112 square foot living wall at the front entry of their house. He was set on the style of the wall being succulents in a tight pattern. This raised two huge challenges: 1) How to overcome his three week lead time: First, the manufacturer's lead time to get us the wall materials is four weeks. The plants in this type of system usually require three months to get rooted. 2) How to attach a system meant for flat surfaces onto his CURVED front wall. Square peg, meet curved hole. Operations Manager Kerry Bauer made drawings and a mock up for a system created from the green ROOF components GreenScaped Buildings has used on certain projects. She chose parts she knew shipped within one week to eliminate the lead time issue. A landscape edging element, specifically designed to handle curves, could also overcome the challenge of the curved wall. But what about the time needed for growing the plants? By using an advanced soil replacement media block, the wall installation could allow the plants to root while installed vertically. GreenScaped Buildings collaborated with the client and supplier Green Meadow Growers to choose appropriate sedums and succulents for the east-facing coastal climate of Encinitas and lay out a pattern of organic wave shapes. Katelyn Hutchings tackled the procurement aspects of the project while construction foreman John Rodenbo prepared the site and installation logistics. Installation took three days. How do you think it turned out? The final product exceeded the client's expectations, and he has already invited GreenScaped Buildings to collaborate on his upcoming commercial hotel project with the goal of integrating a living wall there to enhance his hotel as much as it has enhanced his home.

We were approached with a request to design the furnishings for an existing ‘finished’ apartment. The intention was to move in relatively fast, and the property already had an existing marble floor, kitchen and bathrooms which had to be kept. The property also boasted a fantastic 270 degree view, seen from most of the apartment. The clients had a very important role in the completion of the project. They were very involved during the design process and through various decoration choices. The final design was kept as a rigid guideline when faced with picking out all the different elements. Once clear of all previous furniture, the space felt cold and bare; so we immediately felt the need for warmth, and raw, natural elements and textures to complement the cold marble floor while visually tying in the design of the whole apartment together. Since the existing kitchen had a touch of dark walnut stain, we felt this material was one we should add to the palette of materials to contest the stark materials. A raw cement finish was another material we felt would add an interesting contrast and could be used in a variety of ways, from cabinets to walls and ceilings, to tie up the design of various areas of the apartment. To warm up the living/dining area, keeping the existing marble floor but visually creating zones within the large living/dining area without hindering the flow, a dark timber custom-made soffit, continuous with a floor-to-ceiling drinks cabinet zones the dining area, giving it a degree of much-needed warmth. The various windows with a stupendous 270 degree view needed to be visually tied together. This was done by introducing a continuous sheer [drape] which also doubled up as a sound-absorbing material along 2 of the 4 walls of the space. A very large sofa was required to fill up the space correctly, also required for the size of the young family. Services were integrated within the units and soffits, while a customized design in the corner between the kitchen and the living room took into consideration the viewpoints from the main areas to create a pantry without hindering the flow or views. A strategically placed floor-to-ceiling mirror doubles up the space and extends the view to the inner parts of the apartment. The daughter’s bedroom was a small challenge in itself, and a fun task, where we wanted to achieve the perception of a cozy niche with its own enclosed reading nook [for reading fairy tales], behind see-through curtains and a custom-ordered wall print sporting the girl’s favorite colors. The sons’ bedroom had double the requirements in terms of space needed: more wardrobe, more homework desk space, a tv/play station area… “We combined a raised platform area between the boys’ beds to become an area with cushions where the kids can lay down and play, and face a hidden screen behind the homework desk’s sliding back panel for their play station”. The color of the homework desk was chosen in relation to the boys’ ages. A more masculine material palette was chosen for this room, in contrast to the light pastel palette of the girl’s bedroom. Again, this colour can easily be changed over time for a more mature look. PROJECT DATA: St. Paul’s Bay, Malta DESIGN TEAM: Perit Rebecca Zammit, Perit Daniel Scerri, Elyse Tonna OTHER CREDITS: Photography: Tonio Lombardi Styling : TKS

