Kim Roberts, owner of Staging Beautifully, has a passion for creating beautiful spaces. From home staging to redecorating, Kim’s relaxed and friendly approach make even the most challenging project fun and enjoyable. For those interested in refreshing their space, Staging Beautifully can assist a homeowner in decorating their home with the items they already own and love. Like staging, redesign may include color selection, rearranging furniture, hanging art and placing accessories. It is a cost effective design alternative which will give your home a facelift without the cost of an Interior Designer. Utilizing your furnishings and treasures, we will shop your home to find new and creative ways to display your family’s possessions. This will result in a complete interior transformation which will reflect your personality, style, comfort and functionality to your living space without having to buy anything. Looking to sell your home, consider home staging to target a higher selling price. Home Staging aims to de-personalize your home and make it appealing to virtually all prospective buyers. The way you live in your home and the way you market your home are two very different things. Your home is competing with every other home on the market. A home that looks like it needs work or isn't move-in ready prompts buyers to low-ball their offers, or eliminate your home from consideration all together. Those homes that are staged to reflect current trends attract and appeal to more buyers, resulting in more offers, faster sales, and higher sale prices. Sometimes, an agent may even recommend your price be increased once your home is staged! A well-staged home can even start a bidding war with multiple offers!

Kim Roberts, owner of Staging Beautifully, has a passion for creating beautiful spaces. From home staging to redecorating, Kim’s relaxed and friendly approach make even the most challenging project fun and enjoyable. For those interested in refreshing their space, Staging Beautifully can assist a homeowner in decorating their home with the items they already own and love. Like staging, redesign may include color selection, rearranging furniture, hanging art and placing accessories. It is a cost effective design alternative which will give your home a facelift without the cost of an Interior Designer. Utilizing your furnishings and treasures, we will shop your home to find new and creative ways to display your family’s possessions. This will result in a complete interior transformation which will reflect your personality, style, comfort and functionality to your living space without having to buy anything. Looking to sell your home, consider home staging to target a higher selling price. Home Staging aims to de-personalize your home and make it appealing to virtually all prospective buyers. The way you live in your home and the way you market your home are two very different things. Your home is competing with every other home on the market. A home that looks like it needs work or isn't move-in ready prompts buyers to low-ball their offers, or eliminate your home from consideration all together. Those homes that are staged to reflect current trends attract and appeal to more buyers, resulting in more offers, faster sales, and higher sale prices. Sometimes, an agent may even recommend your price be increased once your home is staged! A well-staged home can even start a bidding war with multiple offers!

The homeowners came to us looking for assistance to design and build a custom home on their current lakefront property. They were living on the site in an existing small cabin from the 1960s. The property has a steep embankment down to the lake and a zoning setback that created challenges for fitting a custom home on the lot. Xpand worked with the homeowners to find and select the size and style of home that they liked and worked for their unique piece of land. The homeowner was very interested in aesthetics and desired a modern home with sleek low roof lines and lots of windows to take advantage of the lake views. Restrictions from zoning challenged Xpand, but we were able to perfectly fit the home with an angled deck that was within 3” of both the front and back yard setbacks. In addition to a modern aesthetic, the homeowners are hoping to stay in the home as they age, so careful consideration was given to making sure that their new home would function for them in the future by including wider doorways, curbless showers, hard surface flooring and single-floor living. This mid-century modern designed home includes a high covered entry, high ceilings, floor-to- ceiling windows and an open floorplan. Overall, this medium-sized home feels spacious yet bright and inviting. Slab on grade platform construction includes highly efficient in-floor hydronic heat that keeps everything consistently warm in the winter. Throughout the interior of the home, the use of clean lines reflects the modern aesthetic desired by the homeowner. The kitchen features flat-panel doors and a large island with a dramatic quartz countertop. The use of black and white tones throughout with bright pops of color and geometric shapes completes the modern look to perfection. Outside, restrictions from zoning challenged Xpand, but we were able to perfectly fit the home with an angled deck that was within 3” of both the front and back yard setbacks. The unique stylistic deck includes airplane cable railings and lifetime warrantied PVC decking on the back of the house.

