To spotlight the owners’ worldly decor, this remodel quietly complements the furniture and art textures, colors, and patterns abundant in this beautiful home. The original master bath had a 1980s style in dire need of change. By stealing an adjacent bedroom for the new master closet, the bath transformed into an artistic and spacious space. The jet-black herringbone-patterned floor adds visual interest to highlight the freestanding soaking tub. Schoolhouse-style shell white sconces flank the matching his and her vanities. The new generous master shower features polished nickel dual shower heads and hand shower and is wrapped in Bedrosian Porcelain Manifica Series in Luxe White with satin finish. The kitchen started as dated and isolated. To add flow and more natural light, the wall between the bar and the kitchen was removed, along with exterior windows, which allowed for a complete redesign. The result is a streamlined, open, and light-filled kitchen that flows into the adjacent family room and bar areas – perfect for quiet family nights or entertaining with friends. Crystal Cabinets in white matte sheen with satin brass pulls, and the white matte ceramic backsplash provides a sleek and neutral palette. The newly-designed island features Calacutta Royal Leather Finish quartz and Kohler sink and fixtures. The island cabinets are finished in black sheen to anchor this seating and prep area, featuring round brass pendant fixtures. One end of the island provides the perfect prep and cut area with maple finish butcher block to match the stove hood accents. French White Oak flooring warms the entire area. The Miele 48” Dual Fuel Range with Griddle offers the perfect features for simple or gourmet meal preparation. A new dining nook makes for picture-perfect seating for night or day dining. Welcome to artful living in Worldly Heritage style. Photographer: Andrew - OpenHouse VC

What began as a renovation project morphed into a new house, driven by the natural beauty of the site. The new structures are perfectly aligned with the coastline, and take full advantage of the views of ocean, islands, and shoals. The location is within walking distance of town and its amenities, yet miles away in the privacy it affords. The house is nestled on a nicely wooded lot, giving the residence screening from the street, with an open meadow leading to the ocean on the rear of the lot. The design concept was driven by the serenity of the site, enhanced by textures of trees, plantings, sand and shoreline. The newly constructed house sits quietly in a location advantageously positioned to take full advantage of natural light and solar orientations. The visual calm is enhanced by the natural material: stone, wood, and metal throughout the home. The main structures are comprised of traditional New England forms, with modern connectors serving to unify the structures. Each building is equally suited for single floor living, if that future needs is ever necessary. Unique too is an underground connection between main house and an outbuilding. With their flowing connections, no room is isolated or ignored; instead each reflects a different level of privacy and social interaction. Just as there are layers to the exterior in beach, field, forest and oceans, the inside has a layered approach. Textures in wood, stone, and neutral colors combine with the warmth of linens, wools, and metals. Personality and character of the interiors and its furnishings are tailored to the client’s lifestyle. Rooms are arranged and organized in an intersection of public and private spaces. The quiet palette within reflects the nature outside, enhanced with artwork and accessories.

The goal of this gut renovation was to create three isolated rooms: main bedroom and two small working studios. Each studio has custom made furniture for sleeping, as well as working tables and closets. Both can be used as a guest bedroom, if necessary.

Sometimes a home’s location is too good to move away from and so you start to look inward for your dream home. This would be the case for our Whisper Path House, where the interior of the house needed to be completely overhauled to accommodate the owner’s dream retirement home. Two living areas and isolated kitchen, divided by a solid walls will merge together, creating a single open-concept living-kitchen-dining room within the heart of the home. The new kitchen features a massive 14ft long island, custom cabinets and a separate dishwashing area that overlooks the lush backyard. The spacious living room follows suite and features folding glass doors that allows the room to double in size by opening up on to an adjacent covered patio. The project is currently under construction.

We transformed this dark and isolated kitchen, dining, and family room into a large, open concept space for a family who loves to cook and entertain. Using the floors and kitchen cabinet colors as an anchor, we opted to keep everything else light and bright while allowing seasonal decor items to serve as our bold color statement in the space. We chose a quartz countertop as an island waterfall and kitchen backsplash to ensure this space remains easy to use for years to come. Interior Design by Bennett Design Co

Sometimes a home’s location is too good to move away from and so you start to look inward for your dream home. This would be the case for our Whisper Path House, where the interior of the house needed to be completely overhauled to accommodate the owner’s dream retirement home. Two living areas and isolated kitchen, divided by a solid walls will merge together, creating a single open-concept living-kitchen-dining room within the heart of the home. The new kitchen features a massive 14ft long island, custom cabinets and a separate dishwashing area that overlooks the lush backyard. The spacious living room follows suite and features folding glass doors that allows the room to double in size by opening up on to an adjacent covered patio. The project is currently under construction.

