Elegant home design photo in Kansas City

Inspiration for a dining room remodel in DC Metro

Example of an arts and crafts bedroom design in DC Metro

Just 10 days after moving in, our clients reached out to bring their dream kitchen to life. We opened the space into the dining area, reworked the island for better flow, added a beverage bar, extended the upper cabinets to the ceiling with glass fronts, and transformed the pantry for improved function. The result is a warm, inviting kitchen designed for cooking, gathering, and entertaining.

Inspiration for a transitional home gym remodel in DC Metro

Detail of light fixture in covered porch.
Elegant exterior home photo in New York

So often our task as residential architects is not to create something out of nothing. Instead, it is to help evolve, or bring forward something that is already there; to see with new eyes the best of what exists and to clarify and expand it, so that the house supports and celebrates how the client lives, and hopes to live, in the home. So was the case with our House of Blues. The house was already wonderful. There was plenty of space, good views, a functioning floor plan, and the home was in overall good condition. The best features however, were embedded in the time it was built – mid 1960’s. The views were good, but too small. The kitchen location worked well, but is was closed off, cramped, and lacking counter space. The dining room was elegant, but too large and isolated. The graceful central hallway remained the homes most unique feature, but it was dark and the entry to the rooms on either side were accessed via small doorways. The bathrooms were large enough, and in the right locations, but they were tired and dated, and there was no mudroom. We created something out of something. Beautiful shades of blue permeated the owner’s things and became a central theme in new elements. Daylight was expanded and brought deeper into the space. Doorways were widened and walls removed. The central hallway was fully opened at the end with two-story glass to improve on an already good idea. The kitchen was wholly new and expanded by borrowing space from the dining room. A mudroom was carved out of the garage. All the bathrooms were remodeled with fresh materials and new features. The gracious concrete stoop was reclad in stone and the front door was changed out for a splash of color. Light now permeates all the rooms and spaces flow together without losing their identity or function. The owners no longer feel blue in their House of Blues! Location: St Paul, MN Project Team: Ben Awes, AIA, Principal- in -Charge Nate Dodge

Example of an arts and crafts deck design in DC Metro

Inspiration for a timeless home design remodel in Kansas City

Inspiration for a transitional porch remodel in DC Metro

Inspiration for a farmhouse home bar remodel in Kansas City

Home bar - transitional home bar idea in DC Metro

Large u-shaped medium tone wood floor kitchen photo in DC Metro with recessed-panel cabinets, quartz countertops, gray backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island and white countertops

Example of a transitional bedroom design in DC Metro

Sunroom - transitional sunroom idea in New York

Example of a living room design in DC Metro

Large minimalist basement photo in Bridgeport

An existing Cape built in the 1980s was transformed through the addition of a wraparound front porch with robust but traditional columns, expanded second floor dormers, a new deck and screened-in porch facing the backyard, an expanded and open kitchen/breakfast/family room, a new mud room/laundry room/powder room suite, and a new bedroom suite in what had previously been attic space. The underlying Cape form still remains but is now expanded to have character, scale and presence befitting its rural seaside neighborhood of mostly large and elegant homes. PSD Scope Of Work: Architecture, Construction | Living Space: 3,197ft² | Photography: Brian Vanden Brink |

Closet - craftsman closet idea in DC Metro