Fred Golden
Elegant living room photo in Detroit

In the early 50s, Herbert and Ruth Weiss attended a lecture by Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius hosted by MIT. They were fascinated by Gropius’ description of the ‘Five Fields’ community of 60 houses he and his firm, The Architect’s Collaborative (TAC), were designing in Lexington, MA. The Weiss’ fell in love with Gropius’ vision for a grouping of 60 modern houses to be arrayed around eight acres of common land that would include a community pool and playground. They soon had one of their own.The original, TAC-designed house was a single-slope design with a modest footprint of 800 square feet. Several years later, the Weiss’ commissioned modernist architect Henry Hoover to add a living room wing and new entry to the house. Hoover’s design included a wall of glass which opens to a charming pond carved into the outcropping of granite ledge. After living in the house for 65 years, the Weiss’ sold the house to our client, who asked us to design a renovation that would respect the integrity of the vintage modern architecture. Our design focused on reorienting the kitchen, opening it up to the family room. The bedroom wing was redesigned to create a principal bedroom with en-suite bathroom. Interior finishes were edited to create a more fluid relationship between the original TAC home and Hoover’s addition. We worked closely with the builder, Patriot Custom Homes, to install Solar electric panels married to an efficient heat pump heating and cooling system. These updates integrate modern touches and high efficiency into a striking piece of architectural history.

La vie de vacancier Quand est venu le temps de rénover sa chambre à coucher, les propriétaires souhaitaient se sentir comme à l’hôtel, avec tout le confort, le calme, la douceur et les commodités qu’on retrouve lorsqu’on prend des vacances bien méritées. La pièce n’étant pas très grande, nous avons décidé d’ouvrir la penderie (walk-in) existante afin d’accroître la superficie visible. Pour réaliser cet exploit, nous avons misé sur une combinaison de bois laqué de couleur crème et de noyer naturel pour le mobilier intégré, le tout sur un plancher de noyer africain. L’aire bien éclairée, en plus du contraste des tons clairs et du bois naturel, contribue à agrandir la pièce. Même si une esthétique agréable était primordiale, nous n’avons pas négligé le côté pratique lors de la conception du design. C’est pourquoi nous avons inclus un important espace de rangement avec de nombreux tiroirs et armoires. Ont également été ajoutées une aire de maquillage, ainsi qu’une banquette rembourrée douillette au bord des fenêtres en baie, afin de profiter de bons moments de lecture dans la chaleur du soleil. Il ne reste que le service aux chambres, la femme de ménage et le chocolat sur l’oreiller pour que l’illusion soit complète…

This comfortable sitting room provides space for reading and TV viewing on the second floor of the owner's home. A small bedroom was converted into this cozy room. The homeowner's Native American rug provided the inspiration for the design.

Inspiration for a contemporary home design remodel in Montreal

Clear acrylic bookshelves for any room in the house.
Minimalist nursery photo in Los Angeles

La vie de vacancier Quand est venu le temps de rénover sa chambre à coucher, les propriétaires souhaitaient se sentir comme à l’hôtel, avec tout le confort, le calme, la douceur et les commodités qu’on retrouve lorsqu’on prend des vacances bien méritées. La pièce n’étant pas très grande, nous avons décidé d’ouvrir la penderie (walk-in) existante afin d’accroître la superficie visible. Pour réaliser cet exploit, nous avons misé sur une combinaison de bois laqué de couleur crème et de noyer naturel pour le mobilier intégré, le tout sur un plancher de noyer africain. L’aire bien éclairée, en plus du contraste des tons clairs et du bois naturel, contribue à agrandir la pièce. Même si une esthétique agréable était primordiale, nous n’avons pas négligé le côté pratique lors de la conception du design. C’est pourquoi nous avons inclus un important espace de rangement avec de nombreux tiroirs et armoires. Ont également été ajoutées une aire de maquillage, ainsi qu’une banquette rembourrée douillette au bord des fenêtres en baie, afin de profiter de bons moments de lecture dans la chaleur du soleil. Il ne reste que le service aux chambres, la femme de ménage et le chocolat sur l’oreiller pour que l’illusion soit complète…

Photo shows the spacious, well-appointed entrance area and nightly destination for the owners, the space looks like it’s saying “welcome home”, this is yours!

