Neighbors with San Jose's VTA Light Rail Baypointe Station and just blocks from major employers like Cisco and SanDisk, Enso is a transit-oriented, urban living residential community. This four-story podium building sits over an underground parking garage equipped with bike storage and parking designated for low emitting vehicles. Influenced by the architecture of nearby commercial and light industrial buildings, its contemporary design features extensive use of glass, corrugated metal siding, and standing seam roofs. Project amenities include a courtyard garden, pool and recreation facility, and a neighborhood park.

This room is an addition to a stately colonial. The client's requested that the room reflect an old English library. The stained walnut walls and ceiling reinforce that age old feel. Each of the hand cut ceiling medallions reflect a personal milestone of the owners life. www.press1photos.com

Dock - small rustic backyard dock idea with no cover

Ground view of deck. Outwardly visible structural elements are wrapped in pVC. Photo Credit: Johnna Harrison
Outdoor kitchen deck - large traditional backyard outdoor kitchen deck idea in DC Metro with a pergola

Elizabeth Taich Design is a Chicago-based full-service interior architecture and design firm that specializes in sophisticated yet livable environments.

Ankeny Row CoHousing Net Zero Energy Pocket Neighborhood An urban community of 5 townhouses and 1 loft surrounding a courtyard, this pocket neighborhood is designed to encourage community interaction. The siting of homes maximizes light, energy and construction efficiency while balancing privacy and orientation to the community. Floor plans accommodate aging in place. Ankeny Row is constructed to the Passive House standard and aims to be net-zero energy use. Shared amenities include a community room, a courtyard, a garden shed, and bike parking/workshop.

A mosaic tile accent wall in your foyer is the first element that communicates the luxurious and detail oriented design of your home. Seen in Summer Lakes, a Houston community.

A contemporary multifamily residence designed with clean geometry, timeless materials, and a strong architectural presence. Thoughtfully integrated lighting, balanced proportions, and a refined façade create a welcoming environment that supports modern urban living and a connected community.

With adjacent neighbors within a fairly dense section of Paradise Valley, Arizona, C.P. Drewett sought to provide a tranquil retreat for a new-to-the-Valley surgeon and his family who were seeking the modernism they loved though had never lived in. With a goal of consuming all possible site lines and views while maintaining autonomy, a portion of the house — including the entry, office, and master bedroom wing — is subterranean. This subterranean nature of the home provides interior grandeur for guests but offers a welcoming and humble approach, fully satisfying the clients requests. While the lot has an east-west orientation, the home was designed to capture mainly north and south light which is more desirable and soothing. The architecture’s interior loftiness is created with overlapping, undulating planes of plaster, glass, and steel. The woven nature of horizontal planes throughout the living spaces provides an uplifting sense, inviting a symphony of light to enter the space. The more voluminous public spaces are comprised of stone-clad massing elements which convert into a desert pavilion embracing the outdoor spaces. Every room opens to exterior spaces providing a dramatic embrace of home to natural environment. Grand Award winner for Best Interior Design of a Custom Home The material palette began with a rich, tonal, large-format Quartzite stone cladding. The stone’s tones gaveforth the rest of the material palette including a champagne-colored metal fascia, a tonal stucco system, and ceilings clad with hemlock, a tight-grained but softer wood that was tonally perfect with the rest of the materials. The interior case goods and wood-wrapped openings further contribute to the tonal harmony of architecture and materials. Grand Award Winner for Best Indoor Outdoor Lifestyle for a Home This award-winning project was recognized at the 2020 Gold Nugget Awards with two Grand Awards, one for Best Indoor/Outdoor Lifestyle for a Home, and another for Best Interior Design of a One of a Kind or Custom Home. At the 2020 Design Excellence Awards and Gala presented by ASID AZ North, Ownby Design received five awards for Tonal Harmony. The project was recognized for 1st place – Bathroom; 3rd place – Furniture; 1st place – Kitchen; 1st place – Outdoor Living; and 2nd place – Residence over 6,000 square ft. Congratulations to Claire Ownby, Kalysha Manzo, and the entire Ownby Design team. Tonal Harmony was also featured on the cover of the July/August 2020 issue of Luxe Interiors + Design and received a 14-page editorial feature entitled “A Place in the Sun” within the magazine.

