Troy Thies Photography
Inspiration for a craftsman black tile and subway tile powder room remodel in Minneapolis with a pedestal sink, a two-piece toilet and beige walls

Gourmet kitchen designed around locally acquired historic apothecary casework. Photo by Blake Mistich.
Country dark wood floor kitchen photo in Austin with shaker cabinets, white cabinets, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

This project is more than meets the eye! In a gorgeous neighborhood in Del Mar, San Diego, California, This unique small custom wine cellar truly acts as a showstopper. Originally within this house, the door which now faces outward used to be around the corner in a small hallway, virtually eliminating any visibility into this contemporary walk in custom wine cellar. Upon seeing the location of this space within the house, Gene Walder and the knowledgeable team at Vintage Cellars knew that to really take advantage of the room provided, (which is actually below the stairs), they needed to get rid of the original door and add a brand new one facing the main living space. Just a small feat in a series of unique custom features within this cellar! Here at Vintage Cellars, before any design takes shape, it is vital to understand what the clients wants and needs are based on their growing collection of wine. With a good idea of bottle sizes, shapes (some pinot noir bottles, for example have a wider bottom than a typical cabernet sauvignon bottle) and unique features desired, the team of wine cellar designers and wine cellar builders at Vintage Cellars are able to create a very special and desirable wine cellar for each client. The owners of this beautiful home collaborated heavily with the Vintage Cellars team in the design process of this rustic custom wine cellar - something that we aim to do with every project. The homeowners wanted to showcase some of their favorite Magnum sized bottles in a high reveal horizontal display row, directly on top of another area highlighting the best 750 ml's in their collection. This small custom wine room fills most of the left wall with single deep, individual bottle storage. Directly below this wine racking is room for wine case / wine bin storage. Centered within this wall is a nice space for opening and decanting wines with a gorgeous dark stone countertop and room for hanging wine glasses above. The opposite wall is filled floor to ceiling with label revealing horizontal display rows. Again, this type of feature is very desirable in recent years. Homeowners want to be able to showcase the best bottles they own within their custom wine cellars in the most stunning and beautiful ways possible. Additionally, this feature is commonly replicated with metal bars for a more contemporary and modern look and feel. Within Beach Cities such as Del Mar, La Jolla, Cardiff, Coronado, Rancho Santa Fe, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Newport Beach and Orange County alike, small walk wine cellars are all the rage. Custom Wine Closet s and Under the Stairs Custom Wine Room s are quickly becoming a commonplace feature within modern luxury homes. Funny enough, because San Diego has become such a hub and mecca for craft beer breweries, luxury homes within communities such as La Jolla, Del Mar, Encinitas, Coronado, Cardiff, Rancho Santa Fe, Solana Beach, Carlsbad, La Costa and Torrey Pines have taken notice and began including space for unique beer storage within their custom wine cellars as well. This right side wall horizontal display racking does just that. If you look closely, those intricately labeled bottles are craft brews kept at a chill and refreshing 55 Degrees- just waiting to be opened and enjoyed immediately. Just when you thought the custom wine cellar tour was over, another unique feature catches your eye. You see the back stone wall? Press ever so gently in the top left corner two thirds of the way up and - Voila! - a secret door appears and slowly reveals more room under the stairway for case storage and the like. The homeowner also decided to add interesting lighting to this cellar. The Custom wine room can turn any color of the rainbow - allowing you to focus on all lights or just one a time, creating that perfect mood lighting for the holidays, springtime, or summer. This entire custom wine cellar and all wine racking were done in raw black walnut. Vintage Cellars has built gorgeous custom wine cellars and wine storage rooms across the United States and World for over 25 years. We are your go-to business for anything wine cellar and wine storage related! Whether you're interested in a wine closet, wine racking, custom wine racks, a custom wine cellar door, or a cooling system for your existing space, Vintage Cellars has you covered! We carry all kinds of wine cellar cooling and refrigeration systems, incuding: Breezaire, CellarCool, WhisperKool, Wine Guardian, CellarPro and Commercial systems. We also carry many types of Wine Refrigerators, Wine Cabinets, and wine racking types, including La Cache, Marvel, N'Finity, Transtherm, Vinotheque, Vintage Series, Credenza, Walk in wine rooms, Climadiff, Riedel, Fontenay, and VintageView. Vintage Cellars also does work in many styles, including Contemporary and Modern, Rustic, Farmhouse, Traditional, Craftsman, Industrial, Mediterranean, Mid-Century, Industrial and Eclectic. Some locations we cover often include: San Diego, Rancho Santa Fe, Corona Del Mar, Del Mar, La Jolla, Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Huntington Beach, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Carlsbad, Orange County, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Bel Air, Los Angeles, Encinitas, Cardiff, Coronado, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, San Marino, Ladera Heights, Santa Monica, Brentwood, Westwood, Hancock Park, Laguna Beach, Crystal Cove, Laguna Niguel, Torrey Pines, Thousand Oaks, Coto De Caza, Coronado Island, San Francisco, Danville, Walnut Creek, Marin, Tiburon, Hillsborough, Berkeley, Oakland, Napa, Sonoma, Agoura Hills, Hollywood Hills, Laurel Canyon, Sausalito, Mill Valley, San Rafael, Piedmont, Paso Robles, Carmel, Pebble Beach Contact Vintage Cellars today with any of your Wine Cellar needs! (800) 876-8789 Vintage Cellars 904 Rancheros Drive San Marcos, California 92069 (800) 876-8789

