The Magpies are delighted! This stunning project is nestled in the South Australian country township of Willunga, whose name is derived from the Aboriginal word meaning “The locality of green trees”. During the course of the renovations a family of 11 magpies swooped in and now call this abundantly treed property ‘Home’. The clever design frames the natural views to the north, uninhibited by the alfresco structure. Passive solar design methodology is employed by utilising optimal eaves overhang allowing warming winter sun to penetrate into the interior of the building, whilst excluding the harsh rays during summer. A blending of the old and new help to keep a sense of history whilst combining a modern, natural feel with a semi industrial working space. Bringing the outdoors in by maximising the views of the abundant vegetation and birdlife is a feature of this addition. Well known local identities, and the owners of this spectacular building, are now enjoying their lifestyle passion for preparing food and entertaining in this enlarged, purpose built space…. As are their fine feathered friends.

For this beautiful Tampa home, our studio employed a rustic approach that blended well with the contemporary nature of the home. We used a beautiful wooden tone for the kitchen cabinets and island, giving it a lived-in feel. Terracotta-colored backsplash and wooden beams on the ceiling complete the rustic appeal. We also added attractive, thoughtful decor all over the space, seamlessly tying it to the desired theme. --- Project designed by interior design studio Home Frosting. They serve the entire Tampa Bay area including South Tampa, Clearwater, Belleair, and St. Petersburg. For more about Home Frosting, see here: https://homefrosting.com/

This new 1,560 square foot, three bedroom, two bath residence replaces a Paradise, CA home destroyed in the 2018 Camp Fire. The owners wanted an attractive and modest house to live in while they built their dream home on an adjacent lot. The house will later be used as rental income and provide much needed housing in Paradise. The back of the house faces west towards an excellent view of a stand of oaks that survived the fire. The large rear porch roof provides protection from unwanted glare and the setting summer sun, so the house does not overheat in the summer. The porch also extends the living space and provides excellent year round indoor/outdoor living. It is open framed with rafters so there is an expansive view to the forest and ample diffused daylight throughout the year. It also protects the home from prevailing weather patterns. The open floor plan provides an outstanding space for entertaining guests with large windows bringing in the outdoors. Even though the house is built on a sloped lot it is fully barrier free and employs universal design principles throughout including a curbless shower in the Primary Bath. Several energy efficient materials and methods were used while staying within a modest construction budget. The roof uses a 12” energy heel to allow a consistent insulation blanket in the attic and blown-in blanket (BIB) insulation was used in the walls to provide an R-23 wall assembly, much better than code requirement and better than standard construction. A cool roof, foil backed roof sheathing, heat pump HVAC system, heat pump water heater, and a whole house fan round out the energy efficiency measures of this house.

Our clients, a couple in their early 40s with 3 young kids, bought their 1990s Colonial Revival style home about 8 years earlier and have been tackling updates to the home and property ever since. Both the husband and wife grew up on the Maine coast before settling permanently in New Hampshire, so their love of blues, grays, and a simple New England aesthetic came as no surprise. But while the wife longed for a few pops of color, the husband was definitely a little suspect of pattern and richer hues. We created a space that evoked both warmth and serenity, with a little bit of New England preppy style. We employed sky blue grasscloth, a traditional-with-a-twist lucite chandelier, and a fresh drapes + Roman shade combination for semi-formal style.

Three generations have shared summers together at this very special place called Merry Hill. Recognizing their shifting needs and looking forward to future generations, the clients wanted to both drastically change their beloved family lake house and yet not change it at all. This new iteration of the cottage is nearly double the size of the original, transforming their summer home into a four-season getaway while evoking the character of the original house in a new and fresh way. The main cottage, boathouse and sleeping cabin all have broad, shallow-pitched roofs with generous overhangs that derive their form from their mid-century predecessor. Expansive openings, wood interiors, operable clerestories, and local stone double-stacked fireplaces are all familiar to the clients but rendered in different scales. Designed for resiliency and sustainability, the new retreat employs an integrated generator, geothermal heating, solar arrays, and battery storage as well as incorporates passive strategies such as sun orientation, earth sheltering, and cross ventilation to keep the interior at an ideal temperature all year round. The resulting form, detailing, and material selections of this new build allows for the seamless continuity of memory-making for a sentimental family.