Kim Roberts, owner of Staging Beautifully, has a passion for creating beautiful spaces. From home staging to redecorating, Kim’s relaxed and friendly approach make even the most challenging project fun and enjoyable. For those interested in refreshing their space, Staging Beautifully can assist a homeowner in decorating their home with the items they already own and love. Like staging, redesign may include color selection, rearranging furniture, hanging art and placing accessories. It is a cost effective design alternative which will give your home a facelift without the cost of an Interior Designer. Utilizing your furnishings and treasures, we will shop your home to find new and creative ways to display your family’s possessions. This will result in a complete interior transformation which will reflect your personality, style, comfort and functionality to your living space without having to buy anything. Looking to sell your home, consider home staging to target a higher selling price. Home Staging aims to de-personalize your home and make it appealing to virtually all prospective buyers. The way you live in your home and the way you market your home are two very different things. Your home is competing with every other home on the market. A home that looks like it needs work or isn't move-in ready prompts buyers to low-ball their offers, or eliminate your home from consideration all together. Those homes that are staged to reflect current trends attract and appeal to more buyers, resulting in more offers, faster sales, and higher sale prices. Sometimes, an agent may even recommend your price be increased once your home is staged! A well-staged home can even start a bidding war with multiple offers!

The homeowners came to us looking for assistance to design and build a custom home on their current lakefront property. They were living on the site in an existing small cabin from the 1960s. The property has a steep embankment down to the lake and a zoning setback that created challenges for fitting a custom home on the lot. Xpand worked with the homeowners to find and select the size and style of home that they liked and worked for their unique piece of land. The homeowner was very interested in aesthetics and desired a modern home with sleek low roof lines and lots of windows to take advantage of the lake views. Restrictions from zoning challenged Xpand, but we were able to perfectly fit the home with an angled deck that was within 3” of both the front and back yard setbacks. In addition to a modern aesthetic, the homeowners are hoping to stay in the home as they age, so careful consideration was given to making sure that their new home would function for them in the future by including wider doorways, curbless showers, hard surface flooring and single-floor living. This mid-century modern designed home includes a high covered entry, high ceilings, floor-to- ceiling windows and an open floorplan. Overall, this medium-sized home feels spacious yet bright and inviting. Slab on grade platform construction includes highly efficient in-floor hydronic heat that keeps everything consistently warm in the winter. Throughout the interior of the home, the use of clean lines reflects the modern aesthetic desired by the homeowner. The kitchen features flat-panel doors and a large island with a dramatic quartz countertop. The use of black and white tones throughout with bright pops of color and geometric shapes completes the modern look to perfection. Outside, restrictions from zoning challenged Xpand, but we were able to perfectly fit the home with an angled deck that was within 3” of both the front and back yard setbacks. The unique stylistic deck includes airplane cable railings and lifetime warrantied PVC decking on the back of the house.

One of their most attractive traits is the seamless integration they offer. With a virtually invisible frame, these doors become an integral part of your wall, creating a sleek and uninterrupted visual line. This aesthetic makes them ideal for an array of settings – whether you’re aiming for a minimalist, modern, or classic interior design. Moreover, these portals provide an element of surprise and a dash of intrigue – a bookcase that swings open to reveal a room or a mirrored wall that is actually an entrance to a walk-in closet. By choosing to order and buy hidden doors, you gift your space with the charm of the unexpected and impress your guests with your innovative approach to design. Embracing versatility An extraordinary feature of hidden doors is their flexibility. Suiting various purposes, they can serve as both a subtle addition to your house or an imposing style statement. But don't take our word for it! Order and buy interior doors and witness the aesthetic transformation they'll unleash. Tailored to your space Customisability is another aspect where hidden doors shine. The one we’re spotlighting here, for instance, comes in a classy white palette – primed and ready for installation. The door size is an ample 18" x 96", and the hidden frame is offered in silver to keep things elegant and understated. Furthermore, its right-hand outswing feature ensures that your room layout is taken into consideration. So, whether it’s a small apartment or a sprawling villa, this door will fit like a dream. A seamless shopping experience We believe in delivering more than just a product. It’s our priority to make sure your shopping experience with us is as seamless and enjoyable as possible. So, when you order and buy doors from us, we will provide all the guidance you need. From browsing from our wide range of door styles to selecting the right one for your space, and from placing the order to getting it installed – we're with you every step of the way. Your space deserves the best Consider this: a door is more than just a barrier. Rather, it's a tactile interface between us and our environment, a transit point between rooms, and a visual anchor within a space. So why not ditch generic doors for something that echoes your style and transforms your walls into fascinating design landscapes? All you need to do is order and buy doors. Your space deserves nothing less than the best.