Built for the Bluff, A Sea Ranch Home is Remade from the Inside Out The house had always been grounded, on an ocean bluff at The Sea Ranch. It sits unencumbered, adjacent to one of the most dramatic stretches of the Sonoma coast with protected commons meadow to the east, uninterrupted Pacific views to the west, and a bluff trail running alongside. What it lacked was the feeling of home, one that could hold up its own against the natural landscape. The owners are entrepreneurs with deep involvement across tech, real estate, and development and they know how things are built. The Sea Ranch house had been in their lives for years, a second residence and a place for family to gather. Built for a different time, it felt more compromising than comfortable. Sitting in a closed off nook, the kitchen fit one cook at a time and turned its back on the rest of the house. The entry was dim and compressed, divided by a structural column that presented itself at exactly the wrong moment. The primary suite was small relative to the view outside it. A large rear bedroom sat behind a lowered ceiling with a bathroom that had never been added. The house was certainly worth the trouble of doing it right. What followed was not one project but four, each with its own design challenge, each addressed over a period of time. Where the House Meets the Ocean The most complex piece of the project, in both structural and spatial terms, was the kitchen expansion. The existing room was a single-person galley squeezed in as an afterthought with no meaningful connection to the dining room, the living space, or the deck outside. To make it useful for a family that cooks and gathers, it needed to grow outward into an existing patio and flow into the rooms around it. A big challenge was the roofline. Several planes at different pitches and angles converged directly where additional volume was needed. A new form had to join that geometry without reading as a correction. The solution found the simplest possible connection between the existing angles, a roofline that from outside the structure, appears entirely original. From the bluff trail where the addition is visible, there is no discernible seam. Inside, the kitchen is now open to the living and dining rooms without interruption. A large sliding glass door connects the space onto the rear deck. The deck itself was expanded and oriented so that the body of the house shields it from the coastal wind which is a common consideration that determines whether outdoor space at The Sea Ranch actually gets used. The result is a room that works for large family gatherings where no one feels cutoff, and one that makes the boundary between being inside and outside easy to ignore. Welcoming Light A structural column stood at the convergence of eight distinct roof planes in the entry. It was load-bearing, but it was also the reason the entry had always felt like a hallway rather than a welcoming arrival. With the structural engineer, a custom steel connector was designed to receive beams from six separate directions, redistributing the load through a single new continuous beam. The column was surgically removed. Three triangular skylights were then cut into the roof above, their shapes drawn from the existing geometry of the planes around them. The entry is now bright and open. The skylights feel native to the structure because they follow the logic already present in the roof. Two Suites, Two Views At opposite ends of the house, the two bedroom suites were each reconfigured, and each found a different way to introduce more of the landscape into the room. An addition to the primary suite extended the structure outward to create a wraparound plan with a loop from the bedroom through bath and closet that had not been possible before. The expansion opened a slot view from the tub and shower toward the ocean. The view is precise and private. The ocean view is present and deliberate. The rear bedroom absorbed an adjacent storage room to transform it into a full second suite with a vaulted ceiling, a large bathroom with a tub, a shower, and a sauna. A private fenced garden courtyard sits just beyond the glass bringing the outdoors inside. The tub was placed so that, looking past the courtyard and through the bedroom beyond, the ocean is visible at the far end. It is a long view and it makes the room feel larger and more settled than its footprint would suggest. Glass on Four Sides, Fire at the Center The main living and gathering room had always been caught between two competing facts: glass on four sides meant exceptional views but at The Sea Ranch, it also meant a cold room. A 360-degree cylindrical fireplace was added at the center on a raised stone base, providing radiant heat in every direction and giving the room a focal point around which a group naturally orients itself, whether that means two people at the end of the day or the whole family after dinner. Owners Who Picked Up the Tools The owner was not a passive client. they came with construction knowledge, specific ideas, and the desire to be an active part of the process, a dynamic that other architects may had found difficult, which Klopf Architecture accepted as an asset. They took it upon themselves to complete some of the work during construction, including the installation of a new radiant heating system beneath the floors. The radiant system added to the older and less-desirable forced-air setup. At The Sea Ranch, that change matters as the house sits close enough to the ocean and moving air competes with the sound of it, where radiant heat does not. Solar panels were added to the roof as part of the new system. Insulation was upgraded throughout the walls, roof, and crawl space. The house that had always had the right setting now holds warmth the way a house on the bluff should. They were also deeply involved in the design and selections throughout, and the finished house reflects both of them in ways that are specific rather than generic. The process took longer and moved through more iterations than a more arms-length relationship might have allowed. The result is more defined and personal because of it. The Landscape Holds Priority Every exterior decision was shaped by The Sea Ranch Design Standards, which require that buildings defer to the landscape around them rather than compete with it. Because this house sits on the bluff and is visible from the public trail, the additions faced a close review. Existing materials were matched. Geometries were resolved. The additions had to become indistinguishable from the original building. From the trail, the house reads exactly as it always has — low, cedar-clad, secondary to the meadow and the water. The setting holds priority. Inside, the house has been remade. Klopf Architecture Project Team: Geoff Campen and Trenton Jewett
