Dan Bernskoetter Photography
Inspiration for a large timeless medium tone wood floor and brown floor hallway remodel in Other with white walls

Country Home. Photographer: Rob Karosis
Example of a classic entryway design in New York with yellow walls and a white front door

Corynne Pless © 2013 Houzz Read the Houzz article about this home: http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/8077146/list/My-Houzz--French-Country-Meets-Southern-Farmhouse-Style-in-Georgia

Inspiration for a timeless dark wood floor double front door remodel in Austin with a glass front door

Horwitz Residence designed by Minarc *The house is oriented so that all of the rooms can enjoy the outdoor living area which includes Pool, outdoor dinning / bbq and play court. • The flooring used in this residence is by DuChateau Floors - Terra Collection in Zimbabwe. The modern dark colors of the collection match both contemporary & traditional interior design • It’s orientation is thought out to maximize passive solar design and natural ventilations, with solar chimney escaping hot air during summer and heating cold air during winter eliminated the need for mechanical air handling. • Simple Eco-conscious design that is focused on functionality and creating a healthy breathing family environment. • The design elements are oriented to take optimum advantage of natural light and cross ventilation. • Maximum use of natural light to cut down electrical cost. • Interior/exterior courtyards allows for natural ventilation as do the master sliding window and living room sliders. • Conscious effort in using only materials in their most organic form. • Solar thermal radiant floor heating through-out the house • Heated patio and fireplace for outdoor dining maximizes indoor/outdoor living. The entry living room has glass to both sides to further connect the indoors and outdoors. • Floor and ceiling materials connected in an unobtrusive and whimsical manner to increase floor plan flow and space. • Magnetic chalkboard sliders in the play area and paperboard sliders in the kids' rooms transform the house itself into a medium for children's artistic expression. • Material contrasts (stone, steal, wood etc.) makes this modern home warm and family

The challenge of this modern version of a 1920s shingle-style home was to recreate the classic look while avoiding the pitfalls of the original materials. The composite slate roof, cement fiberboard shake siding and color-clad windows contribute to the overall aesthetics. The mahogany entries are surrounded by stone, and the innovative soffit materials offer an earth-friendly alternative to wood. You’ll see great attention to detail throughout the home, including in the attic level board and batten walls, scenic overlook, mahogany railed staircase, paneled walls, bordered Brazilian Cherry floor and hideaway bookcase passage. The library features overhead bookshelves, expansive windows, a tile-faced fireplace, and exposed beam ceiling, all accessed via arch-top glass doors leading to the great room. The kitchen offers custom cabinetry, built-in appliances concealed behind furniture panels, and glass faced sideboards and buffet. All details embody the spirit of the craftspeople who established the standards by which homes are judged.

Entrance to this home features ship lap walls & ceilings that are off set with a brilliant blue barn door and abstract ocean theme art. Photography by Patrick Brickman

Inspiration for a timeless staircase remodel in Charleston

The unique design challenge in this early 20th century Georgian Colonial was the complete disconnect of the kitchen to the rest of the home. In order to enter the kitchen, you were required to walk through a formal space. The homeowners wanted to connect the kitchen and garage through an informal area, which resulted in building an addition off the rear of the garage. This new space integrated a laundry room, mudroom and informal entry into the re-designed kitchen. Additionally, 25” was taken out of the oversized formal dining room and added to the kitchen. This gave the extra room necessary to make significant changes to the layout and traffic pattern in the kitchen. Beth Singer Photography

The addition acts as a threshold from a new entry to the expansive site beyond. Glass becomes the connector between old and new, top and bottom, copper and stone. Reclaimed wood treads are used in a minimally detailed open stair connecting living spaces to a new hall and bedrooms above. Photography: Jeffrey Totaro

Clawson Architects designed the Main Entry/Stair Hall, flooding the space with natural light on both the first and second floors while enhancing views and circulation with more thoughtful space allocations and period details. AIA Gold Medal Winner for Interior Architectural Element.

