Search results for "Engaging experiences" in Home Design Ideas

The Home
Nestled in Jackson Ranch, Thurston House welcomes you to experience the solace and comfort of this warm and peaceful home.
As you step past the barnwood accented exterior, you enter a refined rustic interior with a barnwood wall and century-old beams
gracing the great room. Durable, luxury, vinyl, tile flooring leads you further in, past a front office with ample sunlight. Relax as you gaze upon the Front Range, through the pines, from the great room - while a wood-burning fire crackles nearby. Continue into the spacious kitchen, complete with custom cabinets and more amazing views. An expansive walk-in pantry gives way to an oversized garage, a builder and hobbyist’s dream space. Steps away from the kitchen, the master bedroom envelops you, providing those awe-inspiring views, while balancing privacy in the pines.
Whether you seek to entertain or to escape, the downstairs of Thurston House delivers. The stairs open to a lounge, complete with a
wood-burning fireplace and abundant screen space, while a wet bar is tucked away for close conversation. Additional bedrooms offer
comfort and privacy for overnight guests. A home gym leads to the privacy of your backyard among the pines, with mountain views to
motivate you.
The Builder
Custom Design Builders (CDB) provides a relational partnership aimed at building the home that exists in your mind. Founder and president, Ben Woody, draws on the practical creativity of his nearly 30 years of construction experience, along with the safety consciousness he acquired as a firefighter. Ben is skillful at building according to your desires, incorporating a thoughtful design that balances safety and functionality in a dynamic process. CDB relies on the expertise acquired from years of building partnerships with the most reliable tradesmen in the area. Our team of partners consistently delivers the highest quality products and services, which has helped drive our exponential growth via word-of-mouth referrals.
As a family-owned and operated business, CDB understands relationships. Engaging in a partnership with CDB is to take on an active role in designing and defining your project, while relying on the comfort and security that can only come from decades of experience.
The Interior Design
Thurston House brings a feeling of warmth, comfort and hospitality. Modern accents elevate your living experience by highlighting the character of century-old, hand-hewn beams and barnwood. A luxurious freestanding bathtub and Euro-style shower in the master bathroom encourage you to relax and recharge in your own spa-like retreat. Energy efficient HVAC and water systems, appliances and windows minimize your footprint. Durable flooring offers stability and longevity, and hand trowel-finished drywall with reclaimed wood accents provide a warm background for your life. The open floor plan lends itself to entertaining, and the views of the Front Range through the pines are enticing. These same spaces also feel private and individual. Whether training in the home gym for your next marathon, building your dream canoe in the garage, or relaxing while you listen to the crackle of a fire in your fireplace accented by those hand-hewn beams, Thurston House is a stunning place to call home.

The Home
Nestled in Jackson Ranch, Thurston House welcomes you to experience the solace and comfort of this warm and peaceful home.
As you step past the barnwood accented exterior, you enter a refined rustic interior with a barnwood wall and century-old beams
gracing the great room. Durable, luxury, vinyl, tile flooring leads you further in, past a front office with ample sunlight. Relax as you gaze upon the Front Range, through the pines, from the great room - while a wood-burning fire crackles nearby. Continue into the spacious kitchen, complete with custom cabinets and more amazing views. An expansive walk-in pantry gives way to an oversized garage, a builder and hobbyist’s dream space. Steps away from the kitchen, the master bedroom envelops you, providing those awe-inspiring views, while balancing privacy in the pines.
Whether you seek to entertain or to escape, the downstairs of Thurston House delivers. The stairs open to a lounge, complete with a
wood-burning fireplace and abundant screen space, while a wet bar is tucked away for close conversation. Additional bedrooms offer
comfort and privacy for overnight guests. A home gym leads to the privacy of your backyard among the pines, with mountain views to
motivate you.
The Builder
Custom Design Builders (CDB) provides a relational partnership aimed at building the home that exists in your mind. Founder and president, Ben Woody, draws on the practical creativity of his nearly 30 years of construction experience, along with the safety consciousness he acquired as a firefighter. Ben is skillful at building according to your desires, incorporating a thoughtful design that balances safety and functionality in a dynamic process. CDB relies on the expertise acquired from years of building partnerships with the most reliable tradesmen in the area. Our team of partners consistently delivers the highest quality products and services, which has helped drive our exponential growth via word-of-mouth referrals.
As a family-owned and operated business, CDB understands relationships. Engaging in a partnership with CDB is to take on an active role in designing and defining your project, while relying on the comfort and security that can only come from decades of experience.
The Interior Design
Thurston House brings a feeling of warmth, comfort and hospitality. Modern accents elevate your living experience by highlighting the character of century-old, hand-hewn beams and barnwood. A luxurious freestanding bathtub and Euro-style shower in the master bathroom encourage you to relax and recharge in your own spa-like retreat. Energy efficient HVAC and water systems, appliances and windows minimize your footprint. Durable flooring offers stability and longevity, and hand trowel-finished drywall with reclaimed wood accents provide a warm background for your life. The open floor plan lends itself to entertaining, and the views of the Front Range through the pines are enticing. These same spaces also feel private and individual. Whether training in the home gym for your next marathon, building your dream canoe in the garage, or relaxing while you listen to the crackle of a fire in your fireplace accented by those hand-hewn beams, Thurston House is a stunning place to call home.
Find the right local pro for your project