Contractor: Shawn Bettega Construction
Photography: ©2025 Mariko Reed
Year Completed: 2023
Location: The Sea Ranch, CA

This homeowner had a design challenge for our team. They were looking for something completely unique and special for their back yard. In a neighborhood with "nice" pools they didn't want something ordinary. Our designer/builder, Al Curtis, proposed something completely new. He proposed a swimming pool, built freeform, gunite, with a raised waterfall spilling, finished with the same quartzite coping as the pool, over into the pool, with a swim in grotto and a boat as a seating area at the deep end of the pool. His original idea had him taking an actual boat, reclaiming and reusing it to create this custom feature. The homeowners had other ideas once they heard his crazy cool idea, and asked if he could build it out of concrete. Of course, Al and our entire team was thrilled with the challenge, and hand crafted the boat you see entirely out of concrete, hand shaped, sculpted and molded the cement to form with such attention to detail that you can't tell from a distance that it is not a real boat hovering at the deep end of this pool! The boat was finished with a few reclaimed details from the actual boat it was modeled after...since details are just a part of the surprise and delight in a Legendary Escape, they add just the right elements to make this a very real experience. The homeowner also asked for a different type of coping next to the raised spillover gunite spa, to create the illusion of a swim up bar on the edge of the pool. The pool guy took this idea, raised the pool wall, added a custom poured concrete bar, and added a swim up ledge and in-pool bar stools with seats created out of concrete and stainless steel stands. The perfect custom features, finished with the thermoplastic of ecoFinish, the newest and best trend for a smoother more comfortable swimming surface for gunite pools, spas, sun ledges and seats that we use on our Michigan custom swimming pools, whether hybrid (vinyl liner/gunite combo) or all gunite swimming pools and spas. With the boat in place, it only made sense to create the outside of the grotto as if it were the boat house, for this one of a kind speedboat. The waterfall coming over the face of the grotto has two speeds, fast and warp speed...so jumping off, swimming through the waterfall, or heading down the slide from the dock/wharf patio area adjacent to the boat is a terrific way for kids and adults to enjoy this pool! Swim into the grotto and you are immersed in a 3-dimensional cave, with carvings of fish in vibrant color hand sculpted and painted by Karen, one of our on the job artisans who is instrumental in helping bring our sculptures and always surprising elements to life. Karen has an artistic whimsy, though she is also precise and accurate as she specializes in placing the coping just right and always making sure the tile is just right on every project. To complete this project landscaping, the homeowners looked to Jodi Cook, of Naturally Jodi to create a landscape that blended with the pool area to create a unique feel for the space. She used a variety of plants, ornamental trees, and even created pillars like you would see at a marina to complete the look. Once her landscaping was in, Al added a surprise element at the end of the dock - a lifesize alligator with a fishing rod catching a fish - as just one more detail to this project. Al, and his entire team aim to create a magical environment, where around every corner is just one more surprise that completes the awe and inspiring joy when visiting on of our Legendary Escapes! To say the homeowners are delighted just may be an understatement. Their kick off party included visits from superheros and Disney characters - enjoying all the elements of this backyard retreat in Rochester, Michigan.

Lighting became another way to integrate simplicity and harmony to the home’s overall design; but like every other element of our project, modernity and time honored practices of craftsmanship needed to fuse. In the master suite, fabricating the light troughs proved to be an interesting challenge. Given the extreme length of the faces and bottoms of the light trough (after 15), using solid cherry for their construction was impractical. A thin birch plywood substrate was built and 1/8" thick cherry veneers were applied. The resulting material was used for the faces and bottoms of the trough. The resultant birch/cherry composite material was reinforced with an elaborate lamination process that included a thin fiberglass veil for strength and flexibility. Other lighting was chosen to wash light over surfaces or to hang—lantern style to provide soft light and aesthetic embellishment. Here again, the design is highly influenced by the Japanese aesthetic.

You know the old saying, "There's more to this than meets the eye", and that is true of this bookcase. My client wanted a floor-to-ceiling bookcase to take maximum advantage of the vertical space, because the room is small. However, the hallway leading to this room is quite narrow, so there was not enough room to make a single piece and get it into the room. The challenge was to make two smaller pieces that appear to be one unit. I did this by attaching the face frame stiles and outer "show" side panels after the two units were stacked and attached to each other and to the wall. The top of the bottom unit hides behind the bottom face frame rail of the top unit. Voila! One floor-to-ceiling bookcase, as promised.

