For this project, the goals were straight forward - a low energy, low maintenance home that would allow the "60 something couple” time and money to enjoy all their interests. Accessibility was also important since this is likely their last home. In the end the style is minimalist, but the raw, natural materials add texture that give the home a warm, inviting feeling. The home has R-67.5 walls, R-90 in the attic, is extremely air tight (0.4 ACH) and is oriented to work with the sun throughout the year. As a result, operating costs of the home are minimal. The HVAC systems were chosen to work efficiently, but not to be complicated. They were designed to perform to the highest standards, but be simple enough for the owners to understand and manage. The owners spend a lot of time camping and traveling and wanted the home to capture the same feeling of freedom that the outdoors offers. The spaces are practical, easy to keep clean and designed to create a free flowing space that opens up to nature beyond the large triple glazed Passive House windows. Built-in cubbies and shelving help keep everything organized and there is no wasted space in the house - Enough space for yoga, visiting family, relaxing, sculling boats and two home offices. The most frequent comment of visitors is how relaxed they feel. This is a result of the unique connection to nature, the abundance of natural materials, great air quality, and the play of light throughout the house. The exterior of the house is simple, but a striking reflection of the local farming environment. The materials are low maintenance, as is the landscaping. The siting of the home combined with the natural landscaping gives privacy and encourages the residents to feel close to local flora and fauna. Photo Credit: Leon T. Switzer/Front Page Media Group

The Timothy Hyde House, c. 1729, dear to the homeowners for its historic details, but long-lacking the family oriented spaces and living areas essential for today’s extended family lifestyle. Unwilling to compromise an ounce of character, this growing family longed for more practical amenities like a visitor’s private retreat with bedroom, living room and bath, garage parking, a proper master bedroom layout with full bath and walk-in closet, in addition to a new kitchen that would function as the heart of the home. Ultimately the total square footage was doubled and the entire flow of the home was reworked keeping all of the character details intact. The kitchen is the hub, serving up its center island topped off with reclaimed white oak once belonging to a barn built in the 1880’s; jet mist leather granite tops off the remainder of the kitchen. Custom cable lighting was the ingenious solution for the complicated preservation of the original exposed beams and posts in the kitchen. The barn door was custom crafted from original timbers. Many cups of coffee will be enjoyed at the cozy, sun-filled dining nook overlooking the family room and new adjacent deck. The rear, separate entry mudroom with step-up laundry was a long awaited luxury over the previous basement facilities. Moving upstairs, a centrally located bathroom was removed to create a wheelhouse style landing/passage hall, now home to a quiet workspace, featuring original wide plank floors and tailor-made sconces. Baths were added and upgraded including soapstone tops, marble, a glorious soaker tub in the generous master bath, all giving the home a taste of luxury. Bathing in sunlight rests the master suite starring the original beams, cathedral ceilings, and well-suited chandelier. Throughout the home strategically designed built-ins provide a plethora of storage and organization. This 280 year-old Colonial shines on brighter than ever. We are proud to have been part of its long history. Photo by Eric Roth

This was a definite challenge. It was built during covid, and we faced all kinds of issues with supply shortages, a three-week concrete strike, and a shortage of storage space due to their basement being renovated. The client had a drawing of the design, but we needed to come up with actual plans to make it work. To further complicate things, we had to build the shed in the fall so it could be used for temporary winter storage. Then we poured the slab the next year and moved the shed but hand onto it. That is not bad, considering it was 16' x 10' and weighed close to a 1000 lbs.

Oakland, CA: Addition and remodel to a rustic ranch home. The existing house had lovely woodwork but was dark and enclosed. The house borders on a regional park and our clients wanted to open up the space to the expansive yard, to allow views, bring in light, and modernize the spaces. New wide exterior accordion doors, with a thin screen that pulls across the opening, connect inside to outside. We retained the existing exposed redwood rafters, and repeated the pattern in the new spaces, while adding lighter materials to brighten the spaces. We positioned exterior doors for views through the whole house. Ceilings were raised and doorways repositioned to make a complicated and closed-in layout simpler and more coherent.

