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.

This great shot from the living room demonstrates the clear line of vision all the way through the kitchen to the office beside the front door. You can see how much more accommodating the renovated space is for hosting a large group of people. No one gets left out and no one gets isolated! Final photos by www.Impressia.net

Inspiration for a farmhouse kitchen remodel in Boston

Renovation of a 100 year old Queenslander home in Redcliffe, Queensland
Inspiration for a coastal living room remodel in Brisbane

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.

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.

Situated mid-way between the historic Philips Academy campus and the bustling downtown area, this property came to life with a design that’s both functional and beautiful. When we initially sat down with the homeowners to discuss their lifestyle, they had just gotten a very exuberant puppy that needed a place to run and play. A traditional fence would isolate the yard and really restrict it’s flow, so we created a ‘puppy lawn’ surrounded by a stainless steel cable system that allows for a safe-dog environment while simultaneously keeping the sight lines open to the remainder of the property. A circular fieldstone fire pit with a hand-tooled, two-piece cap sits perfectly within the bluestone patio. Located adjacent to the screened porch in the most private part of the yard, the location is optimal for this ultimate four-season retreat. “The attention to detail is so critical to our builds. I constantly obsess over the ultimate ‘look’ as well as the fit and finish, as I believe it’s these details that the homeowners deserve. The bluestone cap on this fire pit was spec’d as two pieces to keep the joints minimal and clean. The exterior edge was rock-faced on-site by our masons and a stainless-steel ring in the center will protect the masonry from the heat of the flames. Careful stone selection as well as furniture choices create a composition that’s so very pleasing to the eye.” Russell Throughout the remainder of the property, matching fieldstone walls help with the slight grade change and is complemented by a variety of flowering perennials designed to have a succession of blooms, all within a cool color tone. Sit around the fire pit with a glass of wine on a crisp fall night and enjoy this perfect retreat within the energy of the downtown area; the dog is sure to join you.

Inspiration for a timeless kitchen remodel in Boston

Make a bold statement with glassware for your dining room centerpiece. Here we have incorporated three similarly colored pieces of marine glassware with mirrors beneath them in order to isolate each piece but also to designate the center of the table.

This 1,400 sq. ft. studio, built in 2018 for Grammy Award–winning drummer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Adam Box, was one of the earliest full-scale NILES design–build projects. After years of session and touring work, Adam had a clear vision for his own creative home—a space that combined comfort, vibe, and technical precision. Our team partnered closely with him through every phase of the design and build process to bring that vision to life. The studio features a full Control Room, a spacious Live Room, two amp isolation booths, and a large dedicated ISO booth engineered specifically for dry drum capture. Each room is fully wired for a complete live-tracking environment, enabling an entire band to plug in and record seamlessly. The Live Room is sonically open and collaborative, while the Control Room is fine-tuned for long stretches of creative focus and accurate monitoring. Aesthetic direction played a major role in this project. Natural stonework, warm wood details, and a comfortable, lived-in feel create a distinctive character throughout the space. Adam added many of his own finishing touches, giving the studio an unmistakable personal identity that reflects his style and musical approach. The result is a studio that delivers both atmosphere and performance—an inspiring hub for writing, tracking, mixing, and producing at the highest level.

Over the years, the deck of this large executive home had been slowly pulling away from the house. Many of the 2 ft. x 2 ft. masonry support piers had begun to sink and lean in various directions. Unfortunately, the problem wasn’t isolated to just the deck support columns. An inspection of the columns supporting the adjacent Sunroom confirmed that the same structural failures were occurring to all of them. An excavation of one of the piers and its concrete footer revealed that the Sunroom and half of the Deck columns had been built on soil fill, and were slowly sinking and tilting away from the house. The only permanent solution to keep the Deck and Sunroom from collapsing was to replace the piers and the underlying footers. The Sunroom and a portion of the Deck were jacked up and supported by wooden cribs until new 2 ft. x 2ft. solid masonry columns could be built to replace the failed ones. In order to create enough bearing support under the footers, galvanized steel helical screws were driven under each column footer to an average depth of 26 feet. Concrete footers were poured on top of the screws, and each footer was tied into the adjacent footer and eventually back into the foundation of the home by a series of stabilizing rebar and concrete cross-tie footers. Once all 14 of the failed columns were rebuilt, the Sunroom was lowered onto the new support piers. A new deck was built to replace the compromised section, and the rest of the original decking and railings were removed and replaced. After the new wood had been acclimated to weather for several months and allowed to dry out and stabilize, the deck and railings were stained and sealed.

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

Example of a minimalist home design design in Seattle

James Barron
Inspiration for a huge timeless basement remodel in Cleveland

Example of a large transitional master beige tile, gray tile and porcelain tile dark wood floor and brown floor bathroom design in San Francisco with shaker cabinets, white cabinets, beige walls, an undermount sink, concrete countertops and gray countertops

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

This 80 year old farm house was in need of an update. The kitchen and dining areas were cramped, dark and isolated from one another. The homeowner requested an open floor plan with more storage and space where her children could play while she was busy in the kitchen. Thompson Remodeling flipped the existing positions of the dining room and kitchen and removed walls to open up the space. The new kitchen has bright white cabinets, quartz countertops and an island with a butcher block counter. A custom banquette provides seating and a spot for the kids to play and do homework while its bench doubles as hidden storage. The wet bar in the dining space has loads of pantry space. The existing floors were very uneven, so we used a vinyl plank flooring that would allow more give for installation. It looks just like weathered pine and will offer very easy care for the busy family.

Large elegant enclosed carpeted and multicolored floor home theater photo in New York with red walls and a projector screen

This private studio, built in collaboration with producer, engineer, and pianist Ian Miller, is a fully custom creative space designed around his workflow and artistic process. The project blended NILES’ technical execution with Ian’s hands-on finishing work, resulting in a studio where every corner has intention and every system supports a seamless, plug-and-play workflow. The structure began as a barn-style two-car garage with a second floor. After exploring several layouts and engineering options, we landed on a design that leveraged the high ceilings and existing footprint to create a dynamic and spacious acoustic environment. Generous daylight from surrounding windows connects the interior to the outdoors, while layered textures, warm tones, and custom finishes create a grounded yet inspiring atmosphere. The Control Room is fully isolated from the rest of the building with sound-reducing wall systems, a full soft-ceiling bass trap, tuned corner traps, treatment throughout, and full-lite doors for controlled transmission and visibility. Though modest in size, it delivers accurate monitoring and integrates smoothly with the larger live environment. Roasted Bean Studio was built to support any direction Ian pursues—from producing to mixing to live performance. The space provides the sonic palette and creative flexibility needed for a wide range of projects, offering a visually inspiring and acoustically reliable environment that empowers his work every day.