Unique textures, printed rugs, dark wood floors, and neutral-hued furnishings make this traditional home a cozy, stylish abode. Project completed by Wendy Langston's Everything Home interior design firm, which serves Carmel, Zionsville, Fishers, Westfield, Noblesville, and Indianapolis. For more about Everything Home, click here: https://everythinghomedesigns.com/

This project is more than meets the eye! In a gorgeous neighborhood in Del Mar, San Diego, California, This unique small custom wine cellar truly acts as a showstopper. Originally within this house, the door which now faces outward used to be around the corner in a small hallway, virtually eliminating any visibility into this contemporary walk in custom wine cellar. Upon seeing the location of this space within the house, Gene Walder and the knowledgeable team at Vintage Cellars knew that to really take advantage of the room provided, (which is actually below the stairs), they needed to get rid of the original door and add a brand new one facing the main living space. Just a small feat in a series of unique custom features within this cellar! Here at Vintage Cellars, before any design takes shape, it is vital to understand what the clients wants and needs are based on their growing collection of wine. With a good idea of bottle sizes, shapes (some pinot noir bottles, for example have a wider bottom than a typical cabernet sauvignon bottle) and unique features desired, the team of wine cellar designers and wine cellar builders at Vintage Cellars are able to create a very special and desirable wine cellar for each client. The owners of this beautiful home collaborated heavily with the Vintage Cellars team in the design process of this rustic custom wine cellar - something that we aim to do with every project. The homeowners wanted to showcase some of their favorite Magnum sized bottles in a high reveal horizontal display row, directly on top of another area highlighting the best 750 ml's in their collection. This small custom wine room fills most of the left wall with single deep, individual bottle storage. Directly below this wine racking is room for wine case / wine bin storage. Centered within this wall is a nice space for opening and decanting wines with a gorgeous dark stone countertop and room for hanging wine glasses above. The opposite wall is filled floor to ceiling with label revealing horizontal display rows. Again, this type of feature is very desirable in recent years. Homeowners want to be able to showcase the best bottles they own within their custom wine cellars in the most stunning and beautiful ways possible. Additionally, this feature is commonly replicated with metal bars for a more contemporary and modern look and feel. Within Beach Cities such as Del Mar, La Jolla, Cardiff, Coronado, Rancho Santa Fe, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Newport Beach and Orange County alike, small walk wine cellars are all the rage. Custom Wine Closet s and Under the Stairs Custom Wine Room s are quickly becoming a commonplace feature within modern luxury homes. Funny enough, because San Diego has become such a hub and mecca for craft beer breweries, luxury homes within communities such as La Jolla, Del Mar, Encinitas, Coronado, Cardiff, Rancho Santa Fe, Solana Beach, Carlsbad, La Costa and Torrey Pines have taken notice and began including space for unique beer storage within their custom wine cellars as well. This right side wall horizontal display racking does just that. If you look closely, those intricately labeled bottles are craft brews kept at a chill and refreshing 55 Degrees- just waiting to be opened and enjoyed immediately. Just when you thought the custom wine cellar tour was over, another unique feature catches your eye. You see the back stone wall? Press ever so gently in the top left corner two thirds of the way up and - Voila! - a secret door appears and slowly reveals more room under the stairway for case storage and the like. The homeowner also decided to add interesting lighting to this cellar. The Custom wine room can turn any color of the rainbow - allowing you to focus on all lights or just one a time, creating that perfect mood lighting for the holidays, springtime, or summer. This entire custom wine cellar and all wine racking were done in raw black walnut. Vintage Cellars has built gorgeous custom wine cellars and wine storage rooms across the United States and World for over 25 years. We are your go-to business for anything wine cellar and wine storage related! Whether you're interested in a wine closet, wine racking, custom wine racks, a custom wine cellar door, or a cooling system for your existing space, Vintage Cellars has you covered! We carry all kinds of wine cellar cooling and refrigeration systems, incuding: Breezaire, CellarCool, WhisperKool, Wine Guardian, CellarPro and Commercial systems. We also carry many types of Wine Refrigerators, Wine Cabinets, and wine racking types, including La Cache, Marvel, N'Finity, Transtherm, Vinotheque, Vintage Series, Credenza, Walk in wine rooms, Climadiff, Riedel, Fontenay, and VintageView. Vintage Cellars also does work in many styles, including Contemporary and Modern, Rustic, Farmhouse, Traditional, Craftsman, Industrial, Mediterranean, Mid-Century, Industrial and Eclectic. Some locations we cover often include: San Diego, Rancho Santa Fe, Corona Del Mar, Del Mar, La Jolla, Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Huntington Beach, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Carlsbad, Orange County, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Bel Air, Los Angeles, Encinitas, Cardiff, Coronado, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, San Marino, Ladera Heights, Santa Monica, Brentwood, Westwood, Hancock Park, Laguna Beach, Crystal Cove, Laguna Niguel, Torrey Pines, Thousand Oaks, Coto De Caza, Coronado Island, San Francisco, Danville, Walnut Creek, Marin, Tiburon, Hillsborough, Berkeley, Oakland, Napa, Sonoma, Agoura Hills, Hollywood Hills, Laurel Canyon, Sausalito, Mill Valley, San Rafael, Piedmont, Paso Robles, Carmel, Pebble Beach Contact Vintage Cellars today with any of your Wine Cellar needs! (800) 876-8789 Vintage Cellars 904 Rancheros Drive San Marcos, California 92069 (800) 876-8789

