Product: Authentic Thick Limestone Pool Coping elements for pool edge Ancient Surfaces Contacts: (212) 461-0245 Email: Sales@ancientsurfaces.com Website: www.AncientSurfaces.com The design of external living spaces is known as the 'Al Fresco' space design as it is called in Italian. 'Al Fresco' translates in 'the open' or 'the cool/fresh exterior'. Customizing a contemporary swimming pool or spa into a traditional Italian Mediterranean pool can be easily achieved by selecting one of our most prized surfaces, 'The Foundation Slabs' pool coping Oolitic planks. The ease and cosines of this outdoor Mediterranean pool and spa experience will evoke in most a feeling of euphoria and exultation that on only gets while being surrounded with the pristine beauty of nature. This powerful feeling of unison with all has been known in our early recorded human history thought many primitive civilizations as a way to get people closer to the ultimate truth. A very basic but undisputed truth and that's that we are all connected to the great mother earth and to it's powerful life force that we are all a part of...

Stunning mountain side home overlooking McCall and Payette Lake. This home is 5000 SF on three levels with spacious outdoor living to take in the views. A hybrid timber frame home with hammer post trusses and copper clad windows. Super clients, a stellar lot, along with HOA and civil challenges all come together in the end to create some wonderful spaces. Joshua Roper Photography

Product: Authentic Thick Limestone Pool Coping elements for pool edge Ancient Surfaces Contacts: (212) 461-0245 Email: Sales@ancientsurfaces.com Website: www.AncientSurfaces.com The design of external living spaces is known as the 'Al Fresco' space design as it is called in Italian. 'Al Fresco' translates in 'the open' or 'the cool/fresh exterior'. Customizing a contemporary swimming pool or spa into a traditional Italian Mediterranean pool can be easily achieved by selecting one of our most prized surfaces, 'The Foundation Slabs' pool coping Oolitic planks. The ease and cosines of this outdoor Mediterranean pool and spa experience will evoke in most a feeling of euphoria and exultation that on only gets while being surrounded with the pristine beauty of nature. This powerful feeling of unison with all has been known in our early recorded human history thought many primitive civilizations as a way to get people closer to the ultimate truth. A very basic but undisputed truth and that's that we are all connected to the great mother earth and to it's powerful life force that we are all a part of...

Blau-Thompson Residence This Civil War era, 1680-square-foot three-story row house is located in the Italian Market section of Philadelphia. The BluPath Design principals and their young child were the clients. The project goal was to upgrade a traditional housing type to meet a contemporary lifestyle, applying both sustainable criteria and clean, modern yet sensual aesthetics. The challenge of the property (only 830 square feet in lot size) was to create a design that was small, but smart. The structure formerly housed a luncheonette with two apartments above. The interior was gutted and renovated into a single family home. The construction of a small rear addition added a new kitchen on the first floor and new bathrooms on the second and third levels. The east-west orientation of the home was ideal for the roof-mounted solar collectors, which were installed to provide domestic hot water and supplement the new radiant floor heating system. Exterior sensors improve the efficiency of the heating system's response to fluctuations in outside temperature. A new white-coated, rubber membrane roof reduced the structure's heat gain by 20 percent. A water catch system collects rainwater and air conditioner condensation to water the home's small rear garden. Large windows and skylights bring light deep into the row house and reduce the use of light fixtures. The rear yard garden features ipe decking (a dense, water-repellent hardwood) on permeable compacted gravel to minimize storm water runoff. BluPath Design’s principals used the project to demonstrate how sustainability can be integrated with beauty and function, with sensual materials and colors, well-proportioned and light-filled rooms, economic use of space, and thoughtful details. Cherry flooring and custom stairs complement the Indian slate tile in the kitchen and bathrooms. The kitchen features custom walnut cabinets with blue granite counters and backsplashes. The first floor dining area is illuminated by a BluPath-designed fiber-optic chandelier. Ipe hardwood is also used for the master bath tub-surround and shower floor. Sliding frosted glass panels separating the master bath from other living areas allows light from the corner windows to naturally illuminate the adjacent room. Awards Honorable Mention for Sustainability and Energy Efficiency IIDA Philadelphia City Center Chapter 3rd Annual Interior Design Awards, June 2007 Bronze 2006 Commonwealth Design Award 10,000 Friends of PA, May 2006 Media HGTV ‘What You Get for the Money’ February 2007 Philadelphia Style Magazine March/April 2007 Philadelphia Inquirer June 11, 2006 Philadelphia CityPaper September 25-October 2, 2003 Photography by Barry Halkin

