Search results for "Distinct challenges" in Home Design Ideas

This Cobble Hill Brownstone for a family of five is a fun and captivating design, the perfect blend of the wife’s love of English country style and the husband’s preference for modern. The young power couple, her the co-founder of Maisonette and him an investor, have three children and a dog, requiring that all the surfaces, finishes and, materials used throughout the home are both beautiful and durable to make every room a carefree space the whole family can enjoy.
The primary design challenge for this project was creating both distinct places for the family to live their day to day lives and also a whole floor dedicated to formal entertainment. The clients entertain large dinners on a monthly basis as part of their profession. We solved this by adding an extension on the Garden and Parlor levels. This allowed the Garden level to function as the daily family operations center and the Parlor level to be party central. The kitchen on the garden level is large enough to dine in and accommodate a large catering crew.
On the parlor level, we created a large double parlor in the front of the house; this space is dedicated to cocktail hour and after-dinner drinks. The rear of the parlor is a spacious formal dining room that can seat up to 14 guests. The middle "library" space contains a bar and facilitates access to both the front and rear rooms; in this way, it can double as a staging area for the parties.
The remaining three floors are sleeping quarters for the family and frequent out of town guests. Designing a row house for private and public functions programmatically returns the building to a configuration in line with its original design.
This project was published in Architectural Digest.
Photography by Sam Frost

A captivating design that unites three distinct outdoor living levels into a seamless, usable garden. Succulents and rare plants enhance the space as living ornaments, while expert construction solves space and safety challenges with precision and efficiency. A true blend of beauty and functionality.

A captivating design that unites three distinct outdoor living levels into a seamless, usable garden. Succulents and rare plants enhance the space as living ornaments, while expert construction solves space and safety challenges with precision and efficiency. A true blend of beauty and functionality.
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A captivating design that unites three distinct outdoor living levels into a seamless, usable garden. Succulents and rare plants enhance the space as living ornaments, while expert construction solves space and safety challenges with precision and efficiency. A true blend of beauty and functionality.

A captivating design that unites three distinct outdoor living levels into a seamless, usable garden. Succulents and rare plants enhance the space as living ornaments, while expert construction solves space and safety challenges with precision and efficiency. A true blend of beauty and functionality.

The secondary entrance to this home is designed to keep items neatly stowed and out of sight. The spacious custom cabinetry and built-in cubbies designed for jackets, backpacks, and shoes ensures everyone will find a home for their belongings. A hexagonal marble backsplash is balanced by neutral Quartzite countertops with an extra sink for wet or soiled items, while the mudroom has a stone floor to withstand all weather challenges.

The secondary entrance to this home is designed to keep items neatly stowed and out of sight. The spacious custom cabinetry and built-in cubbies designed for jackets, backpacks, and shoes ensures everyone will find a home for their belongings. A hexagonal marble backsplash is balanced by neutral Quartzite countertops with an extra sink for wet or soiled items, while the mudroom has a stone floor to withstand all weather challenges.

This unique system, on the 43rd floor of a Buckhead condo, had some distinct challenges, but it came together beautifully! The system features full automation including shades and curtains, multiple A/V setups, and gorgeous lighting, all backed by the stunning view of Atlanta. One of the most phenomenal features of this project is the in-ceiling dropdown screen in the Master Bedroom. This project is easily classified as one of the most elegant systems in this Buckhead highrise.
Jason Robinson © 2014

Twin Home design in Cardiff by the Sea, California. Clients wanted each home to have distinct contrasting styles and colors. The lots are small so creating tall narrow homes is a challenge and every inch of space is essential.

An archetypal Vancouver garden distinct to the rain rich areas of coastal B.C. Large Cedars, enormous Rhododendrons and Camellias, whose blooms weave exotically through evergreen masses, create an ethereal quality in this garden. The client wanted to reveal this jewel like quality while eking out a little more people space.
The challenge was in retaining the existing trees and large broadleaf evergreens while significantly re-organizing the grades in a design concept that established a strong relationship between the house and garden.
A real lack of light was a challenge for growing. Green became a colour of many faces, amplified by contrasting textures and rays of sun through branches. A thoughtful eye and a smart pruning program is required for the ongoing maintenance of this garden. The reward is literally breathtaking - a magical place where the line between worlds is blurred.