Kids' bedroom - coastal gender-neutral dark wood floor and brown floor kids' bedroom idea in Miami with blue walls

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

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

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

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

photography by Rob Karosis
Inspiration for a large timeless three-story wood exterior home remodel in Portland Maine

This gorgeous custom wine cellar acts as a dramatic entrypiece as you walk into this beautiful home in San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, California. San Juan Capistrano is a lovely community located slightly inland, tucked within Orange County near cities like Newport Beach, Lake Forest, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills, and Irvine. This fantastically designed wine cellar, courtesy of the master wine cellar builders at Vintage Cellars, is a unique representation of fun and bespoke features that can be incorporated into a traditional redwood, yet modern and bright wine cellar like this. The wine room draws you in from across the house, with its warm redwood tones and interesting wrought iron and glass door. Wine Cellar doors are often overlooked, but proper knowledge of door materials, glass specifications, threshold placement and hanging procedures are key to creating that perfect airtight room. Additionally, based on the location of your room within your home, the amount of glass in your wine cellar, and your location in the world, levels of cooling capacity need to be seriously considered. Glass is a naturally poor insulator. Because there has been a very heavy push for "wine cellar art," "wine cellars as art," and wine cellars as a main design component within high end homes, glass wine cellars are often incorporated in high trafficked areas or spaces where each homeowner can show off their prized wines to friends in an almost showcase like display. When you first enter this large custom wine cellar in Orange County, Southern California, standing out first immediately on your left is a unique work station with a scanner, label-maker, and table top - perfect for inventorying the 3,500 bottles that this rustic wine cellar holds. The e-Sommelier system integrated allows this homeowner to catalog each and every wine within his collection, first letting the program know he owns it, how many bottles, which vintages, and with the click of a button - custom wine labels each with a bar code. Accompanied with the bar code scanner, the e-sommelier system has become a great companion for wine cellars and wine collectors alike, allowing a somewhat seamless and straightforward process in inventorying wines. Directly past the wine inventory station is a vertical row of large format bottle coved trays, displaying some of the owner's favorite wines in the most coveted vintages. This large walk in custom wine cellar in all heart redwood wine racking fills most of its capacity utilizing double deep, individual bottle storage. At waist height spanning the entire circumference of the wine room is a high reveal display row, highlighted with LED lighting and more single deep storage behind. The back wall, in addition to the high reveal display row and double deep individual bottle storage, incorporates a rectangular wine work center with glass rack above - perfect for decanting, storing uniquely shaped bottles, and opening your favorite bottles with friends. Directly below this countertop are two drawers. A unique feature throughout this wooden traditional large walk in wine cellar in San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, California is the incorporation of wine barrel into the room's corner walls, work stations, countertops, and center custom table. This custom wine cellar near Newport Beach, Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Coto De Caza, Laguna Niguel, Huntington Beach, and other gorgeous beach communities in Orange County, also incorporates wine case storage throughout the bottom, and a small area above the wine inventory system for split bottles. Vintage Cellars, as well as the homeowner, are very happy with the way this beautiful project turned out, and we would love the opportunity to help you with you wine cellar projects! Please contact us today to speak with one of our wine cellar specialists and begin building your wine cellar dreams today!

Example of a transitional bathroom design in Orange County

The primary goal of this basement project was to give these homeowners more space: both for their own everyday use and for guests. By excavating an unusable crawl space, we were able to build out a full basement with 9’ high ceilings, a guest bedroom, a full bathroom, a gym, a large storage room, and a spacious entertainment room that includes a kitchenette. In all, the homeowners gained over 1,100 of finished space.

Angle Eye Photography
Inspiration for a large timeless brick floor entryway remodel in Philadelphia with gray walls and a white front door

The garden 3 weeks after planting, on a foggy day. Photo by Steve Masley
Inspiration for a timeless deck container garden remodel in San Francisco

