Transforming a traditional 90's estate to a modern mediterranean; porcelain flooring & sculptured shower wall tile for inside the walk in shower. Shower has a floating bench. The scultured wave tile is 24" x 24". All shower hardware is in ORB finish. VTD fine art photography

Stained glass restoration using a trade professional who works on cathedrals. Artisan work over 6 weeks to reclaim each glass section. Paint/foyer: Benjamin Moore, Distant Grey OC-68

Erika Bierman
Example of a transitional dining room design in Los Angeles

Expansive wood flooring upper level hallway to master bedroom and guest rooms overlooking rural Connecticut farmland with distant long island sound water views

Refined Continuity: Bridging Classical Architecture and Modern Living This comprehensive remodel of a grand Cow Hollow residence reimagines a historically expressive envelope through a lens of contemporary livability, precision detailing, and material restraint. The design approach carefully balances the home’s classical proportions and ornamental heritage with a refined, modern sensibility—evident in the disciplined palette of warm neutrals, soft plasters, pale oak flooring, and tailored millwork. Circulation has been clarified and subtly expanded to enhance spatial flow, while openings are leveraged to capture light, garden outlooks, and distant water views. Throughout, architectural interventions are executed with a high level of craft, ensuring that new insertions—whether cabinetry, railings, or apertures—read as seamless continuations of the original structure rather than applied elements. The kitchen serves as the operational and visual anchor of the home, conceived as a sculptural yet highly functional environment. Custom rift-cut cabinetry, softened through a desaturated finish, is paired with honed stone surfaces and integrated brass hardware to create a quiet, tactile richness. A monolithic island establishes a central gathering point, while perimeter work zones are carefully layered with concealed storage, integrated appliances, and open, backlit shelving that elevates everyday objects into curated displays. The adjacent bar and entertaining areas extend this language, reinforcing a cohesive hospitality-driven program. In parallel, the primary bathroom is designed as a serene, spa-like retreat, where bookmatched stone, frameless glass enclosures, and finely detailed metalwork converge. The composition prioritizes symmetry, clarity, and light—balancing generous volumes with intimate moments through integrated lighting, custom vanities, and a restrained material hierarchy. The library and ancillary living spaces introduce a more intimate scale, anchored by bespoke built-ins that combine closed storage with illuminated display niches, creating depth and rhythm along the walls. Here, material transitions and furniture integration are handled with particular nuance, allowing the architecture to support both quiet retreat and social gathering. A continuous language of custom railings—executed in refined metal profiles—threads through the interior and extends outward, where the exterior gate and garden elements have been reinterpreted to align with the home’s renewed identity. The entry sequence is now defined by a calibrated interplay of solidity and transparency, with sculptural metalwork and landscape integration establishing a sense of arrival that is both secure and elegant. Collectively, the project reflects a holistic transformation—one that elevates performance, livability, and aesthetic clarity while preserving the inherent dignity of the original architecture.

THEME Inspired by the Magic Tree House series of children’s books, this indoor tree house provides entertainment, fun and a place for children to read about or imagine adventures through time. A blue sky, green meadows, and distant matching beech trees recreate the magic of Jack and Annie’s Frog Creek, and help bring the characters from the series to life. FOCUS A floor armoire, ceiling swing and climbing rope give the structure a true tree house look and feel. A drop-down drawing and writing table, wheeled work table and recessed ceiling lights ensure the room can be used for more than play. The tree house has electric interior lighting, a window to the outdoors and a playful sliding shutter over a window to the room. The armoire forms a raised, nine-foot-wide play area, while a TV within one of the wall’s floor-to-ceiling cabinets — with a delightful sliding ladder — transforms the room into a family theater perfect for watching movies and holding Wii competitions. STORAGE The bottom of the drawing table is a magnetic chalk board that doubles as a display for children’s art works. The tree’s small niches are for parents’ shoes; the larger compartment stores children’s shoes and school bags. Books, games, toys, DVDs, Wii and other computer accessories are stored in the wall cabinets. The armoire contains two spacious drawers and four nifty hinged storage bins. A rack of handy “vegetable buckets” above the armoire stores crayons, scissors and other useful items. GROWTH The room easily adapts from playroom, to party room, to study room and even to bedroom, as the tree house easily accommodates a twin-size mattress. SAFETY The rungs and rails of the ladder, as well as the grab bars beside the tree house door are wrapped with easy-grip rope for safe climbing. The drawing table has spring-loaded hinges to help prevent it from dropping dangerously from the wall, and the table door has double sets of locks up top to ensure safety. The interior of each storage compartment is carpeted like the tree house floor to provide extra padding.