The Home
Nestled in Jackson Ranch, Thurston House welcomes you to experience the solace and comfort of this warm and peaceful home.
As you step past the barnwood accented exterior, you enter a refined rustic interior with a barnwood wall and century-old beams
gracing the great room. Durable, luxury, vinyl, tile flooring leads you further in, past a front office with ample sunlight. Relax as you gaze upon the Front Range, through the pines, from the great room - while a wood-burning fire crackles nearby. Continue into the spacious kitchen, complete with custom cabinets and more amazing views. An expansive walk-in pantry gives way to an oversized garage, a builder and hobbyist’s dream space. Steps away from the kitchen, the master bedroom envelops you, providing those awe-inspiring views, while balancing privacy in the pines.
Whether you seek to entertain or to escape, the downstairs of Thurston House delivers. The stairs open to a lounge, complete with a
wood-burning fireplace and abundant screen space, while a wet bar is tucked away for close conversation. Additional bedrooms offer
comfort and privacy for overnight guests. A home gym leads to the privacy of your backyard among the pines, with mountain views to
motivate you.
The Builder
Custom Design Builders (CDB) provides a relational partnership aimed at building the home that exists in your mind. Founder and president, Ben Woody, draws on the practical creativity of his nearly 30 years of construction experience, along with the safety consciousness he acquired as a firefighter. Ben is skillful at building according to your desires, incorporating a thoughtful design that balances safety and functionality in a dynamic process. CDB relies on the expertise acquired from years of building partnerships with the most reliable tradesmen in the area. Our team of partners consistently delivers the highest quality products and services, which has helped drive our exponential growth via word-of-mouth referrals.
As a family-owned and operated business, CDB understands relationships. Engaging in a partnership with CDB is to take on an active role in designing and defining your project, while relying on the comfort and security that can only come from decades of experience.
The Interior Design
Thurston House brings a feeling of warmth, comfort and hospitality. Modern accents elevate your living experience by highlighting the character of century-old, hand-hewn beams and barnwood. A luxurious freestanding bathtub and Euro-style shower in the master bathroom encourage you to relax and recharge in your own spa-like retreat. Energy efficient HVAC and water systems, appliances and windows minimize your footprint. Durable flooring offers stability and longevity, and hand trowel-finished drywall with reclaimed wood accents provide a warm background for your life. The open floor plan lends itself to entertaining, and the views of the Front Range through the pines are enticing. These same spaces also feel private and individual. Whether training in the home gym for your next marathon, building your dream canoe in the garage, or relaxing while you listen to the crackle of a fire in your fireplace accented by those hand-hewn beams, Thurston House is a stunning place to call home.

Hillside Modernism In Context.
The owners of this modern hillside home sought to have a home in a nice Los Angeles neighborhood wherein they could raise their burgeoning family. The owners purchased a 1948 2000sf, single story, 2 bedroom English Cottage styled home (believed to have been originally owned by Yul Brynner) on a ½ acre hillside site in the exclusive Brentwood area of Los Angeles. The property slopes downward away from the street and overlooks a mini eucalyptus arroyo. The owners love their new location but are now faced-with having to raise their new and growing family on a hillside with extremely limited yard spaces for children to play and in a location where nature is very close – deer as well as coyotes wander the arroyo.
In 2000 the owners commissioned architect Richard Best to add 2500sf to the cottage and transform it into a home more fitting to their growing family’s needs. Subsequently, in 2014/15, the owners again commissioned Richard to create a 2-story master suite addition. Living in or visiting the completed project - the original 1948 home remodeled + the 2000 addition + the 2014/15 addition, one goes through an unexpected and delightful experience as the spaces of the home “unfold” to reveal intimacy and environmental immersion.
It was important to Richard and to the owners that their remodels and additions be appropriately designed to fit into the neighborhood and have the feel, scale, and soul of the original cottage. With this in-mind, Richard has interpreted the design intentions of the original cottage - “modernizing” the architectural vocabulary and creating open-plan, 2-story additions which promote site “engagement” at various floor levels and openness to the outdoors in a manner clearly inspired by the original cottage, yet modern.
At the front door of the original (still remains as it was) 1948 structure, one is presented with a quaint a low-slung entry which establishes a very comfortable sense of scale. Inside, the remodeled spaces of the original cottage exude comfort and a cozy sensibility evoked by the reuse of the original home’s exposed timber framing structure, open-plan circulation, and an inventive two-sided steel fireplace which acts as a room divider between the living room and a home office. Accordion wood doors connect these rooms to a newly formed outdoor rear patio. At this point one also gets ones first hint that something very interesting is happening just beyond – a glimpse of the 2000 & 2014/15 additions.
Moving from the original 1948 structure into the 2-story 2000 addition, one is greeted by a modern and open linear floor plan arrangement – a kitchen, casual dining and family room extend perpendicularly from the 1948 structure into the rear yard and down the hillside. The open framed cathedral ceiling and wood roof trusses establish a lofty feeling and a rhythm discretely separating the open rooms one from the other. Extensive use of windows and French doors connect the indoors to the outdoors and provide abundant natural lighting. This new appendage ends with a symmetrical family room which has no corners – it is a geometry composed of two overlapped squares - one rotated 45 degrees atop the other to create double opportunities for bay windows. The design not only connects the home to the desired exterior flat yards spaces, but it also takes full advantage of the sloping terrain by adding a floor below the original level so as to maintain a scale appropriate to the neighborhood. The exterior materials were chosen taking “hints” from the original 1948 structure – natural redwood siding, reused brick veneer and wood doors/windows all serving to aesthetically connect the addition back-to the spirit of the original structure.
By 2014/15 the owners’ family has fully blossomed - the children are now teenagers and there is a need for additional space. However, the owners are very content with their remodeled cottage and Richard’s 2000 addition – unsure how to add to a home which they feel is quite perfect as it is … wanting whatever changes are to be made to be sympathetic to it. They are also concerned about potential additions blocking-out their views of the eucalyptus arroyo. The owners approached Richard with trepidation – we love our perfect house but we need it to be a bit bigger and we don’t want to block-out the arroyo views or create a hemmed-in feeling – how can we add but still see the arroyo.
In response Richard created a private yet connected 2-story master suite, which by its positioning, dynamic geometries and extensive glazing create the fourth side of the former rear patio, making it into exterior courtyard with views around and through the new addition into the arroyo. A dynamic angularity in the new master addition (inspired by the 2000 addition) simultaneously reduces the apparent size/presence of the master suite addition on the edge of the eucalyptus arroyo while creating framed views into the arroyo from the newly formed courtyard. The new master suite - a master bathroom, master closet and a master sleeping loft each having exterior decks and/or patios, is connected back to the 2000 addition via a glazed hallway which provides a sense of connectedness and privacy. A modern rustic aesthetic of exposed board-formed concrete, natural finished Corten steel exterior cladding, frameless metal windows, and clear finished Douglas Fir planks serve to “extend” the soul of the original cottage into the master suite.
The project is a highly sustainable design as well. Energy use is reduced by employing a high efficiency heat pump heating and cooling system, dual paned/gasketed metal window/door systems, natural lighting through a Kalwall skylight and generous exterior glazing with extensive eaves for shading, rigid roof insulation, and earthen backing – the lower floor is up-against the hillside which tends to even-out the day/night temperature differential.
Credits:
Architecture & Interior Design: Richard Best Architect Inc.
Structural Engineering: Dan Echeto & David Choi Associates
Interior Decor: Noelle Schoop
Landscape: Connie Heitzman
Photos: Carmel McFayden and Adriano Sarmento / James Porschen