This project was the result of the owner’s desire to install a swimming pool and outdoor living space inspired by tropical resorts they had visited on family vacations. The one element asked for specifically was a large waterfall spilling into the pool. The challenge for the designers was how to achieve the look the owner’s wished without the use of clichéd items such as thatched huts and tiki torches. The designers decided lush full plantings using plants found in the northeast region that met certain design criteria would be the primary way of giving the tropical feel. Boulder outcroppings, irregular stone paving and fire bowls along the back of the pool would complete the look. The property is located in a newer subdivision with homes on both sides and a school to the rear. A walkway connects the neighborhood and the school along one side. The desired privacy would be addressed by the placement of plants and trees around the perimeter in mounded beds. Placing the waterfall to the rear of the pool helped block the view of the school beyond. The township had restrictions on the amount of impervious material allowable on site. The patio was designed to the maximum allowable size with square footage going to where it would be most usable. Planting beds were cut into the patio to decrease unnecessary square footage, divide spaces, and allow for more places to add plants and trees. A rectangular swimming pool was chosen to make it easier to install an automatic pool cover. The pool was designed, with input from the landscape designers, and contracted separately by the owner. The landscape designers chose the location of pool and waterfall so that it was prominently placed to be the focal point of the backyard. The pool includes a curving sunbathing shelf running from end to end, finished in a lighter color to make it more visible, with removable umbrellas for shade and to add to the resort feel. To tie into the boulders used throughout the design, a large boulder was used as a substitute for a diving board. The yard sloped down towards the back of the property which required a large amount of soil to be added and large boulder retaining wall along the back. For the planting design, the designers choose to focus on plants with larger leaves, various leaf colors and textures, and plants with large flowers in bold colors. These plants were then arranged into a loose lush planting scheme mixed with more traditional northeast plants such as pines, grasses, and roses. Unique plants such as hardy bananas were added for their tropical and exotic look. The full planting beds help to nestle in and enclose the living space. Broken flagstone was chosen for the patio and intentionally left irregular at the edges. PA flagstone was avoided and a stone with gold and brown tones was chosen. Boulder outcroppings added to the natural and tropical theme. The fire pit was designed with a large built-in bench to increase the amount of seating. The designers chose a rounded smooth shape and incorporated the same stone as the pool coping for the caps and bench. For entertaining guests the outdoor kitchen was outfitted with a large gas grill, beverage taps, refrigerator, sink and a dedicated lobster cooker. The kitchen was finished with granite countertops and stainless steel cabinets. Two strategically placed fire bowls, along with the low voltage lighting, add additional interest to the space at night. While the designers were faced with many challenges the resulting design incorporated enough elements to achieve the desired look and feel. Using plants appropriate to the northeast that fit the design criteria and carefully choosing hardscaping materials was essential. The owner’s feel they now have their own tropical theme resort right in their Pennsylvania backyard.