Kim Roberts, owner of Staging Beautifully, has a passion for creating beautiful spaces. From home staging to redecorating, Kim’s relaxed and friendly approach make even the most challenging project fun and enjoyable. For those interested in refreshing their space, Staging Beautifully can assist a homeowner in decorating their home with the items they already own and love. Like staging, redesign may include color selection, rearranging furniture, hanging art and placing accessories. It is a cost effective design alternative which will give your home a facelift without the cost of an Interior Designer. Utilizing your furnishings and treasures, we will shop your home to find new and creative ways to display your family’s possessions. This will result in a complete interior transformation which will reflect your personality, style, comfort and functionality to your living space without having to buy anything. Looking to sell your home, consider home staging to target a higher selling price. Home Staging aims to de-personalize your home and make it appealing to virtually all prospective buyers. The way you live in your home and the way you market your home are two very different things. Your home is competing with every other home on the market. A home that looks like it needs work or isn't move-in ready prompts buyers to low-ball their offers, or eliminate your home from consideration all together. Those homes that are staged to reflect current trends attract and appeal to more buyers, resulting in more offers, faster sales, and higher sale prices. Sometimes, an agent may even recommend your price be increased once your home is staged! A well-staged home can even start a bidding war with multiple offers!

Kim Roberts, owner of Staging Beautifully, has a passion for creating beautiful spaces. From home staging to redecorating, Kim’s relaxed and friendly approach make even the most challenging project fun and enjoyable. For those interested in refreshing their space, Staging Beautifully can assist a homeowner in decorating their home with the items they already own and love. Like staging, redesign may include color selection, rearranging furniture, hanging art and placing accessories. It is a cost effective design alternative which will give your home a facelift without the cost of an Interior Designer. Utilizing your furnishings and treasures, we will shop your home to find new and creative ways to display your family’s possessions. This will result in a complete interior transformation which will reflect your personality, style, comfort and functionality to your living space without having to buy anything. Looking to sell your home, consider home staging to target a higher selling price. Home Staging aims to de-personalize your home and make it appealing to virtually all prospective buyers. The way you live in your home and the way you market your home are two very different things. Your home is competing with every other home on the market. A home that looks like it needs work or isn't move-in ready prompts buyers to low-ball their offers, or eliminate your home from consideration all together. Those homes that are staged to reflect current trends attract and appeal to more buyers, resulting in more offers, faster sales, and higher sale prices. Sometimes, an agent may even recommend your price be increased once your home is staged! A well-staged home can even start a bidding war with multiple offers!

Kim Roberts, owner of Staging Beautifully, has a passion for creating beautiful spaces. From home staging to redecorating, Kim’s relaxed and friendly approach make even the most challenging project fun and enjoyable. For those interested in refreshing their space, Staging Beautifully can assist a homeowner in decorating their home with the items they already own and love. Like staging, redesign may include color selection, rearranging furniture, hanging art and placing accessories. It is a cost effective design alternative which will give your home a facelift without the cost of an Interior Designer. Utilizing your furnishings and treasures, we will shop your home to find new and creative ways to display your family’s possessions. This will result in a complete interior transformation which will reflect your personality, style, comfort and functionality to your living space without having to buy anything. Looking to sell your home, consider home staging to target a higher selling price. Home Staging aims to de-personalize your home and make it appealing to virtually all prospective buyers. The way you live in your home and the way you market your home are two very different things. Your home is competing with every other home on the market. A home that looks like it needs work or isn't move-in ready prompts buyers to low-ball their offers, or eliminate your home from consideration all together. Those homes that are staged to reflect current trends attract and appeal to more buyers, resulting in more offers, faster sales, and higher sale prices. Sometimes, an agent may even recommend your price be increased once your home is staged! A well-staged home can even start a bidding war with multiple offers!