The Home
Nestled in Jackson Ranch, Thurston House welcomes you to experience the solace and comfort of this warm and peaceful home.
As you step past the barnwood accented exterior, you enter a refined rustic interior with a barnwood wall and century-old beams
gracing the great room. Durable, luxury, vinyl, tile flooring leads you further in, past a front office with ample sunlight. Relax as you gaze upon the Front Range, through the pines, from the great room - while a wood-burning fire crackles nearby. Continue into the spacious kitchen, complete with custom cabinets and more amazing views. An expansive walk-in pantry gives way to an oversized garage, a builder and hobbyist’s dream space. Steps away from the kitchen, the master bedroom envelops you, providing those awe-inspiring views, while balancing privacy in the pines.
Whether you seek to entertain or to escape, the downstairs of Thurston House delivers. The stairs open to a lounge, complete with a
wood-burning fireplace and abundant screen space, while a wet bar is tucked away for close conversation. Additional bedrooms offer
comfort and privacy for overnight guests. A home gym leads to the privacy of your backyard among the pines, with mountain views to
motivate you.
The Builder
Custom Design Builders (CDB) provides a relational partnership aimed at building the home that exists in your mind. Founder and president, Ben Woody, draws on the practical creativity of his nearly 30 years of construction experience, along with the safety consciousness he acquired as a firefighter. Ben is skillful at building according to your desires, incorporating a thoughtful design that balances safety and functionality in a dynamic process. CDB relies on the expertise acquired from years of building partnerships with the most reliable tradesmen in the area. Our team of partners consistently delivers the highest quality products and services, which has helped drive our exponential growth via word-of-mouth referrals.
As a family-owned and operated business, CDB understands relationships. Engaging in a partnership with CDB is to take on an active role in designing and defining your project, while relying on the comfort and security that can only come from decades of experience.
The Interior Design
Thurston House brings a feeling of warmth, comfort and hospitality. Modern accents elevate your living experience by highlighting the character of century-old, hand-hewn beams and barnwood. A luxurious freestanding bathtub and Euro-style shower in the master bathroom encourage you to relax and recharge in your own spa-like retreat. Energy efficient HVAC and water systems, appliances and windows minimize your footprint. Durable flooring offers stability and longevity, and hand trowel-finished drywall with reclaimed wood accents provide a warm background for your life. The open floor plan lends itself to entertaining, and the views of the Front Range through the pines are enticing. These same spaces also feel private and individual. Whether training in the home gym for your next marathon, building your dream canoe in the garage, or relaxing while you listen to the crackle of a fire in your fireplace accented by those hand-hewn beams, Thurston House is a stunning place to call home.

This residence was a complete gut renovation of a 4-story row house in Park Slope, and included a new rear extension and penthouse addition. The owners wished to create a warm, family home using a modern language that would act as a clean canvas to feature rich textiles and items from their world travels. As with most Brooklyn row houses, the existing house suffered from a lack of natural light and connection to exterior spaces, an issue that Principal Brendan Coburn is acutely aware of from his experience re-imagining historic structures in the New York area. The resulting architecture is designed around moments featuring natural light and views to the exterior, of both the private garden and the sky, throughout the house, and a stripped-down language of detailing and finishes allows for the concept of the modern-natural to shine.
Upon entering the home, the kitchen and dining space draw you in with views beyond through the large glazed opening at the rear of the house. An extension was built to allow for a large sunken living room that provides a family gathering space connected to the kitchen and dining room, but remains distinctly separate, with a strong visual connection to the rear garden. The open sculptural stair tower was designed to function like that of a traditional row house stair, but with a smaller footprint. By extending it up past the original roof level into the new penthouse, the stair becomes an atmospheric shaft for the spaces surrounding the core. All types of weather – sunshine, rain, lightning, can be sensed throughout the home through this unifying vertical environment. The stair space also strives to foster family communication, making open living spaces visible between floors. At the upper-most level, a free-form bench sits suspended over the stair, just by the new roof deck, which provides at-ease entertaining. Oak was used throughout the home as a unifying material element. As one travels upwards within the house, the oak finishes are bleached to further degrees as a nod to how light enters the home.
The owners worked with CWB to add their own personality to the project. The meter of a white oak and blackened steel stair screen was designed by the family to read “I love you” in Morse Code, and tile was selected throughout to reference places that hold special significance to the family. To support the owners’ comfort, the architectural design engages passive house technologies to reduce energy use, while increasing air quality within the home – a strategy which aims to respect the environment while providing a refuge from the harsh elements of urban living.
This project was published by Wendy Goodman as her Space of the Week, part of New York Magazine’s Design Hunting on The Cut.
Photography by Kevin Kunstadt