Waterford Stone™ evokes the natural, time-honed look of hand-cut stone with its antiqued edges and textured face while featuring the modern benefits of manufactured masonry. Waterford Stone™ grants unparalleled design flexibility with its diverse array of sizes and colors, employing Oldcastle’s unique multiple color blending system that will last the life of your home. Whether your architectural style is elegant sophistication or old-world class, Waterford Stone™ provides the perfect exterior finish.

Mullum Sari is proud to offer an indulgent experience and the opportunity to feel special. It is for that reason that we take such care in the styling and finish of our estate. Our Hindu-inspired 'Manse' rooms are clean, warm and uncluttered, making them the perfect place to enjoy moments of reflection. For those who desire a change of gear, our holistic gym is furnished with the latest training equipment and offers clients a boutique style setting in which to work on their fitness. Modern technologies have also been employed in our spa. The infra red sauna delivers all the benefits associated with a traditional sauna at a significantly lower temperature – detoxifying without having to endure uncomfortable heat. Surrounding the health retreat are our well kept grounds where visitors can wander freely and add to their growing sense of calm. Health and wellbeing isn’t all serious, though. In fact, we encourage our clients to treat their stay as the opportunity to explore a "4,000-hectare playground", where they can have fun and truly feel themselves.

This Modern Craftsman by Tennyson Homes is now SOLD. This downtown Kirkland neighborhood is within the Lake Washington School District: Peter Kirk Elementary, Kirkland Middle School and Lake Washington High. On the east coast of Lake Washington, the posh suburb of Kirkland has a resort-like feel; yet, is proximate to King County's major employers: Google, Microsoft, and Boeing. If you're in the market to purchase a home in downtown Kirkland, contact Ken Nash.

Overlooking Bleecker Street in the heart of the West Village, this compact one bedroom apartment required a gut renovation including the replacement of the windows. This intricate project focused on providing functional flexibility and ensuring that every square inch of space is put to good use. Cabinetry, closets and shelving play a key role in shaping the spaces. The typical boundaries between living and sleeping areas are blurred by employing clear glass sliding doors and a clerestory around of the freestanding storage wall between the bedroom and lounge. The kitchen extends into the lounge seamlessly, with an island that doubles as a dining table and layout space for a concealed study/desk adjacent. The bedroom transforms into a playroom for the nursery by folding the bed into another storage wall. In order to maximize the sense of openness, most materials are white including satin lacquer cabinetry, Corian counters at the seat wall and CNC milled Corian panels enclosing the HVAC systems. White Oak flooring is stained gray with a whitewash finish. Steel elements provide contrast, with a blackened finish to the door system, column and beams. Concrete tile and slab is used throughout the Bathroom to act as a counterpoint to the predominantly white living areas. archphoto.com

Whoever said : ‘First Impressions Count’ must have been thinking of this gracious Toorak home. The welcoming aura that pervades this entry foyer is evident as you step inside. Photo's by Andrew Ashton

"Revival” implies a retread of an old idea—not our interests at Axis Mundi. So when renovating an 1840s Greek Revival brownstone, subversion was on our minds. The landmarked exterior remains unchanged, as does the residence’s unalterable 19-foot width. Inside, however, a pristine white space forms a backdrop for art by Warhol, Basquiat and Haring, as well as intriguing furnishings drawn from the continuum of modern design—pieces by Dalí and Gaudí, Patrick Naggar and Poltrona Frau, Armani and Versace. The architectural envelope references iconic 20th-century figures and genres: Jean Prouvé-like shutters in the kitchen, an industrial-chic bronze staircase and a ground-floor screen employing cast glass salvaged from Gio Ponti’s 1950s design for Alitalia’s Fifth Avenue showroom (paired with mercury mirror and set within a bronze grid). Unable to resist a bit of our usual wit, Greek allusions appear in a dining room fireplace that reimagines classicism in a contemporary fashion and lampshades that slyly recall the drapery of Greek sculpture. Size: 2,550 sq. ft. Design Team: John Beckmann and Richard Rosenbloom Photography: Adriana Bufi, Andrew Garn, and Annie Schlecter Contractor: Stern Projects © Axis Mundi Design LLC.

www.abedward.com | (847) 827-1605 -- Since 2003 A.B. Edward Enterprises, Incorporated has been providing Chicagoland homeowners with products and installations in the roofing, siding, windows and gutters industry. A.B. Edward has an unblemished A+ Better Business Bureau rating, an Angie’s List Super Service Award Company, and also delivers top industry leading products such as GAF, James Hardie Siding Products, Pella Windows and Doors, DaVinci Roofscapes, Mastic Exterior Siding and more. Today, the family-owned and operated business proudly employs more than 30 people, and our services go well beyond roofing to include, masonry, insulation, decks, exterior painting, stucco, carpentry and more.

