This house sits along an array of lakes and canals which highlights the landscape of a golf course. A clear objective of the architecture is to focus on large openings to enjoy the view of the surrounding landscape. Serving the same purpose, the house has been set high on stilts, a clear reference to Thai traditional architecture. The house seems to float in the air. The large cantilevered openings are framed by the stone cladding. Another objective of the architecture is to blend itself seamlessly into the landscape. The two objectives of the stone work were to focus on the large framed openings and to blend into the landscape. The travertine chosen by the architect has a smooth and warm color which blends well with the wood cladding and landscape. It displays complex movements, crystalline veins, and color blends which accentuates its natural character. The challenge was to display this natural character, while ensuring a perfect continuity in the opening frames. The color and pattern of the stone had to continue seamlessly along the four sides of each frame, while still featuring the natural character of the stone. This required long drying times in our factory, and detailed piece-per-piece touch-up to smooth outstanding features of the stone.

Twenty-eight book-matched slabs of Calcutta Gold were used in the remodeling of a private residence, including the addition of a master bath. The bath was designed to include areas for the toilet and bidet, shower, Japanese soaking tub and bath and vanity room. The stone floors were mud set over an in-floor radiant heating system. The angles in the design of this project challenged the two-man crew, who did the installation in 10 weeks. In the shower and tub deck, almost every piece of stone on the walls had to be measured, fabricated, and installed before the next piece could be measured. Numerous master stone craftsmen brought an incredible vision to life.

This house sits along an array of lakes and canals which highlights the landscape of a golf course. A clear objective of the architecture is to focus on large openings to enjoy the view of the surrounding landscape. Serving the same purpose, the house has been set high on stilts, a clear reference to Thai traditional architecture. The house seems to float in the air. The large cantilevered openings are framed by the stone cladding. Another objective of the architecture is to blend itself seamlessly into the landscape. The two objectives of the stone work were to focus on the large framed openings and to blend into the landscape. The travertine chosen by the architect has a smooth and warm color which blends well with the wood cladding and landscape. It displays complex movements, crystalline veins, and color blends which accentuates its natural character. The challenge was to display this natural character, while ensuring a perfect continuity in the opening frames. The color and pattern of the stone had to continue seamlessly along the four sides of each frame, while still featuring the natural character of the stone. This required long drying times in our factory, and detailed piece-per-piece touch-up to smooth outstanding features of the stone.

The permeable paver design was required to meet the impervious cover limitations and water quality requirements at Post Oak Community. The Pavestone Eco-Venetian was selected as the 4-piece combo provides a striking visual interest to the pavement. The designer, Watts & Browning Engineers out of Marietta, Georgia, was also able to manage storm drainage and provide stormwater detention with the benefit of an aesthetic that matches the design of the new homes while complimenting the surrounding existing homes. The warmth of the Chattanooga Sandstone color includes the earth tones of buff and charcoal to make a subtle blend that of a natural stone. Given the design of the subdivision incorporating permeable pavers, all stormwater is contained out of sight and out of mind with only the beauty to see. 2016 HNA Award Winner: Concrete Paver - Permeable - Residential Contractor: Surfaces Group LLC Product Manufacturer: Pavestone Project Designer: Watts & Browning Engineers, Inc.

The design of the living room continues the non-orthogonal concept of the external architecture. The facets enhance the modernity and underline the light beams entering the room from the south west side. The stone color reacts and contrasts in relation to the angle and orientation to the main natural light source in ar array of hues of greys, greens and blues. The continuation of the stone pattern from the outside to the inside emphasizes the flow of the light. Stones and Roses International (SRI) started this challenging piece of work from a general elevation. The first step consisted in building a 3d model in particle board. Then SRI followed through with the 3d Auto-CAD drawing of the stone wall. Folding the stone along the facets, involved the drawing of more than 40 sections which were later assembled at precise angles. The last step consisted of calculating the size and angle of each slab for production. SRI also designed and manufactured the steel structure which was erected parallel and recessed from the stone wall in order to receive the dry fixing anchors for the installation of the stone slabs.

