Built on Frank Sinatra’s estate, this custom home was designed to be a fun and relaxing weekend retreat for our clients who live full time in Orange County. As a second home and playing up the mid-century vibe ubiquitous in the desert, we departed from our clients’ more traditional style to create a modern and unique space with the feel of a boutique hotel. Classic mid-century materials were used for the architectural elements and hard surfaces of the home such as walnut flooring and cabinetry, terrazzo stone and straight set brick walls, while the furnishings are a more eclectic take on modern style. We paid homage to “Old Blue Eyes” by hanging a 6’ tall image of his mug shot in the entry.

Rather than starting with an outcome in mind, this 1,400 square foot residence began from a polemic place - exploring shared conviction regarding the concentrated power of living with a smaller footprint. From the gabled silhouette to passive ventilation, the home captures the nostalgia for the past with the sustainable practices of the future. While the exterior materials contrast a calm, minimal palette with the sleek lines of the gabled silhouette, the interior spaces embody a playful, artistic spirit. From the hand painted De Gournay wallpaper in the master bath to the rugged texture of the over-grouted limestone and Portuguese cobblestones, the home is an experience that encapsulates the unexpected and the timeless.

While the owners are away the designers will play! This Bellevue craftsman stunner went through a large remodel while its occupants were living in Europe. Almost every room in the home was touched to give it the beautiful update it deserved. A vibrant yellow front door mixed with a few farmhouse touches on the exterior provide a casual yet upscale feel. From the craftsman style millwork seen through out, to the carefully selected finishes in the kitchen and bathrooms, to a dreamy backyard retreat, it is clear from the moment you walk through the door not a design detail was missed. Being a busy family, the clients requested a great room fit for entertaining. A breakfast nook off the kitchen with upholstered chairs and bench cushions provides a cozy corner with a lot of seating - a perfect spot for a "kids" table so the adults can wine and dine in the formal dining room. Pops of blue and yellow brighten the neutral palette and create a playful environment for a sophisticated space. Painted cabinets in the office, floral wallpaper in the powder bathroom, a swing in one of the daughter's rooms, and a hidden cabinet in the pantry only the adults know about are a few of the elements curated to create the customized home my clients were looking for.

In the hills of San Anselmo in Marin County, this 5,000 square foot existing multi-story home was enlarged to 6,000 square feet with a new dance studio addition with new master bedroom suite and sitting room for evening entertainment and morning coffee. Sited on a steep hillside one acre lot, the back yard was unusable. New concrete retaining walls and planters were designed to create outdoor play and lounging areas with stairs that cascade down the hill forming a wrap-around walkway. The goal was to make the new addition integrate the disparate design elements of the house and calm it down visually. The scope was not to change everything, just the rear façade and some of the side facades. The new addition is a long rectangular space inserted into the rear of the building with new up-swooping roof that ties everything together. Clad in red cedar, the exterior reflects the relaxed nature of the one acre wooded hillside site. Fleetwood windows and wood patterned tile complete the exterior color material palate. The sitting room overlooks a new patio area off of the children’s playroom and features a butt glazed corner window providing views filtered through a grove of bay laurel trees. Inside is a television viewing area with wetbar off to the side that can be closed off with a concealed pocket door to the master bedroom. The bedroom was situated to take advantage of these views of the rear yard and the bed faces a stone tile wall with recessed skylight above. The master bath, a driving force for the project, is large enough to allow both of them to occupy and use at the same time. The new dance studio and gym was inspired for their two daughters and has become a facility for the whole family. All glass, mirrors and space with cushioned wood sports flooring, views to the new level outdoor area and tree covered side yard make for a dramatic turnaround for a home with little play or usable outdoor space previously. Photo Credit: Paul Dyer Photography.