Kim Roberts, owner of Staging Beautifully, has a passion for creating beautiful spaces. From home staging to redecorating, Kim’s relaxed and friendly approach make even the most challenging project fun and enjoyable. For those interested in refreshing their space, Staging Beautifully can assist a homeowner in decorating their home with the items they already own and love. Like staging, redesign may include color selection, rearranging furniture, hanging art and placing accessories. It is a cost effective design alternative which will give your home a facelift without the cost of an Interior Designer. Utilizing your furnishings and treasures, we will shop your home to find new and creative ways to display your family’s possessions. This will result in a complete interior transformation which will reflect your personality, style, comfort and functionality to your living space without having to buy anything. Looking to sell your home, consider home staging to target a higher selling price. Home Staging aims to de-personalize your home and make it appealing to virtually all prospective buyers. The way you live in your home and the way you market your home are two very different things. Your home is competing with every other home on the market. A home that looks like it needs work or isn't move-in ready prompts buyers to low-ball their offers, or eliminate your home from consideration all together. Those homes that are staged to reflect current trends attract and appeal to more buyers, resulting in more offers, faster sales, and higher sale prices. Sometimes, an agent may even recommend your price be increased once your home is staged! A well-staged home can even start a bidding war with multiple offers!

Kim Roberts, owner of Staging Beautifully, has a passion for creating beautiful spaces. From home staging to redecorating, Kim’s relaxed and friendly approach make even the most challenging project fun and enjoyable. For those interested in refreshing their space, Staging Beautifully can assist a homeowner in decorating their home with the items they already own and love. Like staging, redesign may include color selection, rearranging furniture, hanging art and placing accessories. It is a cost effective design alternative which will give your home a facelift without the cost of an Interior Designer. Utilizing your furnishings and treasures, we will shop your home to find new and creative ways to display your family’s possessions. This will result in a complete interior transformation which will reflect your personality, style, comfort and functionality to your living space without having to buy anything. Looking to sell your home, consider home staging to target a higher selling price. Home Staging aims to de-personalize your home and make it appealing to virtually all prospective buyers. The way you live in your home and the way you market your home are two very different things. Your home is competing with every other home on the market. A home that looks like it needs work or isn't move-in ready prompts buyers to low-ball their offers, or eliminate your home from consideration all together. Those homes that are staged to reflect current trends attract and appeal to more buyers, resulting in more offers, faster sales, and higher sale prices. Sometimes, an agent may even recommend your price be increased once your home is staged! A well-staged home can even start a bidding war with multiple offers!

The homeowners came to us looking for assistance to design and build a custom home on their current lakefront property. They were living on the site in an existing small cabin from the 1960s. The property has a steep embankment down to the lake and a zoning setback that created challenges for fitting a custom home on the lot. Xpand worked with the homeowners to find and select the size and style of home that they liked and worked for their unique piece of land. The homeowner was very interested in aesthetics and desired a modern home with sleek low roof lines and lots of windows to take advantage of the lake views. Restrictions from zoning challenged Xpand, but we were able to perfectly fit the home with an angled deck that was within 3” of both the front and back yard setbacks. In addition to a modern aesthetic, the homeowners are hoping to stay in the home as they age, so careful consideration was given to making sure that their new home would function for them in the future by including wider doorways, curbless showers, hard surface flooring and single-floor living. This mid-century modern designed home includes a high covered entry, high ceilings, floor-to- ceiling windows and an open floorplan. Overall, this medium-sized home feels spacious yet bright and inviting. Slab on grade platform construction includes highly efficient in-floor hydronic heat that keeps everything consistently warm in the winter. Throughout the interior of the home, the use of clean lines reflects the modern aesthetic desired by the homeowner. The kitchen features flat-panel doors and a large island with a dramatic quartz countertop. The use of black and white tones throughout with bright pops of color and geometric shapes completes the modern look to perfection. Outside, restrictions from zoning challenged Xpand, but we were able to perfectly fit the home with an angled deck that was within 3” of both the front and back yard setbacks. The unique stylistic deck includes airplane cable railings and lifetime warrantied PVC decking on the back of the house.

The homeowners came to us looking for assistance to design and build a custom home on their current lakefront property. They were living on the site in an existing small cabin from the 1960s. The property has a steep embankment down to the lake and a zoning setback that created challenges for fitting a custom home on the lot. Xpand worked with the homeowners to find and select the size and style of home that they liked and worked for their unique piece of land. The homeowner was very interested in aesthetics and desired a modern home with sleek low roof lines and lots of windows to take advantage of the lake views. Restrictions from zoning challenged Xpand, but we were able to perfectly fit the home with an angled deck that was within 3” of both the front and back yard setbacks. In addition to a modern aesthetic, the homeowners are hoping to stay in the home as they age, so careful consideration was given to making sure that their new home would function for them in the future by including wider doorways, curbless showers, hard surface flooring and single-floor living. This mid-century modern designed home includes a high covered entry, high ceilings, floor-to- ceiling windows and an open floorplan. Overall, this medium-sized home feels spacious yet bright and inviting. Slab on grade platform construction includes highly efficient in-floor hydronic heat that keeps everything consistently warm in the winter. Throughout the interior of the home, the use of clean lines reflects the modern aesthetic desired by the homeowner. The kitchen features flat-panel doors and a large island with a dramatic quartz countertop. The use of black and white tones throughout with bright pops of color and geometric shapes completes the modern look to perfection. Outside, restrictions from zoning challenged Xpand, but we were able to perfectly fit the home with an angled deck that was within 3” of both the front and back yard setbacks. The unique stylistic deck includes airplane cable railings and lifetime warrantied PVC decking on the back of the house.