Inspiration for a small contemporary deck remodel in San Diego

This design is a Gulf-side 2nd home in a historically designated area. The simple goals for the home are to create a small interior 3 bedroom 2 bath house, efficient in space and low on maintenance, while maximizing the exterior spaces. The more complicated goals include designing a house that can be open when occupied and closed when not as it is 300’ from the Gulf of Mexico and must be secure from storms. The clients requested that the house could be boarded up as part of the design. They wanted the house to look inviting even when it was closed for a storm. A Grand ARDA for Custom Home Design goes to emerymcclure architecture Designers: Michael McClure and Ursula Emery McClure with Sarah Young From: Lafayette, Louisiana

This loft apartment in New York City was a total redo. Posh Places created a total design package that included furniture, painting, custom drapery, flooring, lighting, and more. The custom storage space on the back wall was designed, built, and installed by Posh Places.

Addition project by Glickman Design Build. The firm serves the MD, VA and DC area. An award-winning firm that do renovations, remodeling and additions. Keith Long, CAPS

The window treatments were a mahogany shade with valences milled onsite to match a basic yet quasi-contemporary design and stained to keep up the teak tone. The Tile was 16" Italian porcelain with 1/8" epoxy grout; ideal for the red mud (vog) that is known to destroy grout in Hawaii. Jay Wurtz from Jay's Tile of Lahaina, is an exceptional tradesman. Proficient, polite and punctual, his work was greatly appreciated and stayed on budget regardless of substrate complications.

This interior remodel reimagined a dated kitchen and bathroom as one cohesive, light-filled living environment. The homeowners wanted a home that felt calm, organized, and effortless to live in — spaces that support everyday routines rather than complicate them. D&G managed the entire project under a single Design-Build process: design, material selections, engineering, permitting, construction, and final quality control handled by one team with one point of accountability. The Kitchen The galley kitchen was opened into an adjacent dining area to improve flow and natural light. Soft white cabinetry pairs with quartz countertops and a full-height marble-look quartz backsplash behind the induction cooktop, creating a clean, uninterrupted surface that's as practical as it is refined. A vertical shiplap accent wall introduces subtle texture and depth, balanced by a floating natural maple shelf that echoes the wood tones throughout the home. Integrated appliance placement — a wall oven, concealed microwave shelf, and under-cabinet ventilation — keeps countertops clear and sightlines uncluttered. Adjacent to the kitchen, a custom built-in storage wall blends natural maple upper cabinetry with white base cabinetry, delivering pantry-level capacity without the visual weight of a closed pantry. Timeless, functional, and designed to age well. The Bathroom The bathroom carries the same design language as the kitchen: a natural maple vanity with raised-panel doors, brushed nickel hardware, quartz countertop with integrated backsplash, and an undermount sink. A recessed medicine cabinet extends storage without intruding on the room, while a glass-enclosed shower with a low-threshold base and window-driven natural light keeps the space open, bright, and easy to maintain. Wood-look tile flooring ties the bathroom to the wide-plank flooring used throughout the home — a detail that makes the renovation read as one intentional project rather than a series of separate updates.

The remodel of this 1930’s home was a balancing act between honoring the original style of the home and incorporating modern details for comfort and aesthetic. The remodel resulted in a 4,422 sf footprint that includes a master suite addition on the first floor, new hardwood flooring and natural stone tiles throughout the home, and smooth stucco exterior walls and landscape walls. The traditional style was modernized through the addition of steel exterior doors and windows. The complicated flashing and installation necessary for these doors and windows required thorough communication between Clark, the architect, and the window manufacturer. Some of the original framing members of the home were maintained, helping to keep the integrity of the original structure and design of the home. A traditional European look was invoked through details such as custom interior oak doors designed to sit flush with thick jambs.

We removed to outer walls to open up the kitchen. The small space if functional and beautifully designed. Thermador appliances, accents of matte black lighting, stools and table complicate the blonde wood and matte white cabinetry.

Protect your car, truck, boat, or any vehicle with a quickly installed garage. There is no need to work around complicated foundations, wait for builder delays, or tiptoe around a construction mess. Get your investments out of the weather and into a quality prefab shed with a garage door and reinforced floor.

