A new cabin on this property overlooking Sugar Lake near Annandale, Minnesota, was built in place of an old cabin. The existing cabin was in desperate need of some major maintenance and updating, however due to a number of issues and problems, it seemed like a compelling case for a total rebuild. Therefore, to design a new cabin, a number of important considerations had to be made. Most importantly, the cabin orientation to the lake. To take advantage of the best views, the original cabin was sited diagonally with respect to its lot. However, as the result parts of the cabin was non-conforming! Meaning, it was intruding into the lot setbacks, violating the local zoning requirements. To address this concern and to maintain the desired sights and views of the lake, the architect approached the problem by introducing a system of layers at the exterior walls, to expose the views, seamlessly to the cabin's interior. This approach was the basis for the design concept and the exterior architecture. The open floor plan, extended the views throughout the interior spaces and provided ample natural lighting by utilizing a number of windows, located strategically. Another concern with the old cabin was about flooding and water intrusion. The architect observed the existing grades and by elevating the new cabin and proper grading around the new cabin, not only solved the drainage issue, he introduced the opportunity for daylight windows in the new basement. The new windows also provided the means of egress and addition living space, as the result. The homeowners were also concerned about the afternoon sun and how the old Maple tree which had to be removed earlier provide much needed shade during the afternoon. The design addressed that issue by adopting deeper eaves and overhang around the perimeter, including the gable ends and utilizing roof eyebrows, as architectural elements.

The owners desired a modest home that would enable them to experience the dual natures of the outdoors: intimate forest and sweeping views. The use of economical, pre-fabricated materials was seen as an opportunity to develop an expressive architecture. The house is organized on a four-foot module, establishing a delicate rigor for the building and maximizing the use of pre-manufactured materials. A series of open web trusses are combined with dimensional wood framing to form broad overhangs. Plywood sheets spanning between the trusses are left exposed at the eaves. An insulated aluminum window system is attached to exposed laminated wood columns, creating an expansive yet economical wall of glass in the living spaces with mountain views. On the opposite side, support spaces and a children’s desk are located along the hallway. A bridge clad in green fiber cement panels marks the entry. Visible through the front door is an angled yellow wall that opens to a protected outdoor space between the garage and living spaces, offering the first views of the mountain peaks. Living and sleeping spaces are arranged in a line, with a circulation corridor to the east. The exterior is clad in pre-finished fiber cement panels that match the horizontal spacing of the window mullions, accentuating the linear nature of the structure. Two boxes clad in corrugated metal punctuate the east elevation. At the north end of the house, a deck extends into the landscape, providing a quiet place to enjoy the view. Images by Nic LeHoux Photography

Taragano Design & Build completed this addition in Orinda, California, extending the front of an existing single story ranch. The original elevation ran flat across its whole length, which on a long low house leaves the entry with nothing to distinguish it. The addition breaks that line by projecting forward, and the entry now sits in the inside corner where the two volumes meet. That corner does the work a porch or portico would do on a different house, without adding anything applied. Roof pitch and eave height were matched to the original rather than raised. A taller addition would have read as newer construction grafted on. Holding the ridge below the existing line keeps the house reading as one building, which is the entire test on a front elevation. The bay window carries a stone base rather than running siding to grade. That detail is practical before it is decorative. Splash back from the walkway and planting beds is what eventually damages siding at the bottom course, and stone at the base ends that problem permanently on the most exposed face of the addition. Approach was reworked at the same time. The walkway swings across rather than running straight at the door, so the house is seen before it is entered. Licensed general contractor, CSLB #1143420. Diamond Certified.

This detached garage uses vertical space for smart storage. A lift was installed for the owners' toys including a dirt bike. A full sized SUV fits underneath of the lift and the garage is deep enough to site two cars deep, side by side. Additionally, a storage loft can be accessed by pull-down stairs. Trex flooring was installed for a slip-free, mess-free finish. The outside of the garage was built to match the existing home while also making it stand out with copper roofing and gutters. A mini-split air conditioner makes the space comfortable for tinkering year-round. The low profile garage doors and wall-mounted opener also keep vertical space at a premium.

Example of a danish patio design in Phoenix

Side view of the arched entryway to this large Mediterranean style home in Saratoga, CA. The corbeled arches and window columns add luxurious detail to the exterior.

The client’s intention was for installation of a retractable waterproof patio cover system to provide heavy rain, hail, heat, sun, glare and UV protection for their backyard patio area.