Incredibly adaptable, the Spectrum rug will work beautifully in almost any space as the rich yet calm palette of colours work with everything.
This design has 120 different colours in wool and silk; every colour is distinct, and thus presents a great challenge for our dyers and weavers.

An archetypal Vancouver garden distinct to the rain rich areas of coastal B.C. Large Cedars, enormous Rhododendrons and Camellias, whose blooms weave exotically through evergreen masses, create an ethereal quality in this garden. The client wanted to reveal this jewel like quality while eking out a little more people space.
The challenge was in retaining the existing trees and large broadleaf evergreens while significantly re-organizing the grades in a design concept that established a strong relationship between the house and garden.
A real lack of light was a challenge for growing. Green became a colour of many faces, amplified by contrasting textures and rays of sun through branches. A thoughtful eye and a smart pruning program is required for the ongoing maintenance of this garden. The reward is literally breathtaking - a magical place where the line between worlds is blurred.

An archetypal Vancouver garden distinct to the rain rich areas of coastal B.C. Large Cedars, enormous Rhododendrons and Camellias, whose blooms weave exotically through evergreen masses, create an ethereal quality in this garden. The client wanted to reveal this jewel like quality while eking out a little more people space.
The challenge was in retaining the existing trees and large broadleaf evergreens while significantly re-organizing the grades in a design concept that established a strong relationship between the house and garden.
A real lack of light was a challenge for growing. Green became a colour of many faces, amplified by contrasting textures and rays of sun through branches. A thoughtful eye and a smart pruning program is required for the ongoing maintenance of this garden. The reward is literally breathtaking - a magical place where the line between worlds is blurred.

An archetypal Vancouver garden distinct to the rain rich areas of coastal B.C. Large Cedars, enormous Rhododendrons and Camellias, whose blooms weave exotically through evergreen masses, create an ethereal quality in this garden. The client wanted to reveal this jewel like quality while eking out a little more people space.
The challenge was in retaining the existing trees and large broadleaf evergreens while significantly re-organizing the grades in a design concept that established a strong relationship between the house and garden.
A real lack of light was a challenge for growing. Green became a colour of many faces, amplified by contrasting textures and rays of sun through branches. A thoughtful eye and a smart pruning program is required for the ongoing maintenance of this garden. The reward is literally breathtaking - a magical place where the line between worlds is blurred.

This downtown home was renovated with the goal of staying with in the existing footprint. Creating a functional master bath and closet became a welcomed challenge. The idea was to create the feeling of a master closet with a bathroom in it and not the other way around. Low ceiling, and accent lighting helped create a warn inviting space. Glass French doors were used to keep the space open and light.
Photo by:Zephyr McIntyre

When GoodBody — a downtown Oakland salon specializing in textured hair — needed a home, they inherited a floor of tired commercial offices. HOMEWORK stripped the space entirely: partition walls came down, a dropped ceiling was opened up, and what emerged was a vast, double-height hall with real presence.
The central design challenge was how to organize a large, open volume into distinct service areas without making it feel subdivided. The solution was curves. Sinuous millwork runs throughout the salon, guiding movement and defining function without relying on walls or rigid geometry. The result feels fluid and intentional — each area flowing naturally into the next.
GoodBody is a salon designed to feel as considered as the work done inside it — a space that honors the culture of textured hair with an environment that is joyful, distinctive, and entirely its own.