Here, a concrete fire pit is pictured with built-in bench seating made of cumaru wood. Throw pillows have been added to give splashes of color. Behind the seating area are tall modern grasses, used to soften the screen area in the back. A modern concrete hardscape with Mexican beach pebble bands is featured, along with the concrete fire pit and built-in bench seating made of cumaru wood. An indoor/outdoor room is pictured with the concrete firepit in the foreground. A convenient outdoor dining room is shown here, featuring a modern concrete hardscape with Mexican beach pebble bands. A colorful umbrella, cushions and flower pots create visual interest. The cumaru horizontal wood screen has been added to create privacy. The expansive balcony off this modern home allows residents to enjoy the beautiful ocean views. The deck is constructed of cumaru wood, with cable rail wrapped around it. A native, low-water-use plant palette is featured in the foreground. Featured here are steps with cable rail leading down to the lower terrace. Concrete steppers in the grass create a walking path to the deck area under the balcony. The space was designed around the old pine in the foreground that was kept to add character. Also in view is a turf play area for kids. Here, a balcony with cable rail is pictured, along with a private garden with ocean view off the master bedroom. A modern concrete hardscape with Mexican beach pebble bands is featured, along with a low-water-use palette. Front & Backyard Landscape Design - La Jolla, CA Here, a succulent garden is the highlight, with some decorative pebbles and boulders used in combination as accents with a low-water-use plant palette. A horizontal screen fence made of beautiful cumaru wood is in the foreground, with a modern paver driveway in view. Here, a succulent garden with vibrant flowers can be viewed in the foreground. This aloe plant with coral flowers is a great example of a low-water-use focal plant. The modern paver driveway highlights this modern design featuring low-water-use olive trees in mass groupings. The cumaru wood fence can be viewed in the background. Also in view are boulders, which were found on the property and repurposed in the landscape. The modern paver driveway is in view, with native grasses used to give movement as they sway in the wind. The design incorporates this beautiful old pine (on the right)that was on the property. This view of the driveway shows how boulders found on the property were incorporated into the design, with the cumaru wood screen fence and low-water-use olive trees also in view. This view shows the modern design of the house and the paver driveway. Also in view is theMexican beach pebble bed with modern grasses. A modern bridge entry over a succulent gardencan be seen in the background. This photo shows the modern bridge entry over a succulent garden. The modern architecture is showcased here, and in the foreground, flowering succulents contrast nicely with the wood. A view of the modern architecture of the home and the paver driveway, with native grasses incorporated to create movement in the landscape. Colorful grasses create movement here in this side view of the home. A succulent garden with a low-water-use plant palette and colorful flowering plants is featured. Boulders found on the property have been repurposed in the landscape. In this view, different colors and textures are used to create visual interest. The low-water-use olive trees and succulent garden are pictured. Here, a concrete fire pit is pictured with built-in bench seating made of cumaru wood. Throw pillows have been added to give splashes of color. Behind the seating area are tall modern grasses, used to soften the screen area in the back. A modern concrete hardscape with Mexican beach pebble bands is featured, along with the concrete fire pit and built-in bench seating made of cumaru wood. An indoor/outdoor room is pictured with the concrete firepit in the foreground. A convenient outdoor dining room is shown here, featuring a modern concrete hardscape with Mexican beach pebble bands. A colorful umbrella, cushions and flower pots create visual interest. The cumaru horizontal wood screen has been added to create privacy. The expansive balcony off this modern home allows residents to enjoy the beautiful ocean views. The deck is constructed of cumaru wood, with cable rail wrapped around it. A native, low-water-use plant palette is featured in the foreground. Featured here are steps with cable rail leading down to the lower terrace. Concrete steppers in the grass create a walking path to the deck area under the balcony. The space was designed around the old pine in the foreground that was kept to add character. Also in view is a turf play area for kids. Here, a balcony with cable rail is pictured, along with a private garden with ocean view off the master bedroom. A modern concrete hardscape with Mexican beach pebble bands is featured, along with a low-water-use palette.

Klopf Architecture and Outer space Landscape Architects designed a new warm, modern, open, indoor-outdoor home in Los Altos, California. Inspired by mid-century modern homes but looking for something completely new and custom, the owners, a couple with two children, bought an older ranch style home with the intention of replacing it. Created on a grid, the house is designed to be at rest with differentiated spaces for activities; living, playing, cooking, dining and a piano space. The low-sloping gable roof over the great room brings a grand feeling to the space. The clerestory windows at the high sloping roof make the grand space light and airy. Upon entering the house, an open atrium entry in the middle of the house provides light and nature to the great room. The Heath tile wall at the back of the atrium blocks direct view of the rear yard from the entry door for privacy. The bedrooms, bathrooms, play room and the sitting room are under flat wing-like roofs that balance on either side of the low sloping gable roof of the main space. Large sliding glass panels and pocketing glass doors foster openness to the front and back yards. In the front there is a fenced-in play space connected to the play room, creating an indoor-outdoor play space that could change in use over the years. The play room can also be closed off from the great room with a large pocketing door. In the rear, everything opens up to a deck overlooking a pool where the family can come together outdoors. Wood siding travels from exterior to interior, accentuating the indoor-outdoor nature of the house. Where the exterior siding doesn’t come inside, a palette of white oak floors, white walls, walnut cabinetry, and dark window frames ties all the spaces together to create a uniform feeling and flow throughout the house. The custom cabinetry matches the minimal joinery of the rest of the house, a trim-less, minimal appearance. Wood siding was mitered in the corners, including where siding meets the interior drywall. Wall materials were held up off the floor with a minimal reveal. This tight detailing gives a sense of cleanliness to the house. The garage door of the house is completely flush and of the same material as the garage wall, de-emphasizing the garage door and making the street presentation of the house kinder to the neighborhood. The house is akin to a custom, modern-day Eichler home in many ways. Inspired by mid-century modern homes with today’s materials, approaches, standards, and technologies. The goals were to create an indoor-outdoor home that was energy-efficient, light and flexible for young children to grow. This 3,000 square foot, 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom new house is located in Los Altos in the heart of the Silicon Valley. Klopf Architecture Project Team: John Klopf, AIA, and Chuang-Ming Liu 
Landscape Architect: Outer space Landscape Architects 
Structural Engineer: ZFA Structural Engineers 
Staging: Da Lusso Design 
Photography ©2018 Mariko Reed 
Location: Los Altos, CA
 Year completed: 2017