This residence was a complete gut renovation of a 4-story row house in Park Slope, and included a new rear extension and penthouse addition. The owners wished to create a warm, family home using a modern language that would act as a clean canvas to feature rich textiles and items from their world travels. As with most Brooklyn row houses, the existing house suffered from a lack of natural light and connection to exterior spaces, an issue that Principal Brendan Coburn is acutely aware of from his experience re-imagining historic structures in the New York area. The resulting architecture is designed around moments featuring natural light and views to the exterior, of both the private garden and the sky, throughout the house, and a stripped-down language of detailing and finishes allows for the concept of the modern-natural to shine.
Upon entering the home, the kitchen and dining space draw you in with views beyond through the large glazed opening at the rear of the house. An extension was built to allow for a large sunken living room that provides a family gathering space connected to the kitchen and dining room, but remains distinctly separate, with a strong visual connection to the rear garden. The open sculptural stair tower was designed to function like that of a traditional row house stair, but with a smaller footprint. By extending it up past the original roof level into the new penthouse, the stair becomes an atmospheric shaft for the spaces surrounding the core. All types of weather – sunshine, rain, lightning, can be sensed throughout the home through this unifying vertical environment. The stair space also strives to foster family communication, making open living spaces visible between floors. At the upper-most level, a free-form bench sits suspended over the stair, just by the new roof deck, which provides at-ease entertaining. Oak was used throughout the home as a unifying material element. As one travels upwards within the house, the oak finishes are bleached to further degrees as a nod to how light enters the home.
The owners worked with CWB to add their own personality to the project. The meter of a white oak and blackened steel stair screen was designed by the family to read “I love you” in Morse Code, and tile was selected throughout to reference places that hold special significance to the family. To support the owners’ comfort, the architectural design engages passive house technologies to reduce energy use, while increasing air quality within the home – a strategy which aims to respect the environment while providing a refuge from the harsh elements of urban living.
This project was published by Wendy Goodman as her Space of the Week, part of New York Magazine’s Design Hunting on The Cut.
Photography by Kevin Kunstadt

The Home
Nestled in Jackson Ranch, Thurston House welcomes you to experience the solace and comfort of this warm and peaceful home.
As you step past the barnwood accented exterior, you enter a refined rustic interior with a barnwood wall and century-old beams
gracing the great room. Durable, luxury, vinyl, tile flooring leads you further in, past a front office with ample sunlight. Relax as you gaze upon the Front Range, through the pines, from the great room - while a wood-burning fire crackles nearby. Continue into the spacious kitchen, complete with custom cabinets and more amazing views. An expansive walk-in pantry gives way to an oversized garage, a builder and hobbyist’s dream space. Steps away from the kitchen, the master bedroom envelops you, providing those awe-inspiring views, while balancing privacy in the pines.
Whether you seek to entertain or to escape, the downstairs of Thurston House delivers. The stairs open to a lounge, complete with a
wood-burning fireplace and abundant screen space, while a wet bar is tucked away for close conversation. Additional bedrooms offer
comfort and privacy for overnight guests. A home gym leads to the privacy of your backyard among the pines, with mountain views to
motivate you.
The Builder
Custom Design Builders (CDB) provides a relational partnership aimed at building the home that exists in your mind. Founder and president, Ben Woody, draws on the practical creativity of his nearly 30 years of construction experience, along with the safety consciousness he acquired as a firefighter. Ben is skillful at building according to your desires, incorporating a thoughtful design that balances safety and functionality in a dynamic process. CDB relies on the expertise acquired from years of building partnerships with the most reliable tradesmen in the area. Our team of partners consistently delivers the highest quality products and services, which has helped drive our exponential growth via word-of-mouth referrals.
As a family-owned and operated business, CDB understands relationships. Engaging in a partnership with CDB is to take on an active role in designing and defining your project, while relying on the comfort and security that can only come from decades of experience.
The Interior Design
Thurston House brings a feeling of warmth, comfort and hospitality. Modern accents elevate your living experience by highlighting the character of century-old, hand-hewn beams and barnwood. A luxurious freestanding bathtub and Euro-style shower in the master bathroom encourage you to relax and recharge in your own spa-like retreat. Energy efficient HVAC and water systems, appliances and windows minimize your footprint. Durable flooring offers stability and longevity, and hand trowel-finished drywall with reclaimed wood accents provide a warm background for your life. The open floor plan lends itself to entertaining, and the views of the Front Range through the pines are enticing. These same spaces also feel private and individual. Whether training in the home gym for your next marathon, building your dream canoe in the garage, or relaxing while you listen to the crackle of a fire in your fireplace accented by those hand-hewn beams, Thurston House is a stunning place to call home.