SLDarch: The rugged Hajar Mountains ring the city while this rocky hillside setting offers great positioning to take in distant city lights set against the shimmering Gulf of Oman. With careful positioning, we were able to preserving the existing mature trees and nestle this home against the rugged desert mountains. Major views orient towards the north guarding against the relentless summer sun while providing massive vista views and open floor plan. Here we have a delightful interplay of open rooms and multi-levels, connected by gentle steps, ramps, stairs and elevator. Main living room has full ceiling skylight with deep geometric webs and reflective glass, allowing spangled sunlight throughout the interior spaces but blocking the excessive solar gain. Ample allocation for art display has been integrated throughout this home as well as a 1500 sf dedicated art gallery and two home office spaces as well as a built-in wood shop. A spiral stair leads to the rooftop aerie for evening star gazing, relaxing and cocktails.

This residence sits atop a precipice with views to the metropolitan Denver valley to the east and the iconic Flatiron peaks to the west. The two sides of this linear scheme respond independently to the site conditions. The east has a high band of glass for morning light infiltration, with a thick zone of storage below. Dividing the storage areas, a rhythm of intermittent windows provide views to the entry court and distant city. On the opposite side, full height sliding glass panels extend the length of the house embracing the best views. After entering through the solid east wall, the amazing mountain peaks are revealed. For this residence, simplicity and restraint are the innovation. Materials are limited to wood structure and ceilings, concrete floors, and oxidized steel cladding. The roof extension provides sun shading for the west facing glass and shelter for the end terrace. The house’s modest form and palate of materials place it unpretentiously within its surroundings, allowing the natural environment to carry the day. A.I.A. Wyoming Chapter Design Award of Merit 2011 Project Year: 2009

Our client in Emerson has a beautiful home, perched on a magnificent mountain slope with incredible views. They asked Dreamscapes to design outdoor living spaces for them in order to fully utilize the property. Their wish list included a water feature, a deck for outdoor living, a patio to take in the distant views of the mountains, a place to garden, and a natural and native planting design to fit into the existing southeastern native woodlands and mountain environment. Living on the side of a mountain means bedrock. The design incorporates the natural slope and stone and works with the terrain. A new deck was constructed to extend out from the house, floating over the bedrock where it meets the new pond. From the top of the hill, a waterfall cascades down through the native plantings into the pond below. Natural boulders were used to build seating along the pond’s edge, where you can watch the fish, tend to the aquatic plants, listen to the frogs, and even take a dip to cool off. Two natural flagstone patios were built at two different elevations to sit and enjoy the views of the landscape and the mountains. Both patios are accessible by cut stone crab orchard steps set into the slope. The space at the end of the driveway was a blank canvas and the perfect place to design and build a garden of raised beds, enclosed in a traditional picket fence. It is now filled with vegetables, herbs, and cutting flowers. The local bees and butterflies love it too. And the beautiful landscape takes on a magical look after sunset. Landscape lighting was expertly placed, using a variety of fixture types to enhance the pond, waterfalls, trees and plants, bringing the spaces to life after dark. The homeowners are both multi-talented and wanted a place to incorporate their skills. They create original art, build detailed wood work and plant edible gardens, just to name a few. This new landscape gives them and their family and friends a place to work and play and relax. It has become a haven for people and wildlife alike. Outdoor living at its finest!