Inspired by the majesty of the Northern Lights and this family's everlasting love for Disney, this home plays host to enlighteningly open vistas and playful activity. Like its namesake, the beloved Sleeping Beauty, this home embodies family, fantasy and adventure in their truest form. Visions are seldom what they seem, but this home did begin 'Once Upon a Dream'. Welcome, to The Aurora.

Meredith Heuer
Example of a large transitional master white tile and ceramic tile porcelain tile bathroom design in New York with a trough sink, flat-panel cabinets, a one-piece toilet and multicolored walls

photo Benjamin Benschneider
Inspiration for a mid-sized modern open concept light wood floor living room remodel in Seattle with a standard fireplace and a media wall

Emerald quartzite shadow play.
1960s master double-sink open shower photo in San Francisco with open cabinets, green cabinets and a floating vanity

Jessica Cain © 2019 Houzz
Bedroom - large coastal bedroom idea in Kansas City

This amazing bathroom was renovated to have a modern flare. The tile is a shiny gray porcelain that has a rectified edge so it could be butted up tight and the grout lines minimal. My client had previously chosen this tile throughout her home. The Graff Luna freestanding tub filler is mounted on a floating glass mosaic tiled wall. We relocated the tub. Instead of saw cutting into the slab floor we built a platform to hide the plumbing that the tub rests on. The floating vanity cabinets are made of laminate beautifully displaying the quartz countertop with a straight 3" mitered edge. The sides of the countertops drop to the floor on each side of the cabinet, known as a waterfall edge. My client and I designed a cut in wave on the tiled floor leading into the shiny white shower with a floating white quartz bench seat. We built in custom planters made from the quartz countertop material that balance out each side of the floating tub wall in the center of the bathroom. I must say, throughout this design process my client was involved the entire time. She played an integral role in selecting the amazing fixtures seen in this master bathroom remodel. She needed help with the layout so she reached out to us. As you can see in the results we collaborated well together. It was pleasure to work with a client who has such exquisite taste.

Benjamin Benschneider
Example of a mid-sized trendy master stone tile porcelain tile bathroom design in Seattle with an undermount sink, medium tone wood cabinets, quartz countertops and flat-panel cabinets

Built on Frank Sinatra’s estate, this custom home was designed to be a fun and relaxing weekend retreat for our clients who live full time in Orange County. As a second home and playing up the mid-century vibe ubiquitous in the desert, we departed from our clients’ more traditional style to create a modern and unique space with the feel of a boutique hotel. Classic mid-century materials were used for the architectural elements and hard surfaces of the home such as walnut flooring and cabinetry, terrazzo stone and straight set brick walls, while the furnishings are a more eclectic take on modern style. We paid homage to “Old Blue Eyes” by hanging a 6’ tall image of his mug shot in the entry.

12 x 24 white and gray tile with veining in matte finish. Gold hardware and gold plumbing fixtures. Shagreen gray cabinet.
Inspiration for a mid-sized transitional master white tile and porcelain tile porcelain tile, white floor and double-sink bathroom remodel in Charlotte with furniture-like cabinets, gray cabinets, gray walls, an undermount sink, quartz countertops, a hinged shower door, white countertops and a freestanding vanity

This sophisticated master bedroom plays off the subtle contrasts of smokey lavender and charcoal. Photo by Sandy Curtis
Mid-sized transitional master medium tone wood floor bedroom photo in Boston with purple walls

This beautifully crafted master bathroom plays off the contrast of the blacks and white while highlighting an off yellow accent. The layout and use of space allows for the perfect retreat at the end of the day.

This beautifully crafted master bathroom plays off the contrast of the blacks and white while highlighting an off yellow accent. The layout and use of space allows for the perfect retreat at the end of the day.

This beautifully crafted master bathroom plays off the contrast of the blacks and white while highlighting an off yellow accent. The layout and use of space allows for the perfect retreat at the end of the day.