La vie de vacancier Quand est venu le temps de rénover sa chambre à coucher, les propriétaires souhaitaient se sentir comme à l’hôtel, avec tout le confort, le calme, la douceur et les commodités qu’on retrouve lorsqu’on prend des vacances bien méritées. La pièce n’étant pas très grande, nous avons décidé d’ouvrir la penderie (walk-in) existante afin d’accroître la superficie visible. Pour réaliser cet exploit, nous avons misé sur une combinaison de bois laqué de couleur crème et de noyer naturel pour le mobilier intégré, le tout sur un plancher de noyer africain. L’aire bien éclairée, en plus du contraste des tons clairs et du bois naturel, contribue à agrandir la pièce. Même si une esthétique agréable était primordiale, nous n’avons pas négligé le côté pratique lors de la conception du design. C’est pourquoi nous avons inclus un important espace de rangement avec de nombreux tiroirs et armoires. Ont également été ajoutées une aire de maquillage, ainsi qu’une banquette rembourrée douillette au bord des fenêtres en baie, afin de profiter de bons moments de lecture dans la chaleur du soleil. Il ne reste que le service aux chambres, la femme de ménage et le chocolat sur l’oreiller pour que l’illusion soit complète…

Our team at Smith & Vansant transformed a diminutive 1920's J. F. Larson faculty townhouse building into Triangle House, a live & learn residence for an undergraduate community. The first floor of two townhouses was gutted, and re-designed as the central student gathering room. How to work with what we had? How to make a dormitory feel like a home? The ceiling is low. With bearing walls gone, Jason Gaddis worked with the structure that had to be added to hold up the second floor, adding pilasters, traditional trim on the new beams, and a chair rail to tie the room together. Light fixtures had to be shallow. The College wanted to use wood-grained "luxury vinyl plank", having found that it held up well in social spaces that get used for dances, meals, music and lectures. I took samples on site with large paint samples, to get a the right floor color. The real treasure of the 8 townhouses was that each had a living room fireplace. We kept them all, though none now can have fires. Pi Smith and I worked on the paint palette. We used a deep color to make this room feel cozy, and to highlight the trim and symmetry of the room. For the photo shoot, we wanted a rug. Kwachen/Inner Asia was founded by a Dartmouth alum, and had a store near campus. They loaned the pillows and this wonderful rug, perfect for a home called Triangle House. We think that the students over the years will enjoy regularly transforming the room for different events as much as we did. Builder: Estes & Gallup Photo and Fireplace illusion by Rob Karosis. Plants and brass platters loaned from my house.

In the early 50s, Herbert and Ruth Weiss attended a lecture by Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius hosted by MIT. They were fascinated by Gropius’ description of the ‘Five Fields’ community of 60 houses he and his firm, The Architect’s Collaborative (TAC), were designing in Lexington, MA. The Weiss’ fell in love with Gropius’ vision for a grouping of 60 modern houses to be arrayed around eight acres of common land that would include a community pool and playground. They soon had one of their own.The original, TAC-designed house was a single-slope design with a modest footprint of 800 square feet. Several years later, the Weiss’ commissioned modernist architect Henry Hoover to add a living room wing and new entry to the house. Hoover’s design included a wall of glass which opens to a charming pond carved into the outcropping of granite ledge. After living in the house for 65 years, the Weiss’ sold the house to our client, who asked us to design a renovation that would respect the integrity of the vintage modern architecture. Our design focused on reorienting the kitchen, opening it up to the family room. The bedroom wing was redesigned to create a principal bedroom with en-suite bathroom. Interior finishes were edited to create a more fluid relationship between the original TAC home and Hoover’s addition. We worked closely with the builder, Patriot Custom Homes, to install Solar electric panels married to an efficient heat pump heating and cooling system. These updates integrate modern touches and high efficiency into a striking piece of architectural history.

Studio Home Interiors Showroom // Columbia, MO
Small enclosed medium tone wood floor living room library photo with white walls, no fireplace and no tv

Une family room est un espace de vie chaleureux et convivial, pensé pour rassembler la famille dans une atmosphère détendue et confortable. Généralement spacieuse et baignée de lumière naturelle, elle combine fonctionnalité et confort avec des canapés moelleux, des tapis douillets, et une palette de tons neutres rehaussée de touches de bois naturel ou de couleurs douces. C’est un lieu de détente et de partage, où l’on peut regarder la télévision, lire, jouer ou simplement discuter autour d’une table basse élégante. Les plantes vertes, les textiles chaleureux (plaids, coussins) et un éclairage tamisé créent une ambiance apaisante et intime. Conçue pour le quotidien, mais avec une touche de raffinement, la family room est le cœur vivant de la maison, alliant esthétique, confort et convivialité.