Product: Authentic Thick Limestone Pool Coping elements for pool edge Ancient Surfaces Contacts: (212) 461-0245 Email: Sales@ancientsurfaces.com Website: www.AncientSurfaces.com The design of external living spaces is known as the 'Al Fresco' space design as it is called in Italian. 'Al Fresco' translates in 'the open' or 'the cool/fresh exterior'. Customizing a contemporary swimming pool or spa into a traditional Italian Mediterranean pool can be easily achieved by selecting one of our most prized surfaces, 'The Foundation Slabs' pool coping Oolitic planks. The ease and cosines of this outdoor Mediterranean pool and spa experience will evoke in most a feeling of euphoria and exultation that on only gets while being surrounded with the pristine beauty of nature. This powerful feeling of unison with all has been known in our early recorded human history thought many primitive civilizations as a way to get people closer to the ultimate truth. A very basic but undisputed truth and that's that we are all connected to the great mother earth and to it's powerful life force that we are all a part of...

This is truly a magazine cover worthy Master Bathroom. The home is pre-civil war and this space was originally a spare bedroom that we converted into a master bathroom. The flooring was originally heart pine which is so rare we carefully removed it to re-use it in another pat of the home. Customer wanted a modern bathroom that still had a lot of the charm of the original style of the home. Back in the day a bathroom like this would have been all marble, we chose to go with a marble looking porcelain tile so that the maintenance is minimal. We tiled the entire floor in a herringbone pattern and did a vertical staggered stack on the walls using all 12x24 large format tile. The vanities are a sleek modern European style with a traditional sit down vanity for the lady of the house. The countertops are Quartz. We custom made the shower with a wall niche and built in seat with a custom made shower door and half wall panel. Attention to detail in everything including the brass light fixtures and brass mirrors. This is a work of art that incorporated modern with a time long gone all the while making it a low maintenance bathroom that never go out of style.

Ashley Muir, Intelativity
Example of a country deck design in Philadelphia

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Built in the pre Civil War era (est. 1830's), this historic barn's addition was built to match with its notably beautiful characteristics and to maintain its integrity. It was custom built with rough sawn eastern Hemlock fibers and cladding. The walls were poured concrete walls with a stucco finish to give it a strong, durable, and rustic feel. Each custom door and window was designed to have a specific purpose for the barn's functionality and client's needs. As a full working barn that includes horses, the cutest donkey, chickens, and ducks, a standing seam roof was installed with solar panels to give daily power to these amazing animals. Coinciding with its history, the barn's floor bricks were repurposed from Second Chance in Baltimore, Maryland.

Stained concrete floors- cedar panels -rough linens and a civil war blanket surround clients furnishings from a past home
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View of the expansive driveway done in pavers leading up to the entry, house is cladded in Hardie Plank. You can see how the house cantilevers on two sides.

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This is truly a magazine cover worthy Master Bathroom. The home is pre-civil war and this space was originally a spare bedroom that we converted into a master bathroom. The flooring was originally heart pine which is so rare we carefully removed it to re-use it in another pat of the home. Customer wanted a modern bathroom that still had a lot of the charm of the original style of the home. Back in the day a bathroom like this would have been all marble, we chose to go with a marble looking porcelain tile so that the maintenance is minimal. We tiled the entire floor in a herringbone pattern and did a vertical staggered stack on the walls using all 12x24 large format tile. The vanities are a sleek modern European style with a traditional sit down vanity for the lady of the house. The countertops are Quartz. We custom made the shower with a wall niche and built in seat with a custom made shower door and half wall panel. Attention to detail in everything including the brass light fixtures and brass mirrors. This is a work of art that incorporated modern with a time long gone all the while making it a low maintenance bathroom that never go out of style.

