This fairly new home was built on Daniel Island right on beautiful Smythe Park. The homeowners purchased the five-year-old home because of its location and potential, but they had great plans to make it more modern and unique to their styles by incorporating transitional and modern design. They decided to go very white, creating a sleek, clean look while contrasting it against stained, dark hardwood floors. The project included adding new hardware, applying a fresh coat of paint to the entire interior (walls and ceilings), adding new light fixtures, refinishing the floors throughout the home and remodeling the master bathroom, morning kitchen, main kitchen and butler’s pantry cabinetry with newly refinished cabinetry, countertops and fixtures. What a remarkable transformation! The family able to create a fresh new look while keeping the architectural bones of the home in tact. Photography by: Brennan Wesley

A young couple with three small children purchased this full floor loft in Tribeca in need of a gut renovation. The existing apartment was plagued with awkward spaces, limited natural light and an outdated décor. It was also lacking the required third child’s bedroom desperately needed for their newly expanded family. StudioLAB aimed for a fluid open-plan layout in the larger public spaces while creating smaller, tighter quarters in the rear private spaces to satisfy the family’s programmatic wishes. 3 small children’s bedrooms were carved out of the rear lower level connected by a communal playroom and a shared kid’s bathroom. Upstairs, the master bedroom and master bathroom float above the kid’s rooms on a mezzanine accessed by a newly built staircase. Ample new storage was built underneath the staircase as an extension of the open kitchen and dining areas. A custom pull out drawer containing the food and water bowls was installed for the family’s two dogs to be hidden away out of site when not in use. All wall surfaces, existing and new, were limited to a bright but warm white finish to create a seamless integration in the ceiling and wall structures allowing the spatial progression of the space and sculptural quality of the midcentury modern furniture pieces and colorful original artwork, painted by the wife’s brother, to enhance the space. The existing tin ceiling was left in the living room to maximize ceiling heights and remain a reminder of the historical details of the original construction. A new central AC system was added with an exposed cylindrical duct running along the long living room wall. A small office nook was built next to the elevator tucked away to be out of site.

Stunning new construction in the heart of Purchase. Located in a private community, this home sits on an expansive 2.34 acres. Designed and built by renowned architect Mark Finlay and Georgio Custom Builders, this 5 bedroom, 5.5 bath colonial consists of open floor plans, 10 ft ceilings, light stained hardwood floors, and sophisticated finishes.The first floor master suite includes WICs, spa-like master bathroom, and french doors leading to a bluestone patio. Chef's custom built EIK has a large island w/ quartzite countertops, double oven, & bay window w/ scenic views. Floor to ceiling glass windows form a circular dining room that flows into a grand great room w/ custom built-ins, floor to ceiling stone fireplace, and a wood beam ceiling. Other keys features include a living room w/ gas fireplace, full finished basement, first-floor laundry, and built-in BBQ w/ blue stone patio. Extensively landscaped with picturesque views and a wonderful koi pond make this the ideal place to call home. Currently for sale.

The homeowners of this beautiful craftsman designed home purchased a beautiful country property for their dream home. Located just outside of downtown Chattanooga, sits this livable luxurious open floor plan craftsman home. Great for entertaining, or just relaxing with the family. The home has lots of added storage cabinetry to hold all those special items that a family collects over the years. Philip Slowiak Photography

This charming brick schoolhouse was built in 1870 and converted in the 1960's to a home. Purchased by a NYC designer as a weekend retreat, the whole building has been renovated. The kitchen was gutted and updated with Medallion Cabinetry Shaker style cabinets in a soft gray paint with CaesarStone Quartz countertops in Frosty Carrina.

The homeowners of this beautiful craftsman designed home purchased a beautiful country property for their dream home. Located just outside of downtown Chattanooga, sits this livable luxurious open floor plan craftsman home. Great for entertaining, or just relaxing with the family. The home has lots of added storage cabinetry to hold all those special items that a family collects over the years. Philip Slowiak Photography

Our clients for this remodel of a 100 year old home in San Francisco’s Liberty Hill neighborhood recently moved to San Francisco. The house they purchased was very stately and had great bones, but lacked a true master suite and had recently been remodeled in a slightly generic modern style. We helped them with projects throughout the house. Our biggest project was creating a true master suite out of two bedrooms and an existing bathroom. We created an open concept bathroom with custom gray lacquer wardrobes and shoe storage units with a dramatic slot skylight overhead. Access to the master bedroom is through this room. The clean lines of the bathroom are complimented by a very long wall hung vanity with a CaesarStone counter which flows into the walk-in shower and becomes the curb. A variety of tiles including locally fabricated tile from Heath Ceramics were carefully selected to create a warm and inviting, yet modern, feeling. Oak floors similar to those in the rest of the house were used throughout the master suite for continuity. By using the same tile on the back wall of the bathroom we were able to create a visual unity from the shower through the vanity and the water closet. Our work also included a new fireplace in the living room. Photography by Christopher Stark.