This 2400 sq. ft. home rests at the very beginning of the high mesa just outside of Taos. To the east, the Taos valley is green and verdant fed by rivers and streams that run down from the mountains, and to the west the high sagebrush mesa stretches off to the distant Brazos range. The house is sited to capture the high mountains to the northeast through the floor to ceiling height corner window off the kitchen/dining room.The main feature of this house is the central Atrium which is an 18 foot adobe octagon topped with a skylight to form an indoor courtyard complete with a fountain. Off of this central space are two offset squares, one to the east and one to the west. The bedrooms and mechanical room are on the west side and the kitchen, dining, living room and an office are on the east side. The house is a straw bale/adobe hybrid, has custom hand dyed plaster throughout with Talavera Tile in the public spaces and Saltillo Tile in the bedrooms. There is a large kiva fireplace in the living room, and a smaller one occupies a corner in the Master Bedroom. The Master Bathroom is finished in white marble tile. The separate garage is connected to the house with a triangular, arched breezeway with a copper ceiling.

master bedroom, bed canopy, bed drapery, window drapery, chandelier, accent molding, accent crown, The window view is of the many townhomes below the ridge and adding the sheer cafe curtains blurred the view while allowing the beautiful blue sky and distant mountain ridge be the focal. Using the client's existing chandelier that was once inthe dining room of her preivous home added the right elegant touch to this bedroom. the 12 ft ceilings needed a defination so we added additional molding avoe the window to accent a paint color that we also used in the ceilign tray center. upholtered headboard adds more elegance to this soft dreamy master bedroom. Lastly, we altered the existing drapery from her previous residence because she loved the fabric and didn't want to waste it and made the bed canopy and drapery by adding an accent fabric. The door to the bathroom was a problem so we designed a hidden hardware rolling door instead of a sliding barn door. its is perfect and we added mirror in the side lights to reflect the view while providing privacy for the bathroom.

At this residence, we revitalized an aging patio and an uninspired front entry. An irregular bluestone path leads from the driveway to the main patio with in-ground gas fire pit. The patio is framed by lush plantings, antique sculptures, and a distant pond and waterfall. The front entry was reworked to clad the existing concrete in patterned bluestone and incorporate the owner’s millstone fountain. Careful attention to detail allowed the seams and patterns from the top of the stoop to align perfectly with those on the lower landing.

Located in Sonoma on 2.5 acres with sweeping canyon views, our client's home was built on a long, rectangular lot in 1972. They had owned it for just over ten years and used it for weekend escapes and entertaining. The home burnt down during the 2017 Tubbs fire, and our firm was engaged to design the rebuild. The site did not offer much wiggle room for a new footprint, given the flat bench area that had been graded into a steep hillside when the original subdivision and road were developed. This resulted in a plan that would mostly remain the same; a linear rectangle designed to fit between the driveway and the pool. The primary site strategy move was to change the front entry from the driveway end of the site to the middle of the rectangle, improving the privacy between the master bedroom and public space. We were also able to add a partial second floor to relocate the guest bedrooms from the main level upstairs, thereby enlarging the entertaining spaces to expand graciously to the pool (which remained undamaged). A large pantry and kitchen area were also essential. Fireproof materials include fiber cement board siding and soffits, standing seam metal roofing, and concrete slab porch floors which do not catch embers underneath. The renovated pool was outfitted for fire prevention. The interiors showcase light and distant views and connect seamlessly to the flat areas outside, providing ample space for entertaining year-round and the clients' two springer spaniels. Materials: • HardiePlank and board for firesafe siding, panels, trim, per CalFire WUI approved exterior wall siding and sheathing • Town & Country fireplace • Western Window Systems and Loewen Doors/Windows • Thermador appliances • Flooring: Brushed & Aged French Oak Hardwood Flooring - Mediterranean Kerrew French Oak, • StoneK2 Black Pearl Ledgestone, • Utopia Series Florence Hot Tub

Removing the bath and "pushing" the wet room wall back into adjoining room allows space for a seat in the wetroom area, also a heated towel rail is recessed and distant enough from shower head to remain dry.