The Home
Nestled in Jackson Ranch, Thurston House welcomes you to experience the solace and comfort of this warm and peaceful home.
As you step past the barnwood accented exterior, you enter a refined rustic interior with a barnwood wall and century-old beams
gracing the great room. Durable, luxury, vinyl, tile flooring leads you further in, past a front office with ample sunlight. Relax as you gaze upon the Front Range, through the pines, from the great room - while a wood-burning fire crackles nearby. Continue into the spacious kitchen, complete with custom cabinets and more amazing views. An expansive walk-in pantry gives way to an oversized garage, a builder and hobbyist’s dream space. Steps away from the kitchen, the master bedroom envelops you, providing those awe-inspiring views, while balancing privacy in the pines.
Whether you seek to entertain or to escape, the downstairs of Thurston House delivers. The stairs open to a lounge, complete with a
wood-burning fireplace and abundant screen space, while a wet bar is tucked away for close conversation. Additional bedrooms offer
comfort and privacy for overnight guests. A home gym leads to the privacy of your backyard among the pines, with mountain views to
motivate you.
The Builder
Custom Design Builders (CDB) provides a relational partnership aimed at building the home that exists in your mind. Founder and president, Ben Woody, draws on the practical creativity of his nearly 30 years of construction experience, along with the safety consciousness he acquired as a firefighter. Ben is skillful at building according to your desires, incorporating a thoughtful design that balances safety and functionality in a dynamic process. CDB relies on the expertise acquired from years of building partnerships with the most reliable tradesmen in the area. Our team of partners consistently delivers the highest quality products and services, which has helped drive our exponential growth via word-of-mouth referrals.
As a family-owned and operated business, CDB understands relationships. Engaging in a partnership with CDB is to take on an active role in designing and defining your project, while relying on the comfort and security that can only come from decades of experience.
The Interior Design
Thurston House brings a feeling of warmth, comfort and hospitality. Modern accents elevate your living experience by highlighting the character of century-old, hand-hewn beams and barnwood. A luxurious freestanding bathtub and Euro-style shower in the master bathroom encourage you to relax and recharge in your own spa-like retreat. Energy efficient HVAC and water systems, appliances and windows minimize your footprint. Durable flooring offers stability and longevity, and hand trowel-finished drywall with reclaimed wood accents provide a warm background for your life. The open floor plan lends itself to entertaining, and the views of the Front Range through the pines are enticing. These same spaces also feel private and individual. Whether training in the home gym for your next marathon, building your dream canoe in the garage, or relaxing while you listen to the crackle of a fire in your fireplace accented by those hand-hewn beams, Thurston House is a stunning place to call home.

The Home
Nestled in Jackson Ranch, Thurston House welcomes you to experience the solace and comfort of this warm and peaceful home.
As you step past the barnwood accented exterior, you enter a refined rustic interior with a barnwood wall and century-old beams
gracing the great room. Durable, luxury, vinyl, tile flooring leads you further in, past a front office with ample sunlight. Relax as you gaze upon the Front Range, through the pines, from the great room - while a wood-burning fire crackles nearby. Continue into the spacious kitchen, complete with custom cabinets and more amazing views. An expansive walk-in pantry gives way to an oversized garage, a builder and hobbyist’s dream space. Steps away from the kitchen, the master bedroom envelops you, providing those awe-inspiring views, while balancing privacy in the pines.
Whether you seek to entertain or to escape, the downstairs of Thurston House delivers. The stairs open to a lounge, complete with a
wood-burning fireplace and abundant screen space, while a wet bar is tucked away for close conversation. Additional bedrooms offer
comfort and privacy for overnight guests. A home gym leads to the privacy of your backyard among the pines, with mountain views to
motivate you.
The Builder
Custom Design Builders (CDB) provides a relational partnership aimed at building the home that exists in your mind. Founder and president, Ben Woody, draws on the practical creativity of his nearly 30 years of construction experience, along with the safety consciousness he acquired as a firefighter. Ben is skillful at building according to your desires, incorporating a thoughtful design that balances safety and functionality in a dynamic process. CDB relies on the expertise acquired from years of building partnerships with the most reliable tradesmen in the area. Our team of partners consistently delivers the highest quality products and services, which has helped drive our exponential growth via word-of-mouth referrals.
As a family-owned and operated business, CDB understands relationships. Engaging in a partnership with CDB is to take on an active role in designing and defining your project, while relying on the comfort and security that can only come from decades of experience.
The Interior Design
Thurston House brings a feeling of warmth, comfort and hospitality. Modern accents elevate your living experience by highlighting the character of century-old, hand-hewn beams and barnwood. A luxurious freestanding bathtub and Euro-style shower in the master bathroom encourage you to relax and recharge in your own spa-like retreat. Energy efficient HVAC and water systems, appliances and windows minimize your footprint. Durable flooring offers stability and longevity, and hand trowel-finished drywall with reclaimed wood accents provide a warm background for your life. The open floor plan lends itself to entertaining, and the views of the Front Range through the pines are enticing. These same spaces also feel private and individual. Whether training in the home gym for your next marathon, building your dream canoe in the garage, or relaxing while you listen to the crackle of a fire in your fireplace accented by those hand-hewn beams, Thurston House is a stunning place to call home.