Large tuscan l-shaped kitchen photo in Kansas City with an undermount sink, raised-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, granite countertops, beige backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Winner of the 2018 Tour of Homes Best Remodel, this whole house re-design of a 1963 Bennet & Johnson mid-century raised ranch home is a beautiful example of the magic we can weave through the application of more sustainable modern design principles to existing spaces. We worked closely with our client on extensive updates to create a modernized MCM gem. Extensive alterations include: - a completely redesigned floor plan to promote a more intuitive flow throughout - vaulted the ceilings over the great room to create an amazing entrance and feeling of inspired openness - redesigned entry and driveway to be more inviting and welcoming as well as to experientially set the mid-century modern stage - the removal of a visually disruptive load bearing central wall and chimney system that formerly partitioned the homes’ entry, dining, kitchen and living rooms from each other - added clerestory windows above the new kitchen to accentuate the new vaulted ceiling line and create a greater visual continuation of indoor to outdoor space - drastically increased the access to natural light by increasing window sizes and opening up the floor plan - placed natural wood elements throughout to provide a calming palette and cohesive Pacific Northwest feel - incorporated Universal Design principles to make the home Aging In Place ready with wide hallways and accessible spaces, including single-floor living if needed - moved and completely redesigned the stairway to work for the home’s occupants and be a part of the cohesive design aesthetic - mixed custom tile layouts with more traditional tiling to create fun and playful visual experiences - custom designed and sourced MCM specific elements such as the entry screen, cabinetry and lighting - development of the downstairs for potential future use by an assisted living caretaker - energy efficiency upgrades seamlessly woven in with much improved insulation, ductless mini splits and solar gain

Master bathroom with marble floor, shower and counter. Custom vanities and storage cabinets, decorative round window and steam shower. Flush shower entry for easy access. Pete Weigley

Clean, contemporary white oak slab cabinets with a white Chroma Crystal White countertop. Cabinets are set off with sleek stainless steel handles. The appliances are also stainless steel. The diswasher is Bosch, the refridgerator is a Kenmore professional built-in, stainless steel. The hood is stainless and glass from Futuro, Venice model. The double oven is stainless steel from LG. The stainless wine cooler is Uline. the stainless steel built-in microwave is form GE. The irridescent glass back splash that sets off the floating bar cabinet and surrounds window is Vihara Irridescent 1 x 4 glass in Puka. Perfect for entertaining. The floors are Italian ceramic planks that look like hardwood in a driftwood color. Simply gorgeous. Lighting is recessed and kept to a minimum to maintain the crisp clean look the client was striving for. I added a pop of orange and turquoise (not seen in the photos) for pillows on a bench as well as on the accessories. Cabinet fabricator, Mark Klindt ~ www.creativewoodworks.info

Design & Construction By Sherman Oaks Home Builders: http://www.shermanoakshomebuilders.com

This foyer was updated with the addition of white paneling and new herringbone hardwood floors with a walnut border. The walls are covered in a navy blue grasscloth wallpaper from Thibaut. A navy and white geometric patterned stair-runner, held in place with stair rods capped with pineapple finials, further contributes to the home's coastal feel. Photo by Mike Mroz of Michael Robert Construction

Klopf Architecture and Outer space Landscape Architects designed a new warm, modern, open, indoor-outdoor home in Los Altos, California. Inspired by mid-century modern homes but looking for something completely new and custom, the owners, a couple with two children, bought an older ranch style home with the intention of replacing it. Created on a grid, the house is designed to be at rest with differentiated spaces for activities; living, playing, cooking, dining and a piano space. The low-sloping gable roof over the great room brings a grand feeling to the space. The clerestory windows at the high sloping roof make the grand space light and airy. Upon entering the house, an open atrium entry in the middle of the house provides light and nature to the great room. The Heath tile wall at the back of the atrium blocks direct view of the rear yard from the entry door for privacy. The bedrooms, bathrooms, play room and the sitting room are under flat wing-like roofs that balance on either side of the low sloping gable roof of the main space. Large sliding glass panels and pocketing glass doors foster openness to the front and back yards. In the front there is a fenced-in play space connected to the play room, creating an indoor-outdoor play space that could change in use over the years. The play room can also be closed off from the great room with a large pocketing door. In the rear, everything opens up to a deck overlooking a pool where the family can come together outdoors. Wood siding travels from exterior to interior, accentuating the indoor-outdoor nature of the house. Where the exterior siding doesn’t come inside, a palette of white oak floors, white walls, walnut cabinetry, and dark window frames ties all the spaces together to create a uniform feeling and flow throughout the house. The custom cabinetry matches the minimal joinery of the rest of the house, a trim-less, minimal appearance. Wood siding was mitered in the corners, including where siding meets the interior drywall. Wall materials were held up off the floor with a minimal reveal. This tight detailing gives a sense of cleanliness to the house. The garage door of the house is completely flush and of the same material as the garage wall, de-emphasizing the garage door and making the street presentation of the house kinder to the neighborhood. The house is akin to a custom, modern-day Eichler home in many ways. Inspired by mid-century modern homes with today’s materials, approaches, standards, and technologies. The goals were to create an indoor-outdoor home that was energy-efficient, light and flexible for young children to grow. This 3,000 square foot, 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom new house is located in Los Altos in the heart of the Silicon Valley. Klopf Architecture Project Team: John Klopf, AIA, and Chuang-Ming Liu 
Landscape Architect: Outer space Landscape Architects 
Structural Engineer: ZFA Structural Engineers 
Staging: Da Lusso Design 
Photography ©2018 Mariko Reed 
Location: Los Altos, CA
 Year completed: 2017

