The Sonoma Farmhaus project was designed for a cycling enthusiast with a globally demanding professional career, who wanted to create a place that could serve as both a retreat of solitude and a hub for gathering with friends and family. Located within the town of Graton, California, the site was chosen not only to be close to a small town and its community, but also to be within cycling distance to the picturesque, coastal Sonoma County landscape. Taking the traditional forms of farmhouse, and their notions of sustenance and community, as inspiration, the project comprises an assemblage of two forms - a Main House and a Guest House with Bike Barn - joined in the middle by a central outdoor gathering space anchored by a fireplace. The vision was to create something consciously restrained and one with the ground on which it stands. Simplicity, clear detailing, and an innate understanding of how things go together were all central themes behind the design. Solid walls of rammed earth blocks, fabricated from soils excavated from the site, bookend each of the structures. According to the owner, the use of simple, yet rich materials and textures...“provides a humanness I’ve not known or felt in any living venue I’ve stayed, Farmhaus is an icon of sustenance for me".

Trendy living room photo in Other

Designed by Malia Schultheis and built by Tru Form Tiny. This Tiny Home features Blue stained pine for the ceiling, pine wall boards in white, custom barn door, custom steel work throughout, and modern minimalist window trim. The Cabinetry is Maple with stainless steel countertop and hardware. The backsplash is a glass and stone mix. It only has a 2 burner cook top and no oven. The washer/ drier combo is in the kitchen area. Open shelving was installed to maintain an open feel.

The homeowners sought to create a modest, modern, lakeside cottage, nestled into a narrow lot in Tonka Bay. The site inspired a modified shotgun-style floor plan, with rooms laid out in succession from front to back. Simple and authentic materials provide a soft and inviting palette for this modern home. Wood finishes in both warm and soft grey tones complement a combination of clean white walls, blue glass tiles, steel frames, and concrete surfaces. Sustainable strategies were incorporated to provide healthy living and a net-positive-energy-use home. Onsite geothermal, solar panels, battery storage, insulation systems, and triple-pane windows combine to provide independence from frequent power outages and supply excess power to the electrical grid. Photos by Corey Gaffer

Interior staircase of an AIA East Bay Award-winning new construction home in the Berkeley Hills, CA. A two-story floating open-riser stair with hardwood treads suspended from a vertical black steel rod balustrade rises the full height of the board-formed concrete retaining wall. The hillside itself expressed as the home's most powerful interior material. The vertical steel rod balustrade creates a rhythmic screen of fine black lines against the raw concrete texture, while the continuous steel-framed skylight slot above floods the stair volume with natural light that rakes across the board-formed horizontal grain. An oak wall-mounted handrail runs the full height of the concrete wall on the right.

Front Elevation I Architect Robert Baumann I Photography Ken Gutmaker
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The upper deck includes Ipe flooring, an outdoor kitchen with concrete countertops, and a custom decorative metal railing that connects to the lower deck's artificial turf area. The ground level features custom concrete pavers, fire pit, open framed pergola with day bed and under decking system.

  Free ebook, Creating the Ideal Kitchen. DOWNLOAD NOW   We went with a minimalist, clean, industrial look that feels light, bright and airy. The island is a dark charcoal with cool undertones that coordinates with the cabinetry and transom work in both the neighboring mudroom and breakfast area. White subway tile, quartz countertops, white enamel pendants and gold fixtures complete the update. The ends of the island are shiplap material that is also used on the fireplace in the next room. In the new mudroom, we used a fun porcelain tile on the floor to get a pop of pattern, and walnut accents add some warmth. Each child has their own cubby, and there is a spot for shoes below a long bench. Open shelving with spots for baskets provides additional storage for the room. Designed by: Susan Klimala, CKBD Photography by: LOMA Studios For more information on kitchen and bath design ideas go to: www.kitchenstudio-ge.com

Photos by Aidin Mariscal
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Mark Menjivar Photographer
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The beautiful pendants over this island provide general lighting but also add a unique element to this transitional kitchen.
Inspiration for a large transitional u-shaped dark wood floor and brown floor kitchen remodel in Other with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, quartz countertops, white backsplash, stone slab backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island and white countertops

Designed by Malia Schultheis and built by Tru Form Tiny. This Tiny Home features Blue stained pine for the ceiling, pine wall boards in white, custom barn door, custom steel work throughout, and modern minimalist window trim. The Cabinetry is Maple with stainless steel countertop and hardware. The backsplash is a glass and stone mix. It only has a 2 burner cook top and no oven. The washer/ drier combo is in the kitchen area. Open shelving was installed to maintain an open feel.

Photos: Matthew Bolt Graphic Design Cabinetry by Classic Kitchens of Charleston
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Photo: Faith Towers © 2016 Houzz
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board formed concrete planter
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The removal of the existing closet made way for a custom, integrated banquette with under-seat storage. In order to minimize waste and maximize storage, the existing cabinet carcasses were refaced and extended to the nine foot ceiling. The addition of the island gives even more definition to the kitchen area.

Whit Preston
Photo of a modern landscaping in Austin.

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