The Home
Nestled in Jackson Ranch, Thurston House welcomes you to experience the solace and comfort of this warm and peaceful home.
As you step past the barnwood accented exterior, you enter a refined rustic interior with a barnwood wall and century-old beams
gracing the great room. Durable, luxury, vinyl, tile flooring leads you further in, past a front office with ample sunlight. Relax as you gaze upon the Front Range, through the pines, from the great room - while a wood-burning fire crackles nearby. Continue into the spacious kitchen, complete with custom cabinets and more amazing views. An expansive walk-in pantry gives way to an oversized garage, a builder and hobbyist’s dream space. Steps away from the kitchen, the master bedroom envelops you, providing those awe-inspiring views, while balancing privacy in the pines.
Whether you seek to entertain or to escape, the downstairs of Thurston House delivers. The stairs open to a lounge, complete with a
wood-burning fireplace and abundant screen space, while a wet bar is tucked away for close conversation. Additional bedrooms offer
comfort and privacy for overnight guests. A home gym leads to the privacy of your backyard among the pines, with mountain views to
motivate you.
The Builder
Custom Design Builders (CDB) provides a relational partnership aimed at building the home that exists in your mind. Founder and president, Ben Woody, draws on the practical creativity of his nearly 30 years of construction experience, along with the safety consciousness he acquired as a firefighter. Ben is skillful at building according to your desires, incorporating a thoughtful design that balances safety and functionality in a dynamic process. CDB relies on the expertise acquired from years of building partnerships with the most reliable tradesmen in the area. Our team of partners consistently delivers the highest quality products and services, which has helped drive our exponential growth via word-of-mouth referrals.
As a family-owned and operated business, CDB understands relationships. Engaging in a partnership with CDB is to take on an active role in designing and defining your project, while relying on the comfort and security that can only come from decades of experience.
The Interior Design
Thurston House brings a feeling of warmth, comfort and hospitality. Modern accents elevate your living experience by highlighting the character of century-old, hand-hewn beams and barnwood. A luxurious freestanding bathtub and Euro-style shower in the master bathroom encourage you to relax and recharge in your own spa-like retreat. Energy efficient HVAC and water systems, appliances and windows minimize your footprint. Durable flooring offers stability and longevity, and hand trowel-finished drywall with reclaimed wood accents provide a warm background for your life. The open floor plan lends itself to entertaining, and the views of the Front Range through the pines are enticing. These same spaces also feel private and individual. Whether training in the home gym for your next marathon, building your dream canoe in the garage, or relaxing while you listen to the crackle of a fire in your fireplace accented by those hand-hewn beams, Thurston House is a stunning place to call home.

Curtis and Peggy had been thinking of a kitchen remodel for quite some time, but they knew their house would have a unique set of challenges. Their older Victorian house was built in 1891. The kitchen cabinetry was original, and they wanted to keep the authenticity of their period home while adding modern comforts that would improve their quality of life.
A friend recommended Advance Design Studio for their exceptional experience and quality of work. After meeting with designer Michelle Lecinski at Advance Design, they were confident they could partner with Advance to accomplish the unique kitchen renovation they’d been talking about for years. “We wanted to do the kitchen for a long, long time,” Curtis said. “(We asked ourselves) what are we actually going to do? How are we going to do this? And who are we going to find to do exactly what we want?”
The goal for the project was to keep the home renovation and new kitchen feeling authentic to the time in which it was built. They desperately wanted the modern comforts that come with a larger refrigerator and the dishwasher that they never had! The old home was also a bit drafty so adding a fireplace, wall insulation and new windows became a priority. They very much wanted to create a comfortable hearth room adjacent to the kitchen, complete with old world brick.
The original cabinetry had to go to make way for beautiful new kitchen cabinetry that appears as if it was a hundred years old, but with all the benefits of cutting-edge storage, self-closing drawers, and a brand-new look. “We just wanted to keep it old looking, but with some modern updates,” Peggy said.
Dura Supreme Highland Cabinets with a Heritage Old World Painted Finish replaced the original 1891 cabinets. The hand-applied careful rubbed-off detailing makes these exquisite cabinets look as if they came from a far-gone era. Despite the small size of the kitchen, Peggy, Curtis and Michelle utilized every inch with custom cabinet sizes to increase storage capacity. The custom cabinets allowed for the addition of a 24” Fisher Paykel dishwasher with a concealing Dura Supreme door panel. Michelle was also able to work into the new design a larger 30” Fisher Paykel French refrigerator. “We made every ¼ inch count in this small space,” designer Michelle said. “Having the ability to custom size the cabinetry was the only way to achieve this.”
“The kitchen essentially was designed around the Heartland Vintage range and oven,” says Michelle. A classic appliance that combines nostalgic beauty and craftsmanship for modern cooking, with nickel plated trim and elegantly shaped handles and legs; the not to miss range is a striking focal point of the entire room and an engaging conversation piece.
Granite countertops in Kodiak Satin with subtle veining kept with the old-world style. The delicate porcelain La Vie Crackle Sonoma tile kitchen backsplash compliments the home’s style perfectly. A handcrafted passthrough designed to show off Peggy’s fine china was custom built by project carpenters Justin Davis and Jeff Dallain to physically and visually open the space. Additional storage was created in the custom panty room with Latte Edinburg cabinets, hand-made weathered wood shelving with authentic black iron brackets, and an intricate tin copper ceiling.
Peggy and Curtis loved the idea of adding a Vermont stove to make the hearth-room not only functional, but a truly beckoning place to be. A stunning Bordeaux red Vermont Castings Stove with crisp black ventilation was chosen and combined with the authentic reclaimed Chicago brick wall. Advance’s talented carpenters custom-built elegant weathered shelves to house family memorabilia, installed carefully chosen barn sconces, and made the hearth room an inviting place to relax with a cup of coffee and a good book.
“Peggy and Curtis’ project was so much fun to work on. Creating a space that looks and feels like it always belonged in this beautiful old Victorian home is a designer’s dream. To see the delight in their faces when they saw the design details coming together truly made it worth the time and effort that went into making the very compact kitchen space work”, said Michelle. “The result is an amazing custom kitchen, packed with functionality in every inch, nook and cranny!” exclaims Michelle.
The renovation didn’t end with the kitchen. New Pella windows were added to help lessen the drafts. The removal of the original windows and trim necessitated the re-creation of hand-made corbels and trim details no longer available today. The talented carpenter team came to the rescue, crafting new pieces and masterfully finishing them as if they were always there. New custom gutters were formed and installed with a front entry rework necessary to accommodate the changes.
The whole house functions better, but it still feels like the original 1891 home. “From start to finish it’s just a much better space than we used to have,” Peggy said. “Jeff and Justin were amazing.” Curtis added; “We were lucky to find Advance Design, because they really came through for us. I loved that they had everything in house, anything you needed to have done, they could do it”.