2018 HNA Awards Honorable Mention - Combination of Hardscape Products - Residential (size more than 4,000 sf) Contractor: GoldGlo Landscapes Producer: Techo-Bloc Designer: GoldGlo Landscapes The clients wanted the driveway, walkwayss and patio colors and textures to compliment the colors of the brick on the house. The client requested that the front walk extend into the yard to create a focal point. Sufficient access to the carriage house and ample parking for guests were important to the client. The client wanted a large entertaining space with a grill and a large wood burning fireplace, and a smaller fire pit patio with pillars and a pergola to create a separate intimate seating area. All materials and products were carefully chosen to bring out the compliment and enhance the desired style of this property and the look of the new home. The vast hardscape areas surrounded and completed with landscape plantings that provide four seasons of stunning color and interest truly creates the look and feel of a Federal style Estate.

Mid Century Home Remodel By Kim Colwell Design with an affiliation with Shambhalla Institute.
Large 1960s open concept medium tone wood floor living room photo in Los Angeles with green walls, a standard fireplace and a stone fireplace

This house sits along an array of lakes and canals which highlights the landscape of a golf course. A clear objective of the architecture is to focus on large openings to enjoy the view of the surrounding landscape. Serving the same purpose, the house has been set high on stilts, a clear reference to Thai traditional architecture. The house seems to float in the air. The large cantilevered openings are framed by the stone cladding. Another objective of the architecture is to blend itself seamlessly into the landscape. The two objectives of the stone work were to focus on the large framed openings and to blend into the landscape. The travertine chosen by the architect has a smooth and warm color which blends well with the wood cladding and landscape. It displays complex movements, crystalline veins, and color blends which accentuates its natural character. The challenge was to display this natural character, while ensuring a perfect continuity in the opening frames. The color and pattern of the stone had to continue seamlessly along the four sides of each frame, while still featuring the natural character of the stone. This required long drying times in our factory, and detailed piece-per-piece touch-up to smooth outstanding features of the stone.

The artist-client for this house, located on Washington’s Orcas Island, requested an open, simple, low- maintenance design that emphasized and complemented nature and the forested landscape of its site. The hillside site has magnificent views to the west and is populated with madrone trees, firs, beech, thistle, moss, and rocks. Photo: Will Austin

Shambhalla Institute founders, Kim Colwell & Melinda Joy Miller Feng Shui Client. Each detail was suggested to trigger a sense of creativity, balance, harmony, connectivity, and enliven the room with a feel of being social at any moment.

Space Revitalization - Design on a Budget by Kim Colwell for the Shambhalla Institute.
Living room - small contemporary living room idea in Los Angeles

This contemporary 18,000 sq. ft. home in Paradise Valley, Arizona is a perfect mix of Gray limestone used on all horizontal surfaces and Cream, vein cut limestone on all vertical surfaces. The Gray limestone flooring was mud packed to meet 1.5 in. wood flooring areas using uncoupling membrane throughout. Numerous hours went into the layout to insure architectural detail lines were met. Oversized tiles were planned to ensure all layouts met crucial lines per the design. Blue limestone was used setting the path to the front entry. All pieces at the edges were mitered to appear to be thick, block stone. The veneer walls were alternated in size to reach the exact width at the top band of the walls. The edge detailing created interesting shadow play, both day and night, at interior and exterior locations. This detail is also noted on the fireplaces. Blue limestone hearths, which floated at all locations, used the same quirk mitered edges. Five showers throughout the main house share the same veneer and flooring materials. Blue limestone slab benches were fabricated to rest on a stainless steel frame. The shower floors were mapped out to the exact dimensions so there were no cuts, but rather the same size pieces continually framing the space to the center drain.

Photo Credit © David Matheson
Family room - enclosed medium tone wood floor and brown floor family room idea in DC Metro with brown walls

Kim Colwell Designed this living room for the Shambhalla Institute. Her specialty is combining her skill as an interior designer with her background as a second generation feng shui master and trained in design psychology. Our projects feel as good as they look. See Kim Colwell Design for full portfolio.