This homeowner had a design challenge for our team. They were looking for something completely unique and special for their back yard. In a neighborhood with "nice" pools they didn't want something ordinary. Our designer/builder, Al Curtis, proposed something completely new. He proposed a swimming pool, built freeform, gunite, with a raised waterfall spilling, finished with the same quartzite coping as the pool, over into the pool, with a swim in grotto and a boat as a seating area at the deep end of the pool. His original idea had him taking an actual boat, reclaiming and reusing it to create this custom feature. The homeowners had other ideas once they heard his crazy cool idea, and asked if he could build it out of concrete. Of course, Al and our entire team was thrilled with the challenge, and hand crafted the boat you see entirely out of concrete, hand shaped, sculpted and molded the cement to form with such attention to detail that you can't tell from a distance that it is not a real boat hovering at the deep end of this pool! The boat was finished with a few reclaimed details from the actual boat it was modeled after...since details are just a part of the surprise and delight in a Legendary Escape, they add just the right elements to make this a very real experience. The homeowner also asked for a different type of coping next to the raised spillover gunite spa, to create the illusion of a swim up bar on the edge of the pool. The pool guy took this idea, raised the pool wall, added a custom poured concrete bar, and added a swim up ledge and in-pool bar stools with seats created out of concrete and stainless steel stands. The perfect custom features, finished with the thermoplastic of ecoFinish, the newest and best trend for a smoother more comfortable swimming surface for gunite pools, spas, sun ledges and seats that we use on our Michigan custom swimming pools, whether hybrid (vinyl liner/gunite combo) or all gunite swimming pools and spas. With the boat in place, it only made sense to create the outside of the grotto as if it were the boat house, for this one of a kind speedboat. The waterfall coming over the face of the grotto has two speeds, fast and warp speed...so jumping off, swimming through the waterfall, or heading down the slide from the dock/wharf patio area adjacent to the boat is a terrific way for kids and adults to enjoy this pool! Swim into the grotto and you are immersed in a 3-dimensional cave, with carvings of fish in vibrant color hand sculpted and painted by Karen, one of our on the job artisans who is instrumental in helping bring our sculptures and always surprising elements to life. Karen has an artistic whimsy, though she is also precise and accurate as she specializes in placing the coping just right and always making sure the tile is just right on every project. To complete this project landscaping, the homeowners looked to Jodi Cook, of Naturally Jodi to create a landscape that blended with the pool area to create a unique feel for the space. She used a variety of plants, ornamental trees, and even created pillars like you would see at a marina to complete the look. Once her landscaping was in, Al added a surprise element at the end of the dock - a lifesize alligator with a fishing rod catching a fish - as just one more detail to this project. Al, and his entire team aim to create a magical environment, where around every corner is just one more surprise that completes the awe and inspiring joy when visiting on of our Legendary Escapes! To say the homeowners are delighted just may be an understatement. Their kick off party included visits from superheros and Disney characters - enjoying all the elements of this backyard retreat in Rochester, Michigan.

Home design - traditional home design idea in San Francisco

West Des Moines two story homes create challenges for homeowners with layouts including small rooms that don’t seem to flow together. The family that lives in this home found that entertaining and gathering in the kitchen was almost impossible with the current layout and asked for an addition to solve the problem. After listening to the challenges of that they faced and working with the homeowners, a new solution emerged without an addition, reducing the overall budget and allowing the whole main floor to be updated. By removing the wall between the kitchen and dinning room, the team was able to design an island for family and friends to congregate around. Then by flanking the island with a large commercial range surrounded by a custom backsplash and custom hood a picture perfect kitchen was born. Lastly by repeating elements within the range hood, island and fireplace, the team was able to create unity throughout the space. This visually makes the space feel larger and feels like the addition was built

This homeowner had a design challenge for our team. They were looking for something completely unique and special for their back yard. In a neighborhood with "nice" pools they didn't want something ordinary. Our designer/builder, Al Curtis, proposed something completely new. He proposed a swimming pool, built freeform, gunite, with a raised waterfall spilling, finished with the same quartzite coping as the pool, over into the pool, with a swim in grotto and a boat as a seating area at the deep end of the pool. His original idea had him taking an actual boat, reclaiming and reusing it to create this custom feature. The homeowners had other ideas once they heard his crazy cool idea, and asked if he could build it out of concrete. Of course, Al and our entire team was thrilled with the challenge, and hand crafted the boat you see entirely out of concrete, hand shaped, sculpted and molded the cement to form with such attention to detail that you can't tell from a distance that it is not a real boat hovering at the deep end of this pool! The boat was finished with a few reclaimed details from the actual boat it was modeled after...since details are just a part of the surprise and delight in a Legendary Escape, they add just the right elements to make this a very real experience. The homeowner also asked for a different type of coping next to the raised spillover gunite spa, to create the illusion of a swim up bar on the edge of the pool. The pool guy took this idea, raised the pool wall, added a custom poured concrete bar, and added a swim up ledge and in-pool bar stools with seats created out of concrete and stainless steel stands. The perfect custom features, finished with the thermoplastic of ecoFinish, the newest and best trend for a smoother more comfortable swimming surface for gunite pools, spas, sun ledges and seats that we use on our Michigan custom swimming pools, whether hybrid (vinyl liner/gunite combo) or all gunite swimming pools and spas. With the boat in place, it only made sense to create the outside of the grotto as if it were the boat house, for this one of a kind speedboat. The waterfall coming over the face of the grotto has two speeds, fast and warp speed...so jumping off, swimming through the waterfall, or heading down the slide from the dock/wharf patio area adjacent to the boat is a terrific way for kids and adults to enjoy this pool! Swim into the grotto and you are immersed in a 3-dimensional cave, with carvings of fish in vibrant color hand sculpted and painted by Karen, one of our on the job artisans who is instrumental in helping bring our sculptures and always surprising elements to life. Karen has an artistic whimsy, though she is also precise and accurate as she specializes in placing the coping just right and always making sure the tile is just right on every project. To complete this project landscaping, the homeowners looked to Jodi Cook, of Naturally Jodi to create a landscape that blended with the pool area to create a unique feel for the space. She used a variety of plants, ornamental trees, and even created pillars like you would see at a marina to complete the look. Once her landscaping was in, Al added a surprise element at the end of the dock - a lifesize alligator with a fishing rod catching a fish - as just one more detail to this project. Al, and his entire team aim to create a magical environment, where around every corner is just one more surprise that completes the awe and inspiring joy when visiting on of our Legendary Escapes! To say the homeowners are delighted just may be an understatement. Their kick off party included visits from superheros and Disney characters - enjoying all the elements of this backyard retreat in Rochester, Michigan.