Inspiration for a modern landscaping in DC Metro.

Pre-War in New York City means a home built before WW2. In Old Town Alexandria, Pre-War means before the Civil War, and that's exactly what LINEA Design Build Remodel was called in to address in this circa 1850 property. This guest bathroom may not appear large by modern construction standards, but it's now a critical five inches wider than it was, allowing for a comfortable shower, trimmed in basalt tile, and a good-sized room space adorned with matching volcanic basalt floor tile. LINEA Design Build Remodel completely reconstructed the sagging floor and reconfigured the plumbing to achieve this fine result. The horizontal bas-relief wall treatment (constructed from waterproof PVC panels) hints at the naval history of the home on the banks of the Potomac River.

Dakin has been working with the owners of this site realize their dream of cultivating a rich and meaningful landscape around their home. Because of their deep engagement with their land and garden, the landscape has guided the entire design process, from architecture to civil engineering to landscape design. All architecture on site is oriented toward the garden, a park-like, multi-use environment that includes a walking labyrinth, restored prairie, a Japanese garden, an orchard, vegetable beds, berry brambles, a croquet lawn and a charred wood outdoor shower. Dakin pays special attention to materials at every turn, selecting an antique sugar bowl for the outdoor fire pit, antique Japanese roof tiles to create blue edging, and stepping stones imported from India. In addition to its diversity of garden types, this permacultural paradise is home to chickens, ducks, and bees. A complex irrigation system was designed to draw alternately from wells and cisterns. Dakin has also had the privilege of creating an arboretum of diverse and rare trees that she based on Olmsted’s design for Central Park. Trees were selected to display a variety of seasonally shifting delights: spring blooms, fall berries, winter branch structure. Mature trees onsite were preserved and sometimes moved to new locations.

Located on an extraordinary hillside site above the San Fernando Valley, the Sherman Residence was designed to unite indoors and outdoors. The house is made up of as a series of board-formed concrete, wood and glass pavilions connected via intersticial gallery spaces that together define a central courtyard. From each room one can see the rich and varied landscape, which includes indigenous large oaks, sycamores, “working” plants such as orange and avocado trees, palms and succulents. A singular low-slung wood roof with deep overhangs shades and unifies the overall composition. CLIENT: Jerry & Zina Sherman PROJECT TEAM: Peter Tolkin, John R. Byram, Christopher Girt, Craig Rizzo, Angela Uriu, Eric Townsend, Anthony Denzer ENGINEERS: Joseph Perazzelli (Structural), John Ott & Associates (Civil), Brian A. Robinson & Associates (Geotechnical) LANDSCAPE: Wade Graham Landscape Studio CONSULTANTS: Tree Life Concern Inc. (Arborist), E&J Engineering & Energy Designs (Title-24 Energy) GENERAL CONTRACTOR: A-1 Construction PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter Tolkin, Grant Mudford AWARDS: 2001 Excellence Award Southern California Ready Mixed Concrete Association

The Owners of a home that had been consumed by the moving dunes of Lake Michigan wanted a home that would not only stand the test of aesthetic time, but survive the vicissitudes of the environment. With the assistance of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality as well as the consulting civil engineer and the City of Grand Haven Zoning Department, a soil stabilization site plan was developed based on raising the new home’s main floor elevation by almost three feet, implementing erosion studies, screen walls and planting indigenous, drought tolerant xeriscaping. The screen walls, as well as the low profile of the home and the use of sand trapping marrum beachgrass all help to create a wind shadow buffer around the home and reduce blowing sand erosion and accretion. The Owners wanted to minimize the stylistic baggage which consumes most “cottage” residences, and with the Architect created a home with simple lines focused on the view and the natural environment. Sustainable energy requirements on a budget directed the design decisions regarding the SIPs panel insulation, energy systems, roof shading, other insulation systems, lighting and detailing. Easily constructed and linear, the home harkens back to mid century modern pavilions with present day environmental sensitivities and harmony with the site. James Yochum