The Home
Nestled in Jackson Ranch, Thurston House welcomes you to experience the solace and comfort of this warm and peaceful home.
As you step past the barnwood accented exterior, you enter a refined rustic interior with a barnwood wall and century-old beams
gracing the great room. Durable, luxury, vinyl, tile flooring leads you further in, past a front office with ample sunlight. Relax as you gaze upon the Front Range, through the pines, from the great room - while a wood-burning fire crackles nearby. Continue into the spacious kitchen, complete with custom cabinets and more amazing views. An expansive walk-in pantry gives way to an oversized garage, a builder and hobbyist’s dream space. Steps away from the kitchen, the master bedroom envelops you, providing those awe-inspiring views, while balancing privacy in the pines.
Whether you seek to entertain or to escape, the downstairs of Thurston House delivers. The stairs open to a lounge, complete with a
wood-burning fireplace and abundant screen space, while a wet bar is tucked away for close conversation. Additional bedrooms offer
comfort and privacy for overnight guests. A home gym leads to the privacy of your backyard among the pines, with mountain views to
motivate you.
The Builder
Custom Design Builders (CDB) provides a relational partnership aimed at building the home that exists in your mind. Founder and president, Ben Woody, draws on the practical creativity of his nearly 30 years of construction experience, along with the safety consciousness he acquired as a firefighter. Ben is skillful at building according to your desires, incorporating a thoughtful design that balances safety and functionality in a dynamic process. CDB relies on the expertise acquired from years of building partnerships with the most reliable tradesmen in the area. Our team of partners consistently delivers the highest quality products and services, which has helped drive our exponential growth via word-of-mouth referrals.
As a family-owned and operated business, CDB understands relationships. Engaging in a partnership with CDB is to take on an active role in designing and defining your project, while relying on the comfort and security that can only come from decades of experience.
The Interior Design
Thurston House brings a feeling of warmth, comfort and hospitality. Modern accents elevate your living experience by highlighting the character of century-old, hand-hewn beams and barnwood. A luxurious freestanding bathtub and Euro-style shower in the master bathroom encourage you to relax and recharge in your own spa-like retreat. Energy efficient HVAC and water systems, appliances and windows minimize your footprint. Durable flooring offers stability and longevity, and hand trowel-finished drywall with reclaimed wood accents provide a warm background for your life. The open floor plan lends itself to entertaining, and the views of the Front Range through the pines are enticing. These same spaces also feel private and individual. Whether training in the home gym for your next marathon, building your dream canoe in the garage, or relaxing while you listen to the crackle of a fire in your fireplace accented by those hand-hewn beams, Thurston House is a stunning place to call home.

Malibu Glass Box House by Klopf Architecture
Following the devastating Woolsey Fire of 2018, the site in Malibu offered a unique opportunity to rebuild not just a home, but a new architectural composition that highlighted the property’s potential while navigating strict fire-rebuild codes in the area. Designed by Klopf Architecture, this project embraced a set of limitations and translated them into an architectural asset.
The city’s fire-rebuild process required the new structure to remain close to the original footprint, size and bulk, a constraint that ultimately clarified the architectural direction. Perched near the front of a long, narrow lot, the new home frames and overlooks a private, park-like rear expanse, an uncommon luxury especially in this part of Malibu .
Without a fixed program, the design process allowed for a different kind of creative focus allowing Klopf Architecture the opportunity to explore how a modernist home could best respond to this site. The team approached the project not with a list of requirements, but with a question: How might a modernist live here? What spatial qualities would inspire calm, connection, and a sense of wonder in this setting? The process became less about problem-solving and more about architectural storytelling—letting the site, the light, and the principles of modern design guide the form and flow of the home.
The response emerged in the form of a glass-box pavilion, an open, Mid-Century Modern inspired living, dining, and kitchen space that floats at the edge of the property’s natural descent. Connected to the more enclosed, private areas of the home by a glass-walled hallway, the living pavilion becomes a distinct centerpiece of the design. It opens on all four sides to the landscape with decks and patios on the flanks, an internal garden and water feature to the north, and a dramatic unguarded view of the expansive backyard and ocean horizon to the south.
Because of the mandated footprint, careful planning was required to ensure every space could still engage with light, landscape, or both. Strategic voids in the form of atriums and courtyards allow daylight to filter deep into the home’s core, while offering moments of surprise and retreat. These design gestures allow natural light to filter deep into the interior, creating a sense of brightness and openness throughout the day. At the same time, they expand the perceptual boundaries between inside and out, making the home feel more expansive while anchoring its connection to the surrounding landscape.
The siting of the house is what gives it its unique character. Rather than receding into the backyard like the neighboring homes, the house holds a slight prominence. From the central living pavilion, stepping down into the landscape feels more like entering a secluded park where a separate existing accessory structure, trail, and recreational areas await. The home’s modest street presence gives way to this unfolding drama of space, view, and nature.
Fire-resilient materials and assemblies are integrated seamlessly throughout including triple-pane glazing, under-slab and roof insulation, and locally sourced fire-rated cladding ensure the house not only meets Calfornia’s rigorous wildland-urban interface (WUI) standards, but feels effortlessly aligned with them. While technical decisions like fire-hardening and mechanical systems presented some construction challenges, particularly around the cantilevered glass box, the team found a functional compromise that preserved the integrity of the design.
Inside, a restrained palette and exposed post and beam design celebrate the ethos of mid-century modernism. A central circulation spine extends from the entry to the rear glass wall, offering a continuous visual link from street to ocean. Spaces such as the library and office, though more intimate in scale, are never cut off from nature as each opens to its own unique courtyard or garden view.
Though born out of a strict regulatory framework and developed without a specific client, the rebuild design unfolded with remarkable clarity. Grounded in site logic, refined by limitations and an emphasis on timeless spatial relationships – light, proportion, and a strong connection to nature, the resulting design feels both effortless and uplifting. The home lives lightly on the land, opens generously to its surroundings, and strikes a careful balance between privacy, openness, and calm. For Klopf Architecture, it stands as a compelling case study in how site, code, and circumstantial constraints can inspire enduring, modernist architecture. With years of experience reimagining mid-century modern design for how people live today, the firm took the project’s limitations as an opportunity. The result is a home shaped by open, flowing spaces, strong indoor-outdoor connections, and a calm, clear sense of structure. It’s a good reminder that even with strict constraints, there’s still room for architecture to breathe—and for modernism to keep moving forward.
Klopf Architecture project team: Geoff Campen, John Klopf, AIA, and Sherry Tan
Structural Engineer: ZFA
Contractor: Maison D’Artiste
Photography: ©2025 Mariko Reed
Year Completed: 2023