I think that many carpenters today consider nails and screws to be what holds a structure together. As a result, I think that many structures today are held together by little more than nails and screws. I often see knee braces bolted to the side of a post for a pergola when they should be positioned between the post and beam to take the load directly. Fasteners should not be load-bearing! They should be used to pin a piece of lumber into a position that allows it to shoulder the load directly. Nails and screws are fast. When used appropriately, they can keep costs down by reducing the time it takes to build something. But they are not the answer to everything. Joist hangars do little to stop a deck from pulling away from a house, just as nailing from the side is not a replacement for putting a post directly under a beam. On more than one occasion I've solved a challenging framing problem by employing lap-joints. I've used lap-jointed framing to build curves without having to bend wood, and in the example shown I've used them simply to avoid having to look at an unsightly beam underneath a raised section of deck. I cut notches half way through my beam where the joists will go, then I cut a corresponding notch into each joist that allows it to fit into the notch in the beam. This allows the joists to cantilever 'through' the beam, which gives me a number of advantages. Using this technique, I can build deck frames tight to the ground without having to rim the structure with joist-hangared beams. I can also use the cantilever to sculpt the edge of the deck into nearly any shape. As the lumber is locked in from every direction, it is also a far stronger joint than a joist-hangared butt-end, as it resists pulling away, and it is stronger than joist-on-beam because it does not allow for any twisting or 'flopping' of the joists. The beam and joist are locked together, and they each replace the missing pieces of one another, so there is no strength lost in either member. -Tyler Collins, Operations Manager

Green features include: - Passive heating through solar convection thermal mass panels - Under-floor passively cooled root cellar - Reuse of existing materials, including exterior cedar siding, concrete pieces as landscaping stone, reclaimed doors and hardware - Improved insulation and ventilation - Maximized natural lighting, skylight, overhangs designed according to solar calendar, and south facing solar panels - Green roof on the carport - Rainwater harvesting using the hydraulically engineered, Gold Tier Cradle-to-Cradle Award winning Raintube gutter protection system and raintote - Functionally planned log storage for woodburning fireplace - Design collaboration with LEED Accredited Professional - Demonstrated sustainable building practices including employment of sediment control plan, waste reduction through reuse and recycling practices

THIS TRANSITIONAL KITCHEN AND AND BATH REMODEL IN NORTH ASHEVILLE HAS CLEAN LINES AND A SLEEK LOOK. HomeSource Builders completed the demolition and subcontracted the installation, under the expert guidance of Project Manager Corey Rogers. A striking feature, he relates, is the tiling installed by Mosaic Custom Tile. “In my opinion,” he said, “the tile setters really made the kitchen stand out with the clean lines and sleek look the clients were trying to achieve.” In addition to the backsplash tile, HomeSource installed the kitchen and bathroom cabinets as well as the kitchen and bath quartz countertops. It’s extraordinarily helpful when clients have well-defined goals. “These clients were ideal, and made my job much easier,” Corey said. “They were very detailed and knew exactly what they wanted.” Since the clients were renovating all bathrooms in the house, a challenge to overcome was phasing the project so that the client had a working bathroom at all times. This hurdle was easily overcome, though, with skillfully choreographed scheduling. Designer Christy Dunlap of HomeSource Design Center led the design charge. “Besides the pleasure of working with two delightful people,” she said, “it was great to design a beautiful navy kitchen with walnut accents.” Subcontractors employed to complete the remodel were French Broad Plumbing, Wired Right Electrical, Mountain Air Mechanical Contractors, Inc., Mosaic Custom Tile, Haywood Appliance, New Image Home Improvement, and Victor Chapina Painting. CREDITS: Kitchen Backsplash: Daltile Color Wheel Arctic White Gloss Kitchen Countertops: Cambria Britannica w/ eased edge profile Kitchen Cabinets: North American Cabinets – Austin (shaker) door style, Maple wood w/ Benjamin Moore Paint Evening Sky Kitchen Cabinets Upper: Black Walnut with clear glass doors Master Bath Cabinets: North American Cabinets, MDF Frameless with Taupe Paint Master Bath Countertops: Cambria Britannica Guest Bath Cabinet: Wellborn Premier Series: Alto Door Style, MDF, Bleu Paint Guest Bath Countertop: Caesar Stone Quartz: Bianco Drift