The outdoor kitchen boasts a Travertine backsplash stone with a custom ceramic mosaic, the focal point of the room. Wall Sconce Lighting illuminate the kitchen with a warm glow and reveal the depth of the dark Onyx Black Granite bar and countertops. Providing stark contrast to the granite, the bar and kitchen are faced with Austin Chop Limestone, a lovely and light natural stone. The kitchen houses a 30” grill with a motorized rotisserie featuring LED lighting, perfect for serving a crisped-to-perfection chicken! Completing the meal is no challenge with the double side burner, an ideal spot for sautéing vegetables. The two sets of double doors provide underneath counter space allowing for plenty of storage. And, of course, electrical outlets are placed for convenience and afford access for a Margarita machine or other necessary appliances! Pulling from the original brick color is the Flagstone Stamped Overlay with custom coloring. Fashioning a natural feel to the patio while replacing the previous plain concrete slab surface. The gas-powered fire pit filled with Lava Rock Aggregate is faced with matching stone to the kitchen/bar and requires no maintenance or ash cleanup.

Built for the Bluff, A Sea Ranch Home is Remade from the Inside Out The house had always been grounded, on an ocean bluff at The Sea Ranch. It sits unencumbered, adjacent to one of the most dramatic stretches of the Sonoma coast with protected commons meadow to the east, uninterrupted Pacific views to the west, and a bluff trail running alongside. What it lacked was the feeling of home, one that could hold up its own against the natural landscape. The owners are entrepreneurs with deep involvement across tech, real estate, and development and they know how things are built. The Sea Ranch house had been in their lives for years, a second residence and a place for family to gather. Built for a different time, it felt more compromising than comfortable. Sitting in a closed off nook, the kitchen fit one cook at a time and turned its back on the rest of the house. The entry was dim and compressed, divided by a structural column that presented itself at exactly the wrong moment. The primary suite was small relative to the view outside it. A large rear bedroom sat behind a lowered ceiling with a bathroom that had never been added. The house was certainly worth the trouble of doing it right. What followed was not one project but four, each with its own design challenge, each addressed over a period of time. Where the House Meets the Ocean The most complex piece of the project, in both structural and spatial terms, was the kitchen expansion. The existing room was a single-person galley squeezed in as an afterthought with no meaningful connection to the dining room, the living space, or the deck outside. To make it useful for a family that cooks and gathers, it needed to grow outward into an existing patio and flow into the rooms around it. A big challenge was the roofline. Several planes at different pitches and angles converged directly where additional volume was needed. A new form had to join that geometry without reading as a correction. The solution found the simplest possible connection between the existing angles, a roofline that from outside the structure, appears entirely original. From the bluff trail where the addition is visible, there is no discernible seam. Inside, the kitchen is now open to the living and dining rooms without interruption. A large sliding glass door connects the space onto the rear deck. The deck itself was expanded and oriented so that the body of the house shields it from the coastal wind which is a common consideration that determines whether outdoor space at The Sea Ranch actually gets used. The result is a room that works for large family gatherings where no one feels cutoff, and one that makes the boundary between being inside and outside easy to ignore. Welcoming Light A structural column stood at the convergence of eight distinct roof planes in the entry. It was load-bearing, but it was also the reason the entry had always felt like a hallway rather than a welcoming arrival. With the structural engineer, a custom steel connector was designed to receive beams from six separate directions, redistributing the load through a single new continuous beam. The column was surgically removed. Three triangular skylights were then cut into the roof above, their shapes drawn from the existing geometry of the planes around them. The entry is now bright and open. The skylights feel native to the structure because they follow the logic already present in the roof. Two Suites, Two Views At opposite ends of the house, the two bedroom suites were each reconfigured, and each found a different way to introduce more of the landscape into the room. An addition to the primary suite extended the structure outward to create a wraparound plan with a loop from the bedroom through bath and closet that had not been possible before. The expansion opened a slot view from the tub and shower toward the ocean. The view is precise and private. The ocean view is present and deliberate. The rear bedroom absorbed an adjacent storage room to transform it into a full second suite with a vaulted ceiling, a large bathroom with a tub, a shower, and a sauna. A private fenced garden courtyard sits just beyond the glass bringing the outdoors