Eichler in Marinwood - At the larger scale of the property existed a desire to soften and deepen the engagement between the house and the street frontage. As such, the landscaping palette consists of textures chosen for subtlety and granularity. Spaces are layered by way of planting, diaphanous fencing and lighting. The interior engages the front of the house by the insertion of a floor to ceiling glazing at the dining room.
Jog-in path from street to house maintains a sense of privacy and sequential unveiling of interior/private spaces. This non-atrium model is invested with the best aspects of the iconic eichler configuration without compromise to the sense of order and orientation.
photo: scott hargis

This residence was a complete gut renovation of a 4-story row house in Park Slope, and included a new rear extension and penthouse addition. The owners wished to create a warm, family home using a modern language that would act as a clean canvas to feature rich textiles and items from their world travels. As with most Brooklyn row houses, the existing house suffered from a lack of natural light and connection to exterior spaces, an issue that Principal Brendan Coburn is acutely aware of from his experience re-imagining historic structures in the New York area. The resulting architecture is designed around moments featuring natural light and views to the exterior, of both the private garden and the sky, throughout the house, and a stripped-down language of detailing and finishes allows for the concept of the modern-natural to shine.
Upon entering the home, the kitchen and dining space draw you in with views beyond through the large glazed opening at the rear of the house. An extension was built to allow for a large sunken living room that provides a family gathering space connected to the kitchen and dining room, but remains distinctly separate, with a strong visual connection to the rear garden. The open sculptural stair tower was designed to function like that of a traditional row house stair, but with a smaller footprint. By extending it up past the original roof level into the new penthouse, the stair becomes an atmospheric shaft for the spaces surrounding the core. All types of weather – sunshine, rain, lightning, can be sensed throughout the home through this unifying vertical environment. The stair space also strives to foster family communication, making open living spaces visible between floors. At the upper-most level, a free-form bench sits suspended over the stair, just by the new roof deck, which provides at-ease entertaining. Oak was used throughout the home as a unifying material element. As one travels upwards within the house, the oak finishes are bleached to further degrees as a nod to how light enters the home.
The owners worked with CWB to add their own personality to the project. The meter of a white oak and blackened steel stair screen was designed by the family to read “I love you” in Morse Code, and tile was selected throughout to reference places that hold special significance to the family. To support the owners’ comfort, the architectural design engages passive house technologies to reduce energy use, while increasing air quality within the home – a strategy which aims to respect the environment while providing a refuge from the harsh elements of urban living.
This project was published by Wendy Goodman as her Space of the Week, part of New York Magazine’s Design Hunting on The Cut.
Photography by Kevin Kunstadt

The challenge of merging contemporary design with a classic traditional interior is emblematic of the vitality experienced in the evolution of Philadelphia’s urban fabric. The design of this Center City apartment engages a rich discourse between the new and the existing, focusing on areas of the residence that contradicted the new owners’ aesthetic and lifestyle.
The elevator opens to the center of the spacious living area that includes the foyer, kitchen and living room. The serene, geometric character of the foyer enhances the sense of arrival – offering a moment to contemplate the owners’ art, the interplay of the old and the new, and the subtleties of light.
The kitchen, while fully functional, willingly and quietly participates in the composition. Symmetry and asymmetry are seamlessly woven.
The depth and endurance of daily experiences are the ingredients that transform architecture into a vital framework for living. As it relates to a home, the framework requires a resonate balance of comfort and drama, achieved here with a cast of dynamic materials and details that subtly collaborate in simple composition.
Barry Halkin and Todd Mason Photography

Fusion Cork flooring is clean, durable as stone, and warm to walk on, and is fabulous for people suffering from allergies and asthma
Bedroom photo
Bedroom photo
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