This is a perfect example of how we work, and why our clients choose to work with us once they meet us. Kitchen remodel is not only about buying Cabinets. It’s much, much more than that. It’s finding the right people who can think on the fly/outside the box. Who can design/re-design and execute the details even when they have to make delicate and complicated decisions in the field to help keep the project on time. White solid Wood Cabinets, double crown moldings, Drawer microwave, pot filler, and large 30” undermount stainless steel sink with a tall faucet to anchor it. Bold backsplash tiles, elegant 36” professional hood, light rail moldings, pull out Drawers and organizers inside of the cabinets, LED lighting on dimmer switches all combined with new matching wood flooring made this kitchen stand out in this space. Cabinets, Countertop and design were provided by RAJ team, along with other collaborative team work between our recommended General Contractor and our client. The entire team was awesome and the project was beautifully executed!

This Spring Valley yard was an incredibly complicated build. With over 5 stories of elevation change in the yard from the front to the back of the property, creating a sense of consistency and integration was a challenge. The expansive yard demanded a lot of thought be put into the cohesive design elements to make one's area flow with ease from one place to the next. The lengthy water feature, multiple patios and planting areas, all were linked with a multiple allen block retaining walls and sienna stone stairs. Photo Credit: Jamen Rhodes

For this project, the goals were straight forward - a low energy, low maintenance home that would allow the "60 something couple” time and money to enjoy all their interests. Accessibility was also important since this is likely their last home. In the end the style is minimalist, but the raw, natural materials add texture that give the home a warm, inviting feeling. The home has R-67.5 walls, R-90 in the attic, is extremely air tight (0.4 ACH) and is oriented to work with the sun throughout the year. As a result, operating costs of the home are minimal. The HVAC systems were chosen to work efficiently, but not to be complicated. They were designed to perform to the highest standards, but be simple enough for the owners to understand and manage. The owners spend a lot of time camping and traveling and wanted the home to capture the same feeling of freedom that the outdoors offers. The spaces are practical, easy to keep clean and designed to create a free flowing space that opens up to nature beyond the large triple glazed Passive House windows. Built-in cubbies and shelving help keep everything organized and there is no wasted space in the house - Enough space for yoga, visiting family, relaxing, sculling boats and two home offices. The most frequent comment of visitors is how relaxed they feel. This is a result of the unique connection to nature, the abundance of natural materials, great air quality, and the play of light throughout the house. The exterior of the house is simple, but a striking reflection of the local farming environment. The materials are low maintenance, as is the landscaping. The siting of the home combined with the natural landscaping gives privacy and encourages the residents to feel close to local flora and fauna. Photo Credit: Leon T. Switzer/Front Page Media Group

For this project, the goals were straight forward - a low energy, low maintenance home that would allow the "60 something couple” time and money to enjoy all their interests. Accessibility was also important since this is likely their last home. In the end the style is minimalist, but the raw, natural materials add texture that give the home a warm, inviting feeling. The home has R-67.5 walls, R-90 in the attic, is extremely air tight (0.4 ACH) and is oriented to work with the sun throughout the year. As a result, operating costs of the home are minimal. The HVAC systems were chosen to work efficiently, but not to be complicated. They were designed to perform to the highest standards, but be simple enough for the owners to understand and manage. The owners spend a lot of time camping and traveling and wanted the home to capture the same feeling of freedom that the outdoors offers. The spaces are practical, easy to keep clean and designed to create a free flowing space that opens up to nature beyond the large triple glazed Passive House windows. Built-in cubbies and shelving help keep everything organized and there is no wasted space in the house - Enough space for yoga, visiting family, relaxing, sculling boats and two home offices. The most frequent comment of visitors is how relaxed they feel. This is a result of the unique connection to nature, the abundance of natural materials, great air quality, and the play of light throughout the house. The exterior of the house is simple, but a striking reflection of the local farming environment. The materials are low maintenance, as is the landscaping. The siting of the home combined with the natural landscaping gives privacy and encourages the residents to feel close to local flora and fauna. Photo Credit: Leon T. Switzer/Front Page Media Group