Kim Roberts, owner of Staging Beautifully, has a passion for creating beautiful spaces. From home staging to redecorating, Kim’s relaxed and friendly approach make even the most challenging project fun and enjoyable. For those interested in refreshing their space, Staging Beautifully can assist a homeowner in decorating their home with the items they already own and love. Like staging, redesign may include color selection, rearranging furniture, hanging art and placing accessories. It is a cost effective design alternative which will give your home a facelift without the cost of an Interior Designer. Utilizing your furnishings and treasures, we will shop your home to find new and creative ways to display your family’s possessions. This will result in a complete interior transformation which will reflect your personality, style, comfort and functionality to your living space without having to buy anything. Looking to sell your home, consider home staging to target a higher selling price. Home Staging aims to de-personalize your home and make it appealing to virtually all prospective buyers. The way you live in your home and the way you market your home are two very different things. Your home is competing with every other home on the market. A home that looks like it needs work or isn't move-in ready prompts buyers to low-ball their offers, or eliminate your home from consideration all together. Those homes that are staged to reflect current trends attract and appeal to more buyers, resulting in more offers, faster sales, and higher sale prices. Sometimes, an agent may even recommend your price be increased once your home is staged! A well-staged home can even start a bidding war with multiple offers!

The homeowners came to us looking for assistance to design and build a custom home on their current lakefront property. They were living on the site in an existing small cabin from the 1960s. The property has a steep embankment down to the lake and a zoning setback that created challenges for fitting a custom home on the lot. Xpand worked with the homeowners to find and select the size and style of home that they liked and worked for their unique piece of land. The homeowner was very interested in aesthetics and desired a modern home with sleek low roof lines and lots of windows to take advantage of the lake views. Restrictions from zoning challenged Xpand, but we were able to perfectly fit the home with an angled deck that was within 3” of both the front and back yard setbacks. In addition to a modern aesthetic, the homeowners are hoping to stay in the home as they age, so careful consideration was given to making sure that their new home would function for them in the future by including wider doorways, curbless showers, hard surface flooring and single-floor living. This mid-century modern designed home includes a high covered entry, high ceilings, floor-to- ceiling windows and an open floorplan. Overall, this medium-sized home feels spacious yet bright and inviting. Slab on grade platform construction includes highly efficient in-floor hydronic heat that keeps everything consistently warm in the winter. Throughout the interior of the home, the use of clean lines reflects the modern aesthetic desired by the homeowner. The kitchen features flat-panel doors and a large island with a dramatic quartz countertop. The use of black and white tones throughout with bright pops of color and geometric shapes completes the modern look to perfection. Outside, restrictions from zoning challenged Xpand, but we were able to perfectly fit the home with an angled deck that was within 3” of both the front and back yard setbacks. The unique stylistic deck includes airplane cable railings and lifetime warrantied PVC decking on the back of the house.