The project site is a three story apartment building with a full basement, which had recently been subject to an apartment fire. Four separate residential units were contained in the structure, including one two bedroom unit and three single bedroom units. A laundry room/basement and a pair of lofts were also housed within the building. The result of the blaze and the subsequent water damage from attempts to extinguish it left the interior of the building primarily gutted. All interior finishes, fixtures, stairways, mechanical and electrical systems were destroyed beyond repair. The exterior of the building was charred in some places, and destroyed completely in others. The project location, the City of San Rafael, determined that due to the extent of the damage to the structure, the resulting project would be considered a “new building”. Our first task was to review the current building code and apply the current regulations to the existing structure (originally built in the early 1900’s) and bring it up to current code. We performed occupant load calculations, a code summary, square footage calculations and egress code analysis for each floor/use. This information was then compiled in order to determine how the project could legally be designed within the current code, all while minimizing modifications to the existing structure. Once all data had been analyzed, the new floor plans were organized and laid out in a manner which retained the heritage of the original building while remaining true to current code. The site was revised to allow for code compliant parking areas while retaining the family friendly outdoor spaces inherent in the original design. The foundation was reinforced, and the building structure as a whole was strengthened to cope with modern seismic loads. Spray foam insulation, low E glazing, skylights, ceiling fans, high efficiency HVAC, etc…were all added to make the building more efficient and environmentally friendly. The use of Class “A” materials, fire separations (both vertical and horizontal) and a commercial sprinkler system were employed in order to avoid any future fires. Reconstruction of the project was recently completed in the summer of 2014. Photos by B. James

The Columbia River Gorge offers a dramatic backdrop to this hill-side retreat for a young family. Careful positioning of the plan and windows provide views to Mount Adams and Mount Hood. The home is a linear composition of a two-level volume linked to a single-level guest suite and garage. Each volume was studied and articulated to successfully balance views & privacy. The first-floor living level spills out to the rugged landscape through glass doors that open to stepped patios of natural basalt. Vast expanses of windows assure a vivid display of seasonal changes from every room. Elements include standing seam metal roofs, dark horizontal cedar siding, and a full height board-formed concrete wall designed to retain the steeply sloped natural terrain. Inside an open floor plan employing high ceilings and materials such as exposed Doug Fir framing, radiant concrete floors and bleached wood ceilings guarantees a modern, timeless look. Incorporating the owner's stock of salvaged wood screens and vintage European light fixtures makes this home truly unique and full of personality. Photographer: Nakamoto Forestry

For this beautiful Tampa home, our studio employed a rustic approach that blended well with the contemporary nature of the home. We used a beautiful wooden tone for the kitchen cabinets and island, giving it a lived-in feel. Terracotta-colored backsplash and wooden beams on the ceiling complete the rustic appeal. We also added attractive, thoughtful decor all over the space, seamlessly tying it to the desired theme. --- Project designed by interior design studio Home Frosting. They serve the entire Tampa Bay area including South Tampa, Clearwater, Belleair, and St. Petersburg. For more about Home Frosting, see here: https://homefrosting.com/

Tuscan Stone Mantels uses a centuries old process to produce fine architectural stonework. By using this process, our stone is completely formed and finished by hand reflecting the beauty of natural quarried stone. By employing modern gypsums and techniques, we are able to offer products of strength and durability for numerous architectural applications such as mantels & over-mantels, entertainment centers, cladding, niches, shelving, corbels/brackets, molding, kitchen hoods, columns, pediments, and more. Tuscan Stone Mantels provides architects, builders, designers and homeowners with hand crafted stone products of exceptional beauty and durability.