Talk about bringing a kitchen up to date! Little details like the bin pulls and farmhouse sink give a nod to the distant past, but the general tone for this Hood River kitchen is "today." The white on white palette leaves the homeowner free to accessorize at will, but is grounded by the wood accents and beadboard texture of the cabinetry. The dining nook with beautiful distressed table brings people into the kitchen to enjoy time together and gives the area a homey feeling. Medallion Cabinetry will stand up to many years of use and preserve the look of this lovely kitchen for countless meals and gatherings. As always, the design was carefully curated by Allen's Fine Woodworking to ensure the space allows the homeowner to work smarter, not harder.

We designed a “tree house” suspended above the ground on glued-laminated timber columns supporting two stories, forty feet above the forest floor. Suquamish means “place of clear water”. The care of the land that drove this residence included simple strategies for capturing rain and percolating storm water, minimal excavation and removal of soils, low-impact concrete foundations, and a light structure that captures views of the forest, water, and a distant Seattle skyline to the east.

We combined hardwood floors, honed natural stone walls and marble counters and wood ceilings to echo the natural materials just outside. Stained glass accents the distant red rock cliffs.

Refined Continuity: Bridging Classical Architecture and Modern Living This comprehensive remodel of a grand Cow Hollow residence reimagines a historically expressive envelope through a lens of contemporary livability, precision detailing, and material restraint. The design approach carefully balances the home’s classical proportions and ornamental heritage with a refined, modern sensibility—evident in the disciplined palette of warm neutrals, soft plasters, pale oak flooring, and tailored millwork. Circulation has been clarified and subtly expanded to enhance spatial flow, while openings are leveraged to capture light, garden outlooks, and distant water views. Throughout, architectural interventions are executed with a high level of craft, ensuring that new insertions—whether cabinetry, railings, or apertures—read as seamless continuations of the original structure rather than applied elements. The kitchen serves as the operational and visual anchor of the home, conceived as a sculptural yet highly functional environment. Custom rift-cut cabinetry, softened through a desaturated finish, is paired with honed stone surfaces and integrated brass hardware to create a quiet, tactile richness. A monolithic island establishes a central gathering point, while perimeter work zones are carefully layered with concealed storage, integrated appliances, and open, backlit shelving that elevates everyday objects into curated displays. The adjacent bar and entertaining areas extend this language, reinforcing a cohesive hospitality-driven program. In parallel, the primary bathroom is designed as a serene, spa-like retreat, where bookmatched stone, frameless glass enclosures, and finely detailed metalwork converge. The composition prioritizes symmetry, clarity, and light—balancing generous volumes with intimate moments through integrated lighting, custom vanities, and a restrained material hierarchy. The library and ancillary living spaces introduce a more intimate scale, anchored by bespoke built-ins that combine closed storage with illuminated display niches, creating depth and rhythm along the walls. Here, material transitions and furniture integration are handled with particular nuance, allowing the architecture to support both quiet retreat and social gathering. A continuous language of custom railings—executed in refined metal profiles—threads through the interior and extends outward, where the exterior gate and garden elements have been reinterpreted to align with the home’s renewed identity. The entry sequence is now defined by a calibrated interplay of solidity and transparency, with sculptural metalwork and landscape integration establishing a sense of arrival that is both secure and elegant. Collectively, the project reflects a holistic transformation—one that elevates performance, livability, and aesthetic clarity while preserving the inherent dignity of the original architecture.

Tall House on Colonel Willie Cove Westerly, RI Interiors by Studio InSitu and Tricia Upton Architectural Design by Tim Hess and Jeff Dearing for DSK Architects. Christian Lanciaux project manager. Builder: Gardner Woodwrights, Gene Ciccone project manager. Structural Engineer: Simpson Gumpetz and Heger Landscape Architects: Tupelo Gardens photographs by Studio InSitu. On this coastal site subject to high winds and flooding, governmental review and permitting authorities overlap and combine to create some pret-ty tough weather of their own. On the relatively small footprint available for construction, this house was stacked in functional layers: Entry and kids' spaces are on the ground level. The Master Suite is tucked under the eaves (pried-open to distant views) on the third floor, and the middle level is wide-open from outside wall to outside wall for entertaining and sweeping views.