Focus-Pocus
Example of a transitional living room design in Chicago

For this house “contextual” means focusing the good view and taking the bad view out of focus. In order to accomplish this, the form of the house was inspired by horse blinders. Conceived as two tubes with directed views, one tube is for entertaining and the other one for sleeping. Directly across the street from the house is a lake, “the good view.” On all other sides of the house are neighbors of very close proximity which cause privacy issues and unpleasant views – “the bad view.” Thus the sides and rear are mostly solid in order to block out the less desirable views and the front is completely transparent in order to frame and capture the lake – “horse blinders.” There are several sustainable features in the house’s detailing. The entire structure is made of pre-fabricated recycled steel and concrete. Through the extensive use of high tech and super efficient glass, both as windows and clerestories, there is no need for artificial light during the day. The heating for the building is provided by a radiant system composed of several hundred feet of tubes filled with hot water embedded into the concrete floors. The façade is made up of composite board that is held away from the skin in order to create ventilated façade. This ventilation helps to control the temperature of the building envelope and a more stable temperature indoors. Photo Credit: Alistair Tutton

design by Pulp Design Studios | http://pulpdesignstudios.com/ photo by Kevin Dotolo | http://kevindotolo.com/

Study room - coastal built-in desk study room idea in Dallas

Remodel of mid century modern kitchen. New windows and skylights bring in more light while an improved floor plan improves flow and functionality. Design - Fivedot design build Photos by cleary o'farrell

John McManus Photography
Mid-sized farmhouse master dark wood floor freestanding bathtub photo in Atlanta with an undermount sink, white cabinets and marble countertops

Mid-sized eclectic built-in desk carpeted study room photo in New York with gray walls and no fireplace

Brad + Jen Butcher
Family room library - large contemporary open concept medium tone wood floor and brown floor family room library idea in Nashville with gray walls

Images by Nic LeHoux Designed as a home and studio for a photographer and his young family, Lightbox is located on a peninsula that extends south from British Columbia across the border to Point Roberts. The densely forested site lies beside a 180-acre park that overlooks the Strait of Georgia, the San Juan Islands and the Puget Sound. Having experienced the world from under a black focusing cloth and large format camera lens, the photographer has a special fondness for simplicity and an appreciation of unique, genuine and well-crafted details. The home was made decidedly modest, in size and means, with a building skin utilizing simple materials in a straightforward yet innovative configuration. The result is a structure crafted from affordable and common materials such as exposed wood two-bys that form the structural frame and directly support a prefabricated aluminum window system of standard glazing units uniformly sized to reduce the complexity and overall cost. Accessed from the west on a sloped boardwalk that bisects its two contrasting forms, the house sits lightly on the land above the forest floor. A south facing two-story glassy cage for living captures the sun and view as it celebrates the interplay of light and shadow in the forest. To the north, stairs are contained in a thin wooden box stained black with a traditional Finnish pine tar coating. Narrow apertures in the otherwise solid dark wooden wall sharply focus the vibrant cropped views of the old growth fir trees at the edge of the deep forest. Lightbox is an uncomplicated yet powerful gesture that enables one to view the subtlety and beauty of the site while providing comfort and pleasure in the constantly changing light of the forest.

Mid-sized contemporary black one-story metal exterior home idea in Los Angeles

Example of a mountain style master freestanding bathtub design in Other

Up the ante of your bachelor's retreat (and alternative rooms) aesthetic by adding a meticulously stylised cornice boards. The cornice boards in this house includes (2) different materials, an upholstered wood top molding and absolutely symmetrical handicraft on the curtains. Also, the (4) animal skin wing-backed chairs square measure superbly adorned with nail-heads that are carried throughout the design. This bachelor retreat features a stunning pendant and hand-tufted ottoman table. This house is warm and welcoming and perfect for intimate conversations amongst family and friends for years to come. Please take note - when using cornices, one should decide what proportion return is required. Return is the distance your material hangs away from the wall. Yes, this additionally affects the proportion. Usually, return is 3½ inches. However, larger or taller windows might need a deeper return to avoid the fabric from getting squashed against the wall. An example of a mid-sized transitional formal dining area in Houston, Texas with dark hardwood floors, more, however totally different, large damask wallpaper on the ceiling, (6) custom upholstered striped fabric, scroll back chairs surrounding a gorgeous, glass top dining table, chandelier, artwork and foliage pull this area along for a really elegant, yet masculine space. As for the guest chambers, we carried the inspiration from the bachelor retreat into the space and fabricated (2) more upholstered cornices and custom window treatments, bedding, pillows, upholstered (with nail-heads used in the dining area chairs) headboard, giant damask wallpaper and brown paint. Styling tips: (A) Use nail-heads on furnishings within the alternative rooms to display a reoccurring motif among the house. (B) Use a similar material from one amongst your upholstered furnishing items on the cornice board for visual uniformity. Photo by: Kenny Fenton