This project is more than meets the eye! In a gorgeous neighborhood in Del Mar, San Diego, California, This unique small custom wine cellar truly acts as a showstopper. Originally within this house, the door which now faces outward used to be around the corner in a small hallway, virtually eliminating any visibility into this contemporary walk in custom wine cellar. Upon seeing the location of this space within the house, Gene Walder and the knowledgeable team at Vintage Cellars knew that to really take advantage of the room provided, (which is actually below the stairs), they needed to get rid of the original door and add a brand new one facing the main living space. Just a small feat in a series of unique custom features within this cellar! Here at Vintage Cellars, before any design takes shape, it is vital to understand what the clients wants and needs are based on their growing collection of wine. With a good idea of bottle sizes, shapes (some pinot noir bottles, for example have a wider bottom than a typical cabernet sauvignon bottle) and unique features desired, the team of wine cellar designers and wine cellar builders at Vintage Cellars are able to create a very special and desirable wine cellar for each client. The owners of this beautiful home collaborated heavily with the Vintage Cellars team in the design process of this rustic custom wine cellar - something that we aim to do with every project. The homeowners wanted to showcase some of their favorite Magnum sized bottles in a high reveal horizontal display row, directly on top of another area highlighting the best 750 ml's in their collection. This small custom wine room fills most of the left wall with single deep, individual bottle storage. Directly below this wine racking is room for wine case / wine bin storage. Centered within this wall is a nice space for opening and decanting wines with a gorgeous dark stone countertop and room for hanging wine glasses above. The opposite wall is filled floor to ceiling with label revealing horizontal display rows. Again, this type of feature is very desirable in recent years. Homeowners want to be able to showcase the best bottles they own within their custom wine cellars in the most stunning and beautiful ways possible. Additionally, this feature is commonly replicated with metal bars for a more contemporary and modern look and feel. Within Beach Cities such as Del Mar, La Jolla, Cardiff, Coronado, Rancho Santa Fe, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Newport Beach and Orange County alike, small walk wine cellars are all the rage. Custom Wine Closet s and Under the Stairs Custom Wine Room s are quickly becoming a commonplace feature within modern luxury homes. Funny enough, because San Diego has become such a hub and mecca for craft beer breweries, luxury homes within communities such as La Jolla, Del Mar, Encinitas, Coronado, Cardiff, Rancho Santa Fe, Solana Beach, Carlsbad, La Costa and Torrey Pines have taken notice and began including space for unique beer storage within their custom wine cellars as well. This right side wall horizontal display racking does just that. If you look closely, those intricately labeled bottles are craft brews kept at a chill and refreshing 55 Degrees- just waiting to be opened and enjoyed immediately. Just when you thought the custom wine cellar tour was over, another unique feature catches your eye. You see the back stone wall? Press ever so gently in the top left corner two thirds of the way up and - Voila! - a secret door appears and slowly reveals more room under the stairway