Design Consultant Jeff Doubét is the author of Creating Spanish Style Homes: Before & After – Techniques – Designs – Insights. The 240 page “Design Consultation in a Book” is now available. Please visit SantaBarbaraHomeDesigner.com for more info. Jeff Doubét specializes in Santa Barbara style home and landscape designs. To learn more info about the variety of custom design services I offer, please visit SantaBarbaraHomeDesigner.com Jeff Doubét is the Founder of Santa Barbara Home Design - a design studio based in Santa Barbara, California USA.

Example of a minimalist bedroom design in Montreal

In the early 50s, Herbert and Ruth Weiss attended a lecture by Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius hosted by MIT. They were fascinated by Gropius’ description of the ‘Five Fields’ community of 60 houses he and his firm, The Architect’s Collaborative (TAC), were designing in Lexington, MA. The Weiss’ fell in love with Gropius’ vision for a grouping of 60 modern houses to be arrayed around eight acres of common land that would include a community pool and playground. They soon had one of their own.The original, TAC-designed house was a single-slope design with a modest footprint of 800 square feet. Several years later, the Weiss’ commissioned modernist architect Henry Hoover to add a living room wing and new entry to the house. Hoover’s design included a wall of glass which opens to a charming pond carved into the outcropping of granite ledge. After living in the house for 65 years, the Weiss’ sold the house to our client, who asked us to design a renovation that would respect the integrity of the vintage modern architecture. Our design focused on reorienting the kitchen, opening it up to the family room. The bedroom wing was redesigned to create a principal bedroom with en-suite bathroom. Interior finishes were edited to create a more fluid relationship between the original TAC home and Hoover’s addition. We worked closely with the builder, Patriot Custom Homes, to install Solar electric panels married to an efficient heat pump heating and cooling system. These updates integrate modern touches and high efficiency into a striking piece of architectural history.

Discerning, intelligent, European. A staff favorite, Noret captures the depth of color and texture that is expected with premium European Oak. A slight tan with a whitewash brush, Noret provides a luxurious template for any refined space. The most important specification for determining the durability of vinyl flooring is the thickness of the wear-layer. The best wear-layers are made of thick, clear virgin PVC, which covers the paper print-film that gives the floor its unique appearance. Once the wear-layer wears through, the paper is damaged and the floor will need replacement. Most vinyl floors come with a 8-12 mil wear-layer (0.2-3 mm). The top commercial specs in the industry are higher, at 20-22 mil (0.5 mm). A select few manufacturers offer a “super” commercial spec of 28 mil (0.7 mm). For Modin, we decided to set a new standard: 40 mil (1.0 mm) of premium virgin PVC. This allows us to offer an industry-leading 20 year Commercial Warranty (Lifetime Residential), compared to nearly all other commercial vinyl floors’ 10 year Commercial Warranty. Beyond our superior wear-layer, we also use a patented click mechanism for superior hold, and a ceramic-bead coating. SIZE MATTERS Wider and longer planks create a sense of space and luxury. Most vinyl floors come in 6” or 7” widths, and 36” or 48” lengths. For Modin, we designed our planks to be 9” wide, and 60” long. This extra large size allows our gorgeous designs to be fully expressed. DETAILS THAT COUNT We made sure to get all the details right. Real texture, to create the feel of wire-brushed wood. Low sheen level, to ensure a natural look that wears well over time. 4-sided bevels, to more accurately emulate the look of real planks. When added together they help create the unique look that is Modin. DESIGNS THAT INSPIRE We spent nearly a year just focusing on our designs, to ensure they provide the right mix of color and depth. Focusing on timeless wire-brush and European Oak styles, as well as more contemporary modern washes, our collection offers truly beautiful design that is both functional and inspiring.

Home office library - mid-sized traditional freestanding desk dark wood floor and brown floor home office library idea in Phoenix with brown walls and no fireplace

Completed in 2018, this ranch house mixes midcentury modern design and luxurious retreat for a busy professional couple. The clients are especially attracted to geometrical shapes so we incorporated clean lines throughout the space. The palette was influenced by saddle leather, navy textiles, marble surfaces, and brass accents throughout. The goal was to create a clean yet warm space that pays homage to the mid-century style of this renovated home in Bull Creek.