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

During excavation for this new modern home, large granite boulders rose to the surface from the primordial hillside. Instead of displacing these monoliths from the site from which they were created, they were arranged to define space. A circle of boulders stand guard around a custom built fire pit, providing protection from the wind while offering a place to climb or sit. The extended landscape view from the lawn is kept intact by the introduction of a ha-ha, a traditional landscape feature, that hides the productive garden and keeps it from breaking the view. Native and drought tolerant plantings hug the outer edges of the property for minimal use of irrigation and to visually blend into the surrounding hillside. This project also features a custom ipe bench with integrated lighting, waterjet address numbers with night lighting, and hardscape that complements the form and materiality of the architecture to create a harmonious transition into the horizontal plane. Photography: Louie Jeon Photography

The owners desired a modest home that would enable them to experience the dual natures of the outdoors: intimate forest and sweeping views. The use of economical, pre-fabricated materials was seen as an opportunity to develop an expressive architecture. The house is organized on a four-foot module, establishing a delicate rigor for the building and maximizing the use of pre-manufactured materials. A series of open web trusses are combined with dimensional wood framing to form broad overhangs. Plywood sheets spanning between the trusses are left exposed at the eaves. An insulated aluminum window system is attached to exposed laminated wood columns, creating an expansive yet economical wall of glass in the living spaces with mountain views. On the opposite side, support spaces and a children’s desk are located along the hallway. A bridge clad in green fiber cement panels marks the entry. Visible through the front door is an angled yellow wall that opens to a protected outdoor space between the garage and living spaces, offering the first views of the mountain peaks. Living and sleeping spaces are arranged in a line, with a circulation corridor to the east. The exterior is clad in pre-finished fiber cement panels that match the horizontal spacing of the window mullions, accentuating the linear nature of the structure. Two boxes clad in corrugated metal punctuate the east elevation. At the north end of the house, a deck extends into the landscape, providing a quiet place to enjoy the view. Images by Nic LeHoux Photography

The cabin typology redux came out of the owner’s desire to have a house that is warm and familiar, but also “feels like you are on vacation.” The basis of the “Hewn House” design starts with a cabin’s simple form and materiality: a gable roof, a wood-clad body, a prominent fireplace that acts as the hearth, and integrated indoor-outdoor spaces. However, rather than a rustic style, the scheme proposes a clean-lined and “hewned” form, sculpted, to best fit on its urban infill lot. The plan and elevation geometries are responsive to the unique site conditions. Existing prominent trees determined the faceted shape of the main house, while providing shade that projecting eaves of a traditional log cabin would otherwise offer. Deferring to the trees also allows the house to more readily tuck into its leafy East Austin neighborhood, and is therefore more quiet and secluded. Natural light and coziness are key inside the home. Both the common zone and the private quarters extend to sheltered outdoor spaces of varying scales: the front porch, the private patios, and the back porch which acts as a transition to the backyard. Similar to the front of the house, a large cedar elm was preserved in the center of the yard. Sliding glass doors open up the interior living zone to the backyard life while clerestory windows bring in additional ambient light and tree canopy views. The wood ceiling adds warmth and connection to the exterior knotted cedar tongue & groove. The iron spot bricks with an earthy, reddish tone around the fireplace cast a new material interest both inside and outside. The gable roof is clad with standing seam to reinforced the clean-lined and faceted form. Furthermore, a dark gray shade of stucco contrasts and complements the warmth of the cedar with its coolness. A freestanding guest house both separates from and connects to the main house through a small, private patio with a tall steel planter bed. Photo by Charles Davis Smith

Design & Supply by Astro Design, Ottawa Canada Timeless yet fresh in its aesthetic and efficient in its layout, this beautiful kitchen is sure to become a well used and thoroughly enjoyed heart and hub of this new home. Doublespace Photography

Quinn and Paige, residents of this tired 1960’s tri-level home hated their kitchen. As a matter of fact, prior to making plans to renovate the first floor - they considered selling the home, but were reluctant because of its enviable location near the heart of downtown Barrington which was within walking distance to local stores and all their favorite places. So instead they contacted Advance Design Studio after hearing about them from a neighbor, to rescue their tired home and give it new life. The very first plan was to remove the constricting walls surrounding the original kitchen, and open the expansive first floor living room and dining area to the new heart of the space; a stunning state of the art coastal designed kitchen. Exposing attractive beams in the vaulted ceiling created an interesting structural detail that suits the open plan and salutes the original architecture of the home, further emphasizing the height of the new space enjoyed now by the family as a great room. The stage was set for the seaside feel of this kitchen by pairing crisp white painted maple cabinets with Dura Supreme’s one of kind hand weathered finish on the island in soft blue-green finish. But the authentic feeling of being on your favorite beach was supremely achieved by the matching of unique Mt. Claire marble on the island and the specialty Wareham acid washed stone on the perimeter counter tops. Pictures don’t do justice to the feel of this stone under your hand; its water-washed texture reminds instantly of summer vacations collecting rocks softly etched by hundreds of waves. Stainless steel appliances and satin nickel hardware shine brightly against the backdrop of bright white subway tiles accentuated by subtle grey grout lines contributing to the nautical feel of this comfortable kitchen. Seeded glass door cabinetry reminiscent of beach grasses dress up the space just enough, and a proud 6” stacked crown molding extends above 36” wall cabinets into the expanse of the now taller space; balancing this kitchen nicely within its newly integrated home. Features in this kitchen include a built in standard depth refrigerator, pull out spice racks, tall tray dividers and wood super Susan with double pull out trash and recycling. A cutlery divider holds sharp knives, and an angled cabinet was customized to hold a secret USB charging station. The bright white Kohler farm sink is graced by an elegant bridge faucet in brushed nickel. This now airy and spacious kitchen has room for guest and family to congregate around the large island, complete with stools and attractive hidden storage for seldom used entertainment pieces. “I was sold when I saw the drawings. My designer nailed it, down to every last storage idea and coastal detail I envisioned, it was all in there. It was unbelievable how accurate her interpretation was of what was in my head; working with her made my kitchen renovation so easy, it’s as if she literally read my mind”, said Paige enthusiastically. The woman of the house expressed upon completion not only her love for her fantastic new cooking space, but how renovating her kitchen has given new life to the entire home. Talk of moving has been relegated to the recycling bin, and instead the family is discussing plans to renovate the master bath now that they’ve decided to stay for the long term. Friends who visit the home do a double-take as they recognize the new space’s dramatic transformation from original cramped and closed spaces - to the now amazingly fresh open kitchen that has become the center of every gathering and family meal. Designer: Nicole Ryan Photographer: Joe Nowak