This renovated brick rowhome in Boston’s South End offers a modern aesthetic within a historic structure, creative use of space, exceptional thermal comfort, a reduced carbon footprint, and a passive stream of income. DESIGN PRIORITIES. The goals for the project were clear - design the primary unit to accommodate the family’s modern lifestyle, rework the layout to create a desirable rental unit, improve thermal comfort and introduce a modern aesthetic. We designed the street-level entry as a shared entrance for both the primary and rental unit. The family uses it as their everyday entrance - we planned for bike storage and an open mudroom with bench and shoe storage to facilitate the change from shoes to slippers or bare feet as they enter their home. On the main level, we expanded the kitchen into the dining room to create an eat-in space with generous counter space and storage, as well as a comfortable connection to the living space. The second floor serves as master suite for the couple - a bedroom with a walk-in-closet and ensuite bathroom, and an adjacent study, with refinished original pumpkin pine floors. The upper floor, aside from a guest bedroom, is the child's domain with interconnected spaces for sleeping, work and play. In the play space, which can be separated from the work space with new translucent sliding doors, we incorporated recreational features inspired by adventurous and competitive television shows, at their son’s request. MODERN MEETS TRADITIONAL. We left the historic front facade of the building largely unchanged - the security bars were removed from the windows and the single pane windows were replaced with higher performing historic replicas. We designed the interior and rear facade with a vision of warm modernism, weaving in the notable period features. Each element was either restored or reinterpreted to blend with the modern aesthetic. The detailed ceiling in the living space, for example, has a new matte monochromatic finish, and the wood stairs are covered in a dark grey floor paint, whereas the mahogany doors were simply refinished. New wide plank wood flooring with a neutral finish, floor-to-ceiling casework, and bold splashes of color in wall paint and tile, and oversized high-performance windows (on the rear facade) round out the modern aesthetic. RENTAL INCOME. The existing rowhome was zoned for a 2-family dwelling but included an undesirable, single-floor studio apartment at the garden level with low ceiling heights and questionable emergency egress. In order to increase the quality and quantity of space in the rental unit, we reimagined it as a two-floor, 1 or 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with a modern aesthetic, increased ceiling height on the lowest level and provided an in-unit washer/dryer. The apartment was listed with Jackie O'Connor Real Estate and rented immediately, providing the owners with a source of passive income. ENCLOSURE WITH BENEFITS. The homeowners sought a minimal carbon footprint, enabled by their urban location and lifestyle decisions, paired with the benefits of a high-performance home. The extent of the renovation allowed us to implement a deep energy retrofit (DER) to address air tightness, insulation, and high-performance windows. The historic front facade is insulated from the interior, while the rear facade is insulated on the exterior. Together with these building enclosure improvements, we designed an HVAC system comprised of continuous fresh air ventilation, and an efficient, all-electric heating and cooling system to decouple the house from natural gas. This strategy provides optimal thermal comfort and indoor air quality, improved acoustic isolation from street noise and neighbors, as well as a further reduced carbon footprint. We also took measures to prepare the roof for future solar panels, for when the South End neighborhood’s aging electrical infrastructure is upgraded to allow them. URBAN LIVING. The desirable neighborhood location allows the both the homeowners and tenant to walk, bike, and use public transportation to access the city, while each charging their respective plug-in electric cars behind the building to travel greater distances. OVERALL. The understated rowhouse is now ready for another century of urban living, offering the owners comfort and convenience as they live life as an expression of their values. Photography: Eric Roth Photo