inside. The tub was placed so that, looking past the courtyard and through the bedroom beyond, the ocean is visible at the far end. It is a long view and it makes the room feel larger and more settled than its footprint would suggest. Glass on Four Sides, Fire at the Center The main living and gathering room had always been caught between two competing facts: glass on four sides meant exceptional views but at The Sea Ranch, it also meant a cold room. A 360-degree cylindrical fireplace was added at the center on a raised stone base, providing radiant heat in every direction and giving the room a focal point around which a group naturally orients itself, whether that means two people at the end of the day or the whole family after dinner. Owners Who Picked Up the Tools The owner was not a passive client. they came with construction knowledge, specific ideas, and the desire to be an active part of the process, a dynamic that other architects may had found difficult, which Klopf Architecture accepted as an asset. They took it upon themselves to complete some of the work during construction, including the installation of a new radiant heating system beneath the floors. The radiant system added to the older and less-desirable forced-air setup. At The Sea Ranch, that change matters as the house sits close enough to the ocean and moving air competes with the sound of it, where radiant heat does not. Solar panels were added to the roof as part of the new system. Insulation was upgraded throughout the walls, roof, and crawl space. The house that had always had the right setting now holds warmth the way a house on the bluff should. They were also deeply involved in the design and selections throughout, and the finished house reflects both of them in ways that are specific rather than generic. The process took longer and moved through more iterations than a more arms-length relationship might have allowed. The result is more defined and personal because of it. The Landscape Holds Priority Every exterior decision was shaped by The Sea Ranch Design Standards, which require that buildings defer to the landscape around them rather than compete with it. Because this house sits on the bluff and is visible from the public trail, the additions faced a close review. Existing materials were matched. Geometries were resolved. The additions had to become indistinguishable from the original building. From the trail, the house reads exactly as it always has — low, cedar-clad, secondary to the meadow and the water. The setting holds priority. Inside, the house has been remade. Klopf Architecture Project Team: Geoff Campen and Trenton Jewett
Contractor: Shawn Bettega Construction
Photography: ©2025 Mariko Reed
Year Completed: 2023
Location: The Sea Ranch, CA

West Des Moines two story homes create challenges for homeowners with layouts including small rooms that don’t seem to flow together. The family that lives in this home found that entertaining and gathering in the kitchen was almost impossible with the current layout and asked for an addition to solve the problem. After listening to the challenges of that they faced and working with the homeowners, a new solution emerged without an addition, reducing the overall budget and allowing the whole main floor to be updated. By removing the wall between the kitchen and dinning room, the team was able to design an island for family and friends to congregate around. Then by flanking the island with a large commercial range surrounded by a custom backsplash and custom hood a picture perfect kitchen was born. Lastly by repeating elements within the range hood, island and fireplace, the team was able to create unity throughout the space. This visually makes the space feel larger and feels like the addition was built

Built for the Bluff, A Sea Ranch Home is Remade from the Inside Out The house had always been grounded, on an ocean bluff at The Sea Ranch. It sits unencumbered, adjacent to one of the most dramatic stretches of the Sonoma coast with protected commons meadow to the east, uninterrupted Pacific views to the west, and a bluff trail running alongside. What it lacked was the feeling of home, one that could hold up its own against the natural landscape. The owners are entrepreneurs with deep involvement across tech, real estate, and development and they know how things are built. The Sea Ranch house had been in their lives for years, a second residence and a place for family to gather. Built for a different time, it felt more compromising than comfortable. Sitting in a closed off nook, the kitchen fit one cook at a time and turned its back on the rest of the house. The entry was dim and compressed, divided by a structural column that presented itself at exactly the wrong moment. The primary suite was small relative to the view outside it. A large rear bedroom sat behind a lowered ceiling with a bathroom that had never been added. The house was certainly worth the trouble of doing it right. What followed was not one project but four, each with its own design challenge, each addressed over a period of time. Where the House Meets the Ocean The most complex piece of the project, in both structural and spatial terms, was the kitchen expansion. The existing room was a single-person galley squeezed in as an afterthought with no meaningful connection to the dining room, the