The SIX is a 52-unit affordable housing project provides a home, support services and rehabilitation for disabled veterans. It is located in the MacArthur Park area of Los Angeles. McArthur Park has one of the highest densities in the USA with over 38,000 people per square mile and a total population of 120,000 people in 2.72 square miles. Offering shelter and comfort, the SIX breaks the prescriptive mold of the traditional shelter by creating public and private "zones" in which private space is deemphasized, in favor of large public areas. The organization of the space is intended to transform the way people live-away from a reclusive, isolating layout towards a community-oriented, interactive space. The ground level contains offices, support spaces for the veterans, bike storage and parking while the second level has a large public courtyard. Surrounded by four levels of housing units with balconies wrapped with a wood screen made from recycle planking the courtyard has large openings with green roofs that visually connects the space to the street on the lower level beyond. This allows the tenants to enjoy a secured open space while still connecting to the larger community. The uppermost level has a green roof, large public patio and edible garden with panoramic views of the area. The SIX distinguishes itself from most conventionally developed projects in that it incorporates energy efficient measures that exceed standard practice, optimize building performance, and ensure reduced energy use during all phases of construction and occupancy. The planning and design emerged from close consideration and employment of passive design strategies. These strategies include: locating and orienting the building to control solar cooling loads; shaping and orienting the building for exposure to prevailing winds; shaping the building to induce buoyancy for natural ventilation; designing windows to maximize day lighting; shading south facing windows and minimizing west-facing glazing; designing windows to maximize natural ventilation; utilizing low flow fixtures and storm water management; shaping and planning the interior to enhance daylight and natural air flow distribution. These passive strategies alone make this building 50% more efficient than a conventionally designed structure.

The homeowners came to us looking for assistance to design and build a custom home on their current lakefront property. They were living on the site in an existing small cabin from the 1960s. The property has a steep embankment down to the lake and a zoning setback that created challenges for fitting a custom home on the lot. Xpand worked with the homeowners to find and select the size and style of home that they liked and worked for their unique piece of land. The homeowner was very interested in aesthetics and desired a modern home with sleek low roof lines and lots of windows to take advantage of the lake views. Restrictions from zoning challenged Xpand, but we were able to perfectly fit the home with an angled deck that was within 3” of both the front and back yard setbacks. In addition to a modern aesthetic, the homeowners are hoping to stay in the home as they age, so careful consideration was given to making sure that their new home would function for them in the future by including wider doorways, curbless showers, hard surface flooring and single-floor living. This mid-century modern designed home includes a high covered entry, high ceilings, floor-to- ceiling windows and an open floorplan. Overall, this medium-sized home feels spacious yet bright and inviting. Slab on grade platform construction includes highly efficient in-floor hydronic heat that keeps everything consistently warm in the winter. Throughout the interior of the home, the use of clean lines reflects the modern aesthetic desired by the homeowner. The kitchen features flat-panel doors and a large island with a dramatic quartz countertop. The use of black and white tones throughout with bright pops of color and geometric shapes completes the modern look to perfection. Outside, restrictions from zoning challenged Xpand, but we were able to perfectly fit the home with an angled deck that was within 3” of both the front and back yard setbacks. The unique stylistic deck includes airplane cable railings and lifetime warrantied PVC decking on the back of the house.

Greg Pinn, Vice President of Pinn Brothers Fine Homes of San Jose, California, brought his dream to fruition with the completion of his own French Country Chateau. The level of quality and the attention to detail found in every aspect of his residence is a tribute to the craftsmanship of the professionals who helped build it as well as the beautiful materials that made it possible. When selecting the stone and brick for the home’s exterior, Pinn and his fellow builders contructed a full-scale wall that had four different mockups of various stone profiles and colors before finalizing their selection. Upon taking all the possibilities into consideration, Eldorado’s Fieldledge and Limestone profiles in addition to the Bracciano RomaBrick proved to be just the product their team was looking for, all of which were installed using an overgrout technique. Having worked with Eldorado exclusively for close to 10 years on all of his projects, Pinn had Eldorado in mind when the architectural plans were in the beginning stages of development and felt confident from the get-go that Eldorado would be their stone and brick of choice. By working with Eldorado, Pinn was able to implement the look of natural stone in several places throughout the home. There was extensive use of both stone and brick on the retaining walls of his yard, around the pook, the outdoor living space, and on all the chimney stacks. He also dressed the majority of the home’s exterior in Eldorado’s stone and brick because of its affordability and ease of installation versus natural stone. An added bonus was that Pinn won’t have difficulty finding similar stones if need be like he would using stone from a quarry. He can rely on the consistency and availability of Eldorado, regardless of the amount of time that goes by. According to Pinn, Eldorado Stone made all the difference in the success of creating his very own French Country Chateau. Eldorado Stone Profile Featured: Austin Cream Limestone (20%), Custom Large Fieldledge (20%) and Custom Fieldledge (60%), both in Austin Cream color with an overgrout technique Eldorado Brick Profile Featured: Bracciano RomaBrick with an overgrout technique Builder: Pinn Brothers Fine Homes, San Jose, CA Architect: Knitter & Associates, Newport Beach, CA Website: www.knitter.com Landscape Architect: Robert Mowat & Associates, San Francisco, CA Website: www.rmalandscape.com Mason: San Marino Masonry, Anaheim, CA Website: www.vecompanies.com Design Consultant: Marni Leis, San Francisco, CA