This project for a builder husband and interior-designer wife involved adding onto and restoring the luster of a c. 1883 Carpenter Gothic cottage in Barrington that they had occupied for years while raising their two sons. They were ready to ditch their small tacked-on kitchen that was mostly isolated from the rest of the house, views/daylight, as well as the yard, and replace it with something more generous, brighter, and more open that would improve flow inside and out. They were also eager for a better mudroom, new first-floor 3/4 bath, new basement stair, and a new second-floor master suite above. The design challenge was to conceive of an addition and renovations that would be in balanced conversation with the original house without dwarfing or competing with it. The new cross-gable addition echoes the original house form, at a somewhat smaller scale and with a simplified more contemporary exterior treatment that is sympathetic to the old house but clearly differentiated from it. Renovations included the removal of replacement vinyl windows by others and the installation of new Pella black clad windows in the original house, a new dormer in one of the son’s bedrooms, and in the addition. At the first-floor interior intersection between the existing house and the addition, two new large openings enhance flow and access to daylight/view and are outfitted with pairs of salvaged oversized clear-finished wooden barn-slider doors that lend character and visual warmth. A new exterior deck off the kitchen addition leads to a new enlarged backyard patio that is also accessible from the new full basement directly below the addition. (Interior fit-out and interior finishes/fixtures by the Owners)

When you arrive you'll be pleasantly greeted to soaring ceilings, stylish light fixtures & stunning wood tile flooring throughout. The owner has spent over $300k in updating & expanding the chefs kitchen by adding 165 sqft. There's a lovely formal dining room which flows nicely into the main living room which boasts: a cozy gas fireplace with floor to ceiling stone backsplash, surround sound, tons of windows for natural lighting & a nice view of the enormous backyard. The kitchen defines class and style featuring: all stainless steel JennAir appliances, 6 burner range w/ flattop griddle, 2 stunning islands (1 island seats 4 people. 1 island seats 10) equipped w/ unique Quartize countertops, abundant soft close cabinets, wet bar area w/ a 65 TV, 2 dual drawer fridge/freezer combo, and 3 pantry areas. Off the kitchen area is a lovely full bathroom, laundry room & isolated spacious room which could be a gym, office or 4th bedroom.

The owner of this distinguished Somerville late Victorian wanted not just a new kitchen, but a more efficient and healthier house overall. The challenge wasn’t just to capture the light and view towards the Boston skyline; we also needed to improve the space plan and work flow. Overlaid on those goals, we needed to respect the carefully maintained Victorian character of the rest of the home and bring that sensibility back into the kitchen space. OPENING THE SPACE We removed the wall that isolated the sink space to create one unified kitchen area. We relocated the sink to a center island so that we could replace the small window with a large sliding glass door out onto the deck and the view of the skyline. REPURPOSING MATERIALS We salvaged and re-used the honey-colored southern yellow pine wainscoting; we matched and extended it to a window seat and laundry room door to create continuity and tie those new elements to the old. The cabinets and counters have traditional styling in light colors to reflect the light from the new sliding doors deep into the space. More light from the rear utility stairs is brought into the space by means of a frosted glass door. IMPROVING EFFICIENCY More prosaically, but just as important to the client and the project team, we upgraded the insulation and air-sealing throughout the house to improve the home’s comfort and efficiency. Photo by Jim Raycroft

OAK Sand Oak plank in 3-layer construction with small bevel on long side and approx. 4 mm top layer as well as approx. 4 mm backing in the same wood. Conifer middle layer. Tongue and groove on all sides for easy installation. Planks with healthy knots are part of the appearance as are cracks, knots und knotholes that are accentuated by sand-coloured putty. Deviations in colour and isolated sapwood at the edges is possible. Small open cracks and unsealed spots of a few millimetres are allowed.

The project is for two single family dwellings for close friends who wish to live cooperatively rather than in more typical LA isolation. The site slopes up steeply to the west from the street such that the two houses are cut deeply into the hill for basements and garages. The main levels are reached through a shared central exterior stair. Entry is from the common landing overlooking the street. The stair can also be taken directly up into the garden. While to two houses have the same structure and materials, the uniqueness of each families structure and interest is expressed in fundamentally different plan arrangements and different interior finishes such that each house has its own character internally. This is possible because the basic loft like structure frames two story spaces within which are placed bedrooms as mezzanines. Both buildings are relatively closed to the street and open to the garden side where overhanging balconies and canvas shade the glass walls. The skylights that run continuously along the street balance the light through the interior especially in the two story living room and studio spaces.