living space, or the deck outside. To make it useful for a family that cooks and gathers, it needed to grow outward into an existing patio and flow into the rooms around it. A big challenge was the roofline. Several planes at different pitches and angles converged directly where additional volume was needed. A new form had to join that geometry without reading as a correction. The solution found the simplest possible connection between the existing angles, a roofline that from outside the structure, appears entirely original. From the bluff trail where the addition is visible, there is no discernible seam. Inside, the kitchen is now open to the living and dining rooms without interruption. A large sliding glass door connects the space onto the rear deck. The deck itself was expanded and oriented so that the body of the house shields it from the coastal wind which is a common consideration that determines whether outdoor space at The Sea Ranch actually gets used. The result is a room that works for large family gatherings where no one feels cutoff, and one that makes the boundary between being inside and outside easy to ignore. Welcoming Light A structural column stood at the convergence of eight distinct roof planes in the entry. It was load-bearing, but it was also the reason the entry had always felt like a hallway rather than a welcoming arrival. With the structural engineer, a custom steel connector was designed to receive beams from six separate directions, redistributing the load through a single new continuous beam. The column was surgically removed. Three triangular skylights were then cut into the roof above, their shapes drawn from the existing geometry of the planes around them. The entry is now bright and open. The skylights feel native to the structure because they follow the logic already present in the roof. Two Suites, Two Views At opposite ends of the house, the two bedroom suites were each reconfigured, and each found a different way to introduce more of the landscape into the room. An addition to the primary suite extended the structure outward to create a wraparound plan with a loop from the bedroom through bath and closet that had not been possible before. The expansion opened a slot view from the tub and shower toward the ocean. The view is precise and private. The ocean view is present and deliberate. The rear bedroom absorbed an adjacent storage room to transform it into a full second suite with a vaulted ceiling, a large bathroom with a tub, a shower, and a sauna. A private fenced garden courtyard sits just beyond the glass bringing the outdoors inside. The tub was placed so that, looking past the courtyard and through the bedroom beyond, the ocean is visible at the far end. It is a long view and it makes the room feel larger and more settled than its footprint would suggest. Glass on Four Sides, Fire at the Center The main living and gathering room had always been caught between two competing facts: glass on four sides meant exceptional views but at The Sea Ranch, it also meant a cold room. A 360-degree cylindrical fireplace was added at the center on a raised stone base, providing radiant heat in every direction and giving the room a focal point around which a group naturally orients itself, whether that means two people at the end of the day or the whole family after dinner. Owners Who Picked Up the Tools The owner was not a passive client. they came with construction knowledge, specific ideas, and the desire to be an active part of the process, a dynamic that other architects may had found difficult, which Klopf Architecture accepted as an asset. They took it upon themselves to complete some of the work during construction, including the installation of a new radiant heating system beneath the floors. The radiant system added to the older and less-desirable forced-air setup. At The Sea Ranch, that change matters as the house sits close enough to the ocean and moving air competes with the sound of it, where radiant heat does not. Solar panels were added to the roof as part of the new system. Insulation was upgraded throughout the walls, roof, and crawl space. The house that had always had the right setting now holds warmth the way a house on the bluff should. They were also deeply involved in the design and selections throughout, and the finished house reflects both of them in ways that are specific rather than generic. The process took longer and moved through more iterations than a more arms-length relationship might have allowed. The result is more defined and personal because of it. The Landscape Holds Priority Every exterior decision was shaped by The Sea Ranch Design Standards, which require that buildings defer to the landscape around them rather than compete with it. Because this house sits on the bluff and is visible from the public trail, the additions faced a close review. Existing materials were matched. Geometries were resolved. The additions had to become indistinguishable from the original building. From the trail, the house reads exactly as it always has — low, cedar-clad, secondary to the meadow and the water. The setting holds priority. Inside, the house has been remade. Klopf Architecture Project Team: Geoff Campen and Trenton Jewett
Contractor: Shawn Bettega Construction
Photography: ©2025 Mariko Reed
Year Completed: 2023
Location: The Sea Ranch, CA