German Embassy in Pristina - Kosovo, contracted the architecture office “Ferizi + Ferizi Architects” to plan and implement an Annex Office building for their purposes. As detached part of this building is designed the waiting area, as alone standing structure. This Office Building is constructed by assembling of Eight used office containers that were delivered on trucks and set up after only a few hours on the basis of the LEGO principle, according to the planning on strip foundations. By removing the flexible exterior wall panels, a large room of 115 m² was created, with the counter wall as a room partition between two office spaces, each with seven workstations as well as three counters for agents on one side and a room for visitors on the other side. With this system, room solutions can be easily implemented in all dimensions. The container, seen as a geometric shape, is a simple, octagonal, solid box. The standardized perfection of its dimensions is striking: 2.44 meters wide, 2.59 meters high and 6.06 meters or 12.19 meters long. Since its introduction in 1956 by the American transport entrepreneur Malcom McLean, the container has become a standardized transport module worldwide, whether on ships, trucks or construction sites. The shipping containers have additionally revolutionized the transport industry, pushed the globalization noticeably, and thus directly or indirectly influenced all our lives. But after only a few years, when the first overseas containers wore out, many engineers recognized the positive properties of used shipping containers for building houses, especially since they are robust, flexible, multifunctional and second-hand relatively inexpensive to purchase. The time has long passed by to treat containers exclusively as transport objects. As a "measure of all things", containers can hardly be ignored in construction. Their use is no longer limited to temporary use since school containers, information containers, office containers or entire residential buildings are now part of our everyday life in the construction industry. However, current examples of the container architecture prove that even the most demanding solutions for container building are feasible. For their specific aesthetic and spatial qualities, containers also serve as design parameters for the development of new forms of architecture and urbanity. The office building as an extension of the visa section, characterized by modern materials and contemporary aesthetics has been designed and built mainly as a low-energy building. Extensive insulation to achieve a comfortable and sustainable constant temperature in the interior, high window quality and low energy consumption make the building energy-efficient. The sophisticated lighting technology, networks, heating systems and air-conditioning systems are also components of this equipment. It creates an overall harmonic picture and guarantees the highest standard in sustainable construction, taking into consideration the fact that environmentally friendly recycling and reutilization have become an increasingly important issue in our society. West and East side of the wooden facade is compact and has few openings, while the southern facade is completely open with lot of glass. Its spatial openness ensures a transparent, friendly work environment, which allows a lot of light into the space. This openness allows an uninterrupted, pleasant and close-to-nature view from interior spaces into the beautiful garden. During the installation of sophisticated light sources in the garden, emphasis was not only put on functionality and security, but also on the beauty of the garden shown through the illumination in the evening. Large, horizontal white “brisole” serve as external sun protection systems, mounted on the canopies of the entrance areas of the modular construction and the enclosure, adeptly cast shade on these areas and at the same time shape the entire architectural language. While on one hand, the two quadratic ledges suspended in the air, are docked with steel stairs and match the wooden façade, lead the staff to their office space, the artful modern interior, on the other hand, perfectly unites the functionality, innovative technology, culture and positive effects on the employees' efficiency and wellbeing. A lot of white, interjected by warm wooden and colored accents, determines the ambience. In the case of the lighting solution, the mainly linear ceiling lighting is used as the overlapping design element both for the offices of the visa section as well as for the counters and the waiting area for the visitors. They underline the puristic design in order to create a pleasant light for a desired general illumination and ensure optimal light conditions without causing disturbing reflections on the computer screens. In addition, precisely positioned pendant luminaires are installed at the workstations, which ensure pleasant room brightness. In the entrance area, the harmonic and uniform lighting effect from the ground highlights the integration of photography and architecture. Photographs of landscapes, people, places, expressing unforgettable, impressive moments and memories have been lovingly engraved on 8 x 8cm square oak blocks. The idea of an effective, impressive environment that stimulates and inspires the work was the premiss on which the whole design concept was based. Consequently, the modular construction was no longer viewed through its history of utilization and scars, but rather as a structure of work ambiance, art and elegance. FERIZI + FERIZI Architects Photo: Arben Llapashtica