Small elegant side yard stone patio photo in Minneapolis with a roof extension

A well pruned wisteria vine blooms profusely on this pergola.
Photo of a traditional partial sun backyard landscaping in Boston with decking for spring.

Exterior, brick, lime, limewash, painted brick, architectural finish

The cabin typology redux came out of the owner’s desire to have a house that is warm and familiar, but also “feels like you are on vacation.” The basis of the “Hewn House” design starts with a cabin’s simple form and materiality: a gable roof, a wood-clad body, a prominent fireplace that acts as the hearth, and integrated indoor-outdoor spaces. However, rather than a rustic style, the scheme proposes a clean-lined and “hewned” form, sculpted, to best fit on its urban infill lot. The plan and elevation geometries are responsive to the unique site conditions. Existing prominent trees determined the faceted shape of the main house, while providing shade that projecting eaves of a traditional log cabin would otherwise offer. Deferring to the trees also allows the house to more readily tuck into its leafy East Austin neighborhood, and is therefore more quiet and secluded. Natural light and coziness are key inside the home. Both the common zone and the private quarters extend to sheltered outdoor spaces of varying scales: the front porch, the private patios, and the back porch which acts as a transition to the backyard. Similar to the front of the house, a large cedar elm was preserved in the center of the yard. Sliding glass doors open up the interior living zone to the backyard life while clerestory windows bring in additional ambient light and tree canopy views. The wood ceiling adds warmth and connection to the exterior knotted cedar tongue & groove. The iron spot bricks with an earthy, reddish tone around the fireplace cast a new material interest both inside and outside. The gable roof is clad with standing seam to reinforced the clean-lined and faceted form. Furthermore, a dark gray shade of stucco contrasts and complements the warmth of the cedar with its coolness. A freestanding guest house both separates from and connects to the main house through a small, private patio with a tall steel planter bed. Photo by Charles Davis Smith

The cabin typology redux came out of the owner’s desire to have a house that is warm and familiar, but also “feels like you are on vacation.” The basis of the “Hewn House” design starts with a cabin’s simple form and materiality: a gable roof, a wood-clad body, a prominent fireplace that acts as the hearth, and integrated indoor-outdoor spaces. However, rather than a rustic style, the scheme proposes a clean-lined and “hewned” form, sculpted, to best fit on its urban infill lot. The plan and elevation geometries are responsive to the unique site conditions. Existing prominent trees determined the faceted shape of the main house, while providing shade that projecting eaves of a traditional log cabin would otherwise offer. Deferring to the trees also allows the house to more readily tuck into its leafy East Austin neighborhood, and is therefore more quiet and secluded. Natural light and coziness are key inside the home. Both the common zone and the private quarters extend to sheltered outdoor spaces of varying scales: the front porch, the private patios, and the back porch which acts as a transition to the backyard. Similar to the front of the house, a large cedar elm was preserved in the center of the yard. Sliding glass doors open up the interior living zone to the backyard life while clerestory windows bring in additional ambient light and tree canopy views. The wood ceiling adds warmth and connection to the exterior knotted cedar tongue & groove. The iron spot bricks with an earthy, reddish tone around the fireplace cast a new material interest both inside and outside. The gable roof is clad with standing seam to reinforced the clean-lined and faceted form. Furthermore, a dark gray shade of stucco contrasts and complements the warmth of the cedar with its coolness. A freestanding guest house both separates from and connects to the main house through a small, private patio with a tall steel planter bed. Photo by Charles Davis Smith

A welcoming entry porch for a craftsman style residence.
Example of an arts and crafts entryway design in San Francisco