The site was 10 acres bordering a 15 acre lake. The clients were convinced by a business partner to move 10 miles west of town and share the lake he was excavating. They quickly became very excited about the emerging design, preliminary drawings were never finished, working drawings were brief and details were sketchy. Fortunately a favorite contractor with a gifted crew was available and all were OK with working it out as we went along. Several more rooms and outbuildings were added during construction. After the excitement of building and furnishing was over they found themselves unhappy with the isolation and by 1975 had sold the house to Malnik. In 1979 we began renovations and additions to the buildings and site that continued non-stop for 7 years. Again I had the luxury of the same building team, plus a very creative new client who never ran out of ideas for things to do. First stables for 20 horses and a recreation building which included 2 bowling alleys, squash court, weight gym, game room and a boat house. Then a 90' square & 30' high screened space frame that enclosed a swimming pool with 3 guest houses and a free form "cave" structure arranged around the four sides. Next a riding ring and viewing pavilion, and when 25 more acres were acquired the lake was extended into a series of waterways and the entrance was moved to the opposite side of the property, which resulted in a long meandering entrance road passing over three bridges. A new entrance building was fitted between the space frame and the recreation building. The last project was a 3000 sq. ft. master bedroom, bath and gallery addition to the main house completed in 1992. The entire complex was demolished in 2005 by a high end residential developer as Boca Raton had moved seriously westward.

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

Nestled in an undeveloped thicket between two homes on Monmouth road, the Eastern corner of this client’s lot plunges ten feet downward into a city-designated stormwater collection ravine. Our client challenged us to design a home, referencing the Scandinavian modern style, that would account for this lot’s unique terrain and vegetation. Through iterative design, we produced four house forms angled to allow rainwater to naturally flow off of the roof and into a gravel-lined runoff area that drains into the ravine. Completely foregoing downspouts and gutters, the chosen design reflects the site’s topography, its mass changing in concert with the slope of the land. This two-story home is oriented around a central stacked staircase that descends into the basement and ascends to a second floor master bedroom with en-suite bathroom and walk-in closet. The main entrance—a triangular form subtracted from this home’s rectangular plan—opens to a kitchen and living space anchored with an oversized kitchen island. On the far side of the living space, a solid void form projects towards the backyard, referencing the entryway without mirroring it. Ground floor amenities include a bedroom, full bathroom, laundry area, office and attached garage. Among Architecture Office’s most conceptually rigorous projects, exterior windows are isolated to opportunities where natural light and a connection to the outdoors is desired. The Monmouth home is clad in black corrugated metal, its exposed foundations extending from the earth to highlight its form. Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2020.

Remove old carpets then install isolation and hardwood floor
Bedroom - mid-sized traditional guest dark wood floor, beige floor, tray ceiling and wall paneling bedroom idea in Seattle with beige walls, a standard fireplace and a brick fireplace

This home was transformed from small closed spaces to wide open areas perfect for family gatherings and entertaining. The old kitchen had very little counter top space and was designed to work well for only one person. The old kitchen was isolated from the other areas of the home. For a family with teenage children that like to partake in the duties of cooking this was an unfit kitchen. A wall was taken down that allowed for a larger kitchen, an island, lots of counter top space and expanded views to the rest of the public areas. Now cooking and sharing meals proves easier and more enjoyable for the whole family. The island has become a hub where homework, conversation and sharing takes place.

A expansive backyard with modern touch ups. Everything seen in the pictures are built or installed by Park Landscaping Ltd. From the brown slate outdoor walkway that supports the dark wood deck to the ocean pearl slate stairs that lead to the outdoor stone fireplace. Creativity with stealthy and modern elements to ensure that the surrounding area is complemented, not isolated.

A expansive backyard with modern touch ups. Everything seen in the pictures are built or installed by Park Landscaping Ltd. From the brown slate outdoor walkway that supports the dark wood deck to the ocean pearl slate stairs that lead to the outdoor stone fireplace. Creativity with stealthy and modern elements to ensure that the surrounding area is complemented, not isolated.

With its decorative mouldings and traditional influences throughout the home, this renovation is a classic take on modernism. Approaching the gates to the property, rich red brick surrounds a beautiful traditional white lacquered timber door with lead lite coloured panels on either side. Entering into the home, deep jarrah planked timber floors lead the way through to the kitchen and living areas. The kitchen was small for my client who loved to cook as well as her daughter’s love for baking, needing a re- configure of the space to allow the kitchen to flow and function between the existing kitchen and small meals room. Outdated cabinetry made their home look tired and needed a fresh take on the newly architecturally extended home. Traditional pairings of fresh whites, marbles and glass are delicately detailed within the design, modernising the homes interior. Lacquered chalky slabbed fronts surrounded by marbled benches and splashbacks, the introduction of curves to the isolated hood and island centre piece and depth injected with deep navy to create a monochrome palette. Warmth is then allowed in by brass hardware, reeded glass, a play on texture with tiles and warmly lit surfaces. Now a cook’s kitchen.