This unique system, on the 43rd floor of a Buckhead condo, had some distinct challenges, but it came together beautifully! The system features full automation including shades and curtains, multiple A/V setups, and gorgeous lighting, all backed by the stunning view of Atlanta. One of the most phenomenal features of this project is the in-ceiling dropdown screen in the Master Bedroom. This project is easily classified as one of the most elegant systems in this Buckhead highrise.
Jason Robinson © 2014

Set in a downtown Kirkland neighborhood, the 1st Street project captures the best of suburban living. The open floor plan brings kitchen, dining, and living space within reach, and rich wood beams, shiplap, and stone accents add timeless texture with a modern twist. Four bedrooms and a sprawling daylight basement create distinct spaces for family life, and the finished covered patio invites residents to breathe in the best of Pacific Northwest summers.

The owners requested that their home harmonize with the spirit of the surrounding Colorado mountain setting and enhance their outdoor recreational lifestyle - while reflecting their contemporary architectural tastes. The site was burdened with a myriad of strict design criteria enforced by the neighborhood covenants and architectural review board. Creating a distinct design challenge, the covenants included a narrow interpretation of a “mountain style” home which established predetermined roof pitches, glazing percentages and material palettes - at direct odds with the client‘s vision of a flat-roofed, glass, “contemporary” home.
Our solution finds inspiration and opportunities within the site covenant’s strict definitions. It promotes and celebrates the client’s outdoor lifestyle and resolves the definition of a contemporary “mountain style” home by reducing the architecture to its most basic vernacular forms and relying upon local materials.
The home utilizes a simple base, middle and top that echoes the surrounding mountains and vegetation. The massing takes its cues from the prevalent lodgepole pine trees that grow at the mountain’s high altitudes. These pine trees have a distinct growth pattern, highlighted by a single vertical trunk and a peaked, densely foliated growth zone above a sparse base. This growth pattern is referenced by placing the wood-clad body of the home at the second story above an open base composed of wood posts and glass. A simple peaked roof rests lightly atop the home - visually floating above a triangular glass transom. The home itself is neatly inserted amongst an existing grove of lodgepole pines and oriented to take advantage of panoramic views of the adjacent meadow and Continental Divide beyond.
The main functions of the house are arranged into public and private areas and this division is made apparent on the home’s exterior. Two large roof forms, clad in pre-patinated zinc, are separated by a sheltering central deck - which signals the main entry to the home. At this connection, the roof deck is opened to allow a cluster of aspen trees to grow – further reinforcing nature as an integral part of arrival.
Outdoor living spaces are provided on all levels of the house and are positioned to take advantage of sunrise and sunset moments. The distinction between interior and exterior space is blurred via the use of large expanses of glass. The dry stacked stone base and natural cedar cladding both reappear within the home’s interior spaces.
This home offers a unique solution to the client’s requests while satisfying the design requirements of the neighborhood covenants. The house provides a variety of indoor and outdoor living spaces that can be utilized in all seasons. Most importantly, the house takes its cues directly from its natural surroundings and local building traditions to become a prototype solution for the “modern mountain house”.
Overview
Ranch Creek Ranch
Winter Park, Colorado
Completion Date
October, 2007
Services
Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture

With this project, the challenge was to create a large home suitable to the contemporary needs of the client without compromising the classic, historic integrity of the Edina neighborhood. With distinct references to colonial and shingle-style architecture, the final design marries a classical rigor with the vernacular overtones of a farmhouse.
Classical proportions and detailing formalize a serious yet playful arrangement of mass and form on the exterior. The white-on-white cladding calls to mind the fresh simplicity of a farmhouse, as does the long, breezy porch that stretches across the front facade. Though the site was not without its challenges, we took advantage of opportunities for a lower-level walkout and main-level rear walkout to bridge indoor and outdoor space.
The interior of this home combines the tasteful language of architectural tradition with a fresh and contemporary interpretation. The open, modern plan blurs the distinction between formal and informal. Classically inspired detailing, like the enameled ceiling beams extending from one room to the next, is used to unify space and assert a pronounced architectural order. The use of natural light is also crucial in this regard; windows are strategically positioned to pull light completely through the house
Dignified yet relaxed, this bright and comfortable family home is both modern and contextually appropriate in an established neighborhood known for its historical styles and traditional influence.
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