The design of the living room continues the non-orthogonal concept of the external architecture. The facets enhance the modernity and underline the light beams entering the room from the south west side. The stone color reacts and contrasts in relation to the angle and orientation to the main natural light source in ar array of hues of greys, greens and blues. The continuation of the stone pattern from the outside to the inside emphasizes the flow of the light. Stones and Roses International (SRI) started this challenging piece of work from a general elevation. The first step consisted in building a 3d model in particle board. Then SRI followed through with the 3d Auto-CAD drawing of the stone wall. Folding the stone along the facets, involved the drawing of more than 40 sections which were later assembled at precise angles. The last step consisted of calculating the size and angle of each slab for production. SRI also designed and manufactured the steel structure which was erected parallel and recessed from the stone wall in order to receive the dry fixing anchors for the installation of the stone slabs.

This contemporary 18,000 sq. ft. home in Paradise Valley, Arizona is a perfect mix of Gray limestone used on all horizontal surfaces and Cream, vein cut limestone on all vertical surfaces. The Gray limestone flooring was mud packed to meet 1.5 in. wood flooring areas using uncoupling membrane throughout. Numerous hours went into the layout to insure architectural detail lines were met. Oversized tiles were planned to ensure all layouts met crucial lines per the design. Blue limestone was used setting the path to the front entry. All pieces at the edges were mitered to appear to be thick, block stone. The veneer walls were alternated in size to reach the exact width at the top band of the walls. The edge detailing created interesting shadow play, both day and night, at interior and exterior locations. This detail is also noted on the fireplaces. Blue limestone hearths, which floated at all locations, used the same quirk mitered edges. Five showers throughout the main house share the same veneer and flooring materials. Blue limestone slab benches were fabricated to rest on a stainless steel frame. The shower floors were mapped out to the exact dimensions so there were no cuts, but rather the same size pieces continually framing the space to the center drain.

The project was done in a residence on 5th Avenue in New York City. The project was designed by Molyneaux Studio, the contractor was Clark Construction. There were three separate rooms involved in the job, his bath, her bath, and a powder room. All the stone was two centimeters thick. Green and White Onyx were used in his bath, while Yellow and White Onyx was selected for her bathroom. The powder room was done in Calacatta Vagil. Everything, except the shower floors were polished. The shower walls were flat panels. The rest of the walls in both baths were done as a wainscot. This wainscot was designed in a stile, rail with beveled cetner panel all set on top of a profiled base and topped off with a profiled chair rail. The door casings were built up to mimic three inch thick material. This build up was done in such a way that no lamination is visible. Projects of this nature pose challenges of many different types. The most difficult challenge comes from the fragile nature of the material and working it into such a wide variety of different elements. Of course, the stile and rail design require a great degree of fabricating accuracy. I think my fellow fabricators can appreciate the skill and effort required to complete a project of this nature.

This private residence boasts of old-world masonry with Classic Italian Palladian Architecture. The architect designed this 6-14 acre creekside property around the 29,000 square-foot home. The estate incorporates a four-car garage inclusive of servants quarters, and a pool cabana/pavilion. Expansive areas of hardscape connect buildings on the property. The main exterior cladding is Texas Lueders Limestone. It was used for wall panels as well as plinths, window surrounds, balustrade assemblies, solid columns, and cornices. In a method of old-world construction, the limestone was fabricated to plus zero in tolerance to accomodate 1/8" lime-mortar joints. "Border Stones" were utilized with the lime-mortar joints system to interlock the stone facade to the CMU wall behind. Large stone column and window assemblies make up th east and west facades. These load-bearing elements support the pediment assemblies and structure above. The arches at the Pavilion were also designed as load-bearing, where pediment kneelers were cut from two separate carved pieces and epoxied together. Weighing 7,200 lbs each, the kneelers had to be set with a 180 ton crane in order to reach over two very large existing oak trees. The garage and pool cabana were constructed with the same stone cladding system, and with similar load-bearing elements.

Freestanding bathtub - large transitional master white tile and marble tile dark wood floor and brown floor freestanding bathtub idea in Houston with white walls, furniture-like cabinets, a two-piece toilet, an undermount sink, quartz countertops and white countertops