Walls were removed to enlarge and open kitchen to living space in this 1940/50 ranch home in Woodside. The ceiling was vaulted to match the existing redwood ceilings in the adjacent living space- no easy feat, with the odd angles and sub-standard construction of the existing home. Beauty is not only 'skin-deep' since the sustainable design & green building focused on Home Performance, Systems Approach, and Green Building techniques and processes that you do not see in the photos of the finished space. What you do see are innovative 'Green' materials like Lyptus cabinets, Kirei & stainless steel accents, Quartz Stone counters, Glass Tile backsplash, Low VOC paint. All lighting in the Kitchen and Laundry/Mud room & adjoining Powder Room is either LED or Fluorescent. The only incandescent lighting is in the fixture in the Dining Room seen in the upper left of this photo. There are also fluorescent sconces in the Dining Room area. With proper lighting design, there is plenty of very energy efficient lighting in this beautiful and functional space.

Inspiration for a contemporary freestanding desk home office remodel in New York with beige walls

These young hip professional clients love to travel and wanted a home where they could showcase the items that they've collected abroad. Their fun and vibrant personalities are expressed in every inch of the space, which was personalized down to the smallest details. Just like they are up for adventure in life, they were up for for adventure in the design and the outcome was truly one-of-kind. Photo by Chipper Hatter

An over-scaled artwork, an Hermes bench, and John Robshaw pillows on a comfy L-shaped couch cozy up a contemporary living room.
Example of a mid-sized trendy formal living room design in Los Angeles with beige walls, no fireplace and no tv

Photo of a mid-century modern landscaping in San Luis Obispo.

For this house “contextual” means focusing the good view and taking the bad view out of focus. In order to accomplish this, the form of the house was inspired by horse blinders. Conceived as two tubes with directed views, one tube is for entertaining and the other one for sleeping. Directly across the street from the house is a lake, “the good view.” On all other sides of the house are neighbors of very close proximity which cause privacy issues and unpleasant views – “the bad view.” Thus the sides and rear are mostly solid in order to block out the less desirable views and the front is completely transparent in order to frame and capture the lake – “horse blinders.” There are several sustainable features in the house’s detailing. The entire structure is made of pre-fabricated recycled steel and concrete. Through the extensive use of high tech and super efficient glass, both as windows and clerestories, there is no need for artificial light during the day. The heating for the building is provided by a radiant system composed of several hundred feet of tubes filled with hot water embedded into the concrete floors. The façade is made up of composite board that is held away from the skin in order to create ventilated façade. This ventilation helps to control the temperature of the building envelope and a more stable temperature indoors. Photo Credit: Alistair Tutton

We wanted to create a welcoming statement upon entering this newly built, expansive house with soaring ceilings. To focus your attention on the entry and not the ceiling, we selected a custom, 48- inch round foyer table. It has a French Wax glaze, hand-rubbed, on the solid concrete table. The trefoil planter is made by the same U.S facility, where all products are created by hand using eco- friendly materials. The finish is white -wash and is also concrete. Because of its weight, it’s almost impossible to move, so the client adds freshly planted flowers according to the season. The table is grounded by the lux, hair- on -hide skin rug. A bronze sculpture measuring 2 feet wide buy 3 feet high fits perfectly in the built-in alcove. While the hexagon space is large, it’s six walls are not equal in size and wrap around a massive staircase, making furniture placement an awkward challenge We chose a stately Italian cabinet with curved door fronts and hand hammered metal buttons to further frame the area. The metal botanical wall sculptures have a glossy lacquer finish. The various sizes compose elements of proportion on the walls above. The graceful candelabra, with its classic spindled silhouette holds 28 candles and the delicate arms rise -up like a blossoming flower. You can’t help but wowed in this elegant foyer. it’s almost impossible to move, so the client adds freshly planted flowers according to the season.