for case storage and the like. The homeowner also decided to add interesting lighting to this cellar. The Custom wine room can turn any color of the rainbow - allowing you to focus on all lights or just one a time, creating that perfect mood lighting for the holidays, springtime, or summer. This entire custom wine cellar and all wine racking were done in raw black walnut. Vintage Cellars has built gorgeous custom wine cellars and wine storage rooms across the United States and World for over 25 years. We are your go-to business for anything wine cellar and wine storage related! Whether you're interested in a wine closet, wine racking, custom wine racks, a custom wine cellar door, or a cooling system for your existing space, Vintage Cellars has you covered! We carry all kinds of wine cellar cooling and refrigeration systems, incuding: Breezaire, CellarCool, WhisperKool, Wine Guardian, CellarPro and Commercial systems. We also carry many types of Wine Refrigerators, Wine Cabinets, and wine racking types, including La Cache, Marvel, N'Finity, Transtherm, Vinotheque, Vintage Series, Credenza, Walk in wine rooms, Climadiff, Riedel, Fontenay, and VintageView. Vintage Cellars also does work in many styles, including Contemporary and Modern, Rustic, Farmhouse, Traditional, Craftsman, Industrial, Mediterranean, Mid-Century, Industrial and Eclectic. Some locations we cover often include: San Diego, Rancho Santa Fe, Corona Del Mar, Del Mar, La Jolla, Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Huntington Beach, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Carlsbad, Orange County, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Bel Air, Los Angeles, Encinitas, Cardiff, Coronado, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, San Marino, Ladera Heights, Santa Monica, Brentwood, Westwood, Hancock Park, Laguna Beach, Crystal Cove, Laguna Niguel, Torrey Pines, Thousand Oaks, Coto De Caza, Coronado Island, San Francisco, Danville, Walnut Creek, Marin, Tiburon, Hillsborough, Berkeley, Oakland, Napa, Sonoma, Agoura Hills, Hollywood Hills, Laurel Canyon, Sausalito, Mill Valley, San Rafael, Piedmont, Paso Robles, Carmel, Pebble Beach Contact Vintage Cellars today with any of your Wine Cellar needs! (800) 876-8789 Vintage Cellars 904 Rancheros Drive San Marcos, California 92069 (800) 876-8789

Before renovating, this bright and airy family kitchen was small, cramped and dark. The dining room was being used for spillover storage, and there was hardly room for two cooks in the kitchen. By knocking out the wall separating the two rooms, we created a large kitchen space with plenty of storage, space for cooking and baking, and a gathering table for kids and family friends. The dark navy blue cabinets set apart the area for baking, with a deep, bright counter for cooling racks, a tiled niche for the mixer, and pantries dedicated to baking supplies. The space next to the beverage center was used to create a beautiful eat-in dining area with an over-sized pendant and provided a stunning focal point visible from the front entry. Touches of brass and iron are sprinkled throughout and tie the entire room together. Photography by Stacy Zarin

A custom fireplace is the visual focus of this craftsman style home's living room while the U-shaped kitchen and elegant bedroom showcase gorgeous pendant lights. Project completed by Wendy Langston's Everything Home interior design firm, which serves Carmel, Zionsville, Fishers, Westfield, Noblesville, and Indianapolis. For more about Everything Home, click here: https://everythinghomedesigns.com/