Perched above the beautiful Delaware River in the historic village of New Hope, Bucks County, Pennsylvania sits this magnificent custom home designed by OMNIA Group Architects. According to Partner, Brian Mann,"This riverside property required a nuanced approach so that it could at once be both a part of this eclectic village streetscape and take advantage of the spectacular waterfront setting." Further complicating the study, the lot was narrow, it resides in the floodplain and the program required the Master Suite to be on the main level. To meet these demands, OMNIA dispensed with conventional historicist styles and created an open plan blended with traditional forms punctuated by vast rows of glass windows and doors to bring in the panoramic views of Lambertville, the bridge, the wooded opposite bank and the river. Mann adds, "Because I too live along the river, I have a special respect for its ever changing beauty - and I appreciate that riverfront structures have a responsibility to enhance the views from those on the water." Hence the riverside facade is as beautiful as the street facade. A sweeping front porch integrates the entry with the vibrant pedestrian streetscape. Low garden walls enclose a beautifully landscaped courtyard defining private space without turning its back on the street. Once inside, the natural setting explodes into view across the back of each of the main living spaces. For a home with so few walls, spaces feel surprisingly intimate and well defined. The foyer is elegant and features a free flowing curved stair that rises in a turret like enclosure dotted with windows that follow the ascending stairs like a sculpture. "Using changes in ceiling height, finish materials and lighting, we were able to define spaces without boxing spaces in" says Mann adding, "the dynamic horizontality of the river is echoed along the axis of the living space; the natural movement from kitchen to dining to living rooms following the current of the river." Service elements are concentrated along the front to create a visual and noise barrier from the street and buttress a calm hall that leads to the Master Suite. The master bedroom shares the views of the river, while the bath and closet program are set up for pure luxuriating. The second floor features a common loft area with a large balcony overlooking the water. Two children's suites flank the loft - each with their own exquisitely crafted baths and closets. Continuing the balance between street and river, an open air bell-tower sits above the entry porch to bring life and light to the street. Outdoor living was part of the program from the start. A covered porch with outdoor kitchen and dining and lounge area and a fireplace brings 3-season living to the river. And a lovely curved patio lounge surrounded by grand landscaping by LDG finishes the experience. OMNIA was able to bring their design talents to the finish materials too including cabinetry, lighting, fixtures, colors and furniture.

Inspired by noted American architect Norman Jaffe, the strikingly contemporary Sagaponack Residence on Long Island is highlighted by distinctively unique angles both inside and out. Jaffe was widely recognized for his contemporary residential style and use of natural materials and passive solar forms of design for his many South Long Island beach houses. The 2,700 sq. ft. private residence is located one-half mile from the Atlantic coast and sited in an area that was originally characterized by long vistas over farm fields to the ocean beyond. Now, the area is thickly built up with weekend homes. The project was meant to address this change by creating a place that focuses on the immediate landscape and provides a garden environment for the owner. A collaborative arrangement between two architectural firms brought the project to life. Andrew Reyniak, principal at ARAPC, New York, was architect of record; Mark Anthony C. Verzosa, principal at +macv, Sag Harbor, NY, was design consultant and general contractor. “We knew we wanted to use zinc from the beginning,” Verzosa said. “We wanted a material that had a life.” Approximately 5,500 sq. ft. of prePATINA blue-grey RHEINZINK was specified to provide the life and the look that the design team sought. RHEINZINK Vertical Angled Standing Seam Panels and Flat Lock Tiles clad the exterior along with rough-sawn, locally-sourced white cedar. RHEINZINK Double Lock Standing Seam Panels were used on the roof. “The RHEINZINK is obviously a very versatile material,” according to Verzosa. “The color blends very well into the environment and the sky in particular. And we like the way it patinas and self-heals.” The unique design of the house incorporates unusual angles on both the exterior and interior. “There’s not a lot of 90 degree or horizontal plumb walls,” Verzosa said. “The dramatic geometry of the building created complicated detailing on the project.” Fabrication and installation of the RHEINZINK panels was done by Metropan Systems, Inc., Bayside, NY. The company specializes in zinc façade and roofing projects, according to John Gushue, president. “We’ve done more than 60 zinc projects since 2001 and the majority have been RHEINZINK,” Gushue said. “If I could do zinc every day, I would.” The unusual geometry of the Sagaponack Residence made for a challenging installation. “There was nothing cookie cutter about this job,” according to Gushue. “We began meeting with the architect about a year before actually starting the work in order to incorporate the very best detailing. Every fastener is hidden and there’s no caulk on the façade. Many of the RHEINZINK panels were fabricated on-site in order to bend around corners. And the flashing details had to be meticulous.” The design of the project presents a modern, artistic look in every aspect. “Of all the zinc projects we’ve done, this is my favorite,” Gushue said. “It was a great job to be on. And properly maintained, it could last for 150 years.”