Our client wanted a more open environment, so we expanded the kitchen and added a pantry along with this family room addition. We used calm, cool colors in this sophisticated space with rustic embellishments. Drapery , fabric by Kravet, upholstered furnishings by Lee Industries, cocktail table by Century, mirror by Restoration Hardware, chandeliers by Currey & Co. Photo by Allen Russ

The design of this home drew upon historical styles, preserving the essentials of the original movement while updating these elements with clean lines and modern materials. Peers Homestead drew upon the American Farmhouse. The architectural design was based on several factors: orientation with views and connection to seasonal water elements, glass cubes, simplistic form and material palette, and steel accents with structure and cladding. To capture views, the floor to ceiling windows in the great room bring in the natural environment into the home and were oriented to face the Spanish Peaks. The great room’s simple gable roof and square room shape, accompanied by the large glass walls and a high ceiling, create an impressive glass cube effect. Following a contemporary trend for windows, thin-frame, aluminum clad windows were utilized for the high performance qualities as well as the aesthetic appeal. (Photos by Whitney Kamman)

Ankeny Row CoHousing Net Zero Energy Pocket Neighborhood An urban community of 5 townhouses and 1 loft surrounding a courtyard, this pocket neighborhood is designed to encourage community interaction. The siting of homes maximizes light, energy and construction efficiency while balancing privacy and orientation to the community. Floor plans accommodate aging in place. Ankeny Row is constructed to the Passive House standard and aims to be net-zero energy use. Shared amenities include a community room, a courtyard, a garden shed, and bike parking/workshop.

Contrast colors and texture in the ceiling molding to create a dynamic environment in your dining room. Seen in Ramblewood Manors, a Raleigh community.

This home combines function, efficiency and style. The homeowners had a limited budget, so maximizing function while minimizing square footage was critical. We used a fully insulated slab on grade foundation of a conventionally framed air-tight building envelope that gives the house a good baseline for energy efficiency. High efficiency lighting, appliance and HVAC system, including a heat exchanger for fresh air, round out the energy saving measures. Rainwater was collected and retained on site. Working within an older traditional neighborhood has several advantages including close proximity to community amenities and a mature landscape. Our challenge was to create a design that sits well with the early 20th century homes in the area. The resulting solution has a fresh attitude that interprets and reflects the neighborhood’s character rather than mimicking it. Traditional forms and elements merged with a more modern approach. Photography by Todd Crawford

Ankeny Row CoHousing Net Zero Energy Pocket Neighborhood An urban community of 5 townhouses and 1 loft surrounding a courtyard, this pocket neighborhood is designed to encourage community interaction. The siting of homes maximizes light, energy and construction efficiency while balancing privacy and orientation to the community. Floor plans accommodate aging in place. Ankeny Row is constructed to the Passive House standard and aims to be net-zero energy use. Shared amenities include a community room, a courtyard, a garden shed, and bike parking/workshop.

Coronado, CA The Alameda Residence is situated on a relatively large, yet unusually shaped lot for the beachside community of Coronado, California. The orientation of the “L” shaped main home and linear shaped guest house and covered patio create a large, open courtyard central to the plan. The majority of the spaces in the home are designed to engage the courtyard, lending a sense of openness and light to the home. The aesthetics take inspiration from the simple, clean lines of a traditional “A-frame” barn, intermixed with sleek, minimal detailing that gives the home a contemporary flair. The interior and exterior materials and colors reflect the bright, vibrant hues and textures of the seaside locale.

The design of this home drew upon historical styles, preserving the essentials of the original movement while updating these elements with clean lines and modern materials. Peers Homestead drew upon the American Farmhouse. The architectural design was based on several factors: orientation with views and connection to seasonal water elements, glass cubes, simplistic form and material palette, and steel accents with structure and cladding. To capture views, the floor to ceiling windows in the great room bring in the natural environment into the home and were oriented to face the Spanish Peaks. The great room’s simple gable roof and square room shape, accompanied by the large glass walls and a high ceiling, create an impressive glass cube effect. Following a contemporary trend for windows, thin-frame, aluminum clad windows were utilized for the high performance qualities as well as the aesthetic appeal. (Photos by Whitney Kamman)

Photo of a farmhouse landscaping in Orange County.