The homeowners of this beautiful craftsman designed home purchased a beautiful country property for their dream home. Located just outside of downtown Chattanooga, sits this livable luxurious open floor plan craftsman home. Great for entertaining, or just relaxing with the family. The home has lots of added storage cabinetry to hold all those special items that a family collects over the years. Philip Slowiak Photography

The Frame is as much a work of art as it is a TV. With revolutionary Art Mode, it transforms from a stunning 4K TV with HDR to beautiful, lifelike art that fits seamlessly into your home and decor. The Frame brings gallery experience into your home with over one hundred original works of art. You can also add to your collection by purchasing or subscribing to the Art Store or even upload your own images for infinite personalization options. With the power of 4K UHD, The Frame produces outstanding picture quality alongside state of the art design, delivering content that looks as good as the TV you’re watching it on.

This bathroom is what dreams are made of – astonishing views, marble floors, and a floor plan big enough to do cartwheels in (which I would totally do if this were my bathroom). Built in 1942 on the top of View Ridge, our client purchased this home in 2012 and decided to remodel it in 2017. We gave this beautiful home a well-deserved "facelift," if you will, and designed a second story consisting of a primary suite and rooftop deck, a walk-in closet, ensuite laundry, 180-degree views, and french doors opening up to the deck. But the real show stopper is the luxurious primary bathroom! Quartz counter tops, custom cabinets, light blue painted walls, a heavenly soaking tub, a large walk-in shower, and a basketweave Carrara marble tile rug make this the master of all bathrooms. We added an upholstered bench and long runner to soften the finishes and create a sophisticated, feminine oasis. Take a look below to see for yourself!

The master bedroom, dominated by the couple’s existing pedestal bed needed lighter furnishings. The homeowners purchased a new, beautiful Nurison rug which give an interesting neutral base in shades of gray and the window was covered with double layer treatment for privacy during the day and night. Sheer covering the window diffused light and created a nice privacy during the day. The functional, blackout lined drapery panels in beautiful JF Fabrics linen blend in blueish gray color gave the homeowners an option to keep the room dark at night so they could sleep-in comfortably in the morning. Their bed was tastefully decorated with euro shams in navy/gray color and the accent lumbar with a beautiful appliqué was added for extra interest. Kelly Nave Photography

Our clients already had a cottage on Torch Lake that they loved to visit. It was a 1960s ranch that worked just fine for their needs. However, the lower level walkout became entirely unusable due to water issues. After purchasing the lot next door, they hired us to design a new cottage. Our first task was to situate the home in the center of the two parcels to maximize the view of the lake while also accommodating a yard area. Our second task was to take particular care to divert any future water issues. We took necessary precautions with design specifications to water proof properly, establish foundation and landscape drain tiles / stones, set the proper elevation of the home per ground water height and direct the water flow around the home from natural grade / drive. Our final task was to make appealing, comfortable, living spaces with future planning at the forefront. An example of this planning is placing a master suite on both the main level and the upper level. The ultimate goal of this home is for it to one day be at least a 3/4 of the year home and designed to be a multi-generational heirloom. - Jacqueline Southby Photography

This is the master bedroom. This room is just really gorgeous, it’s so simple yet so elegant. My idea for this room was simple white and clean. The client purchased this charcoal gray headboard with nail heads and I knew that with the white brick accent wall that bringing in different textures of white would be the key. The bedding are all white but different textures and I accented the bed with this gray fur blanket/pillow. At the foot of the bed, I wanted to add seating but I didn’t want a bench, so I added two metal frame stools with linen seats. I also created a seating area with a gray recliner/swivel chair and a white marble top side table with metal base. I didn’t want to use white furniture pieces, so I used (2) gray wash night stands and a dresser. I used white drapery and polished nickel drapery rods. I brought in some crystal lamps with white shades and accessories with metal picture frames, black books and jewelry boxes. The rug is a plush shag gray rug and I just had to add that crystal chandelier to complete the look.

Bathroom - contemporary bathroom idea

Our clients purchased a new home that lacked personality and character. They hired our team primarily to furnish the home and to change out the simple light fixtures for something with more unique. However, we also ended up polishing up the existing kitchen, as well, by adding gold cabinet hardware, changing out the kitchen pendant lights for something more modern and by changing out the kitchen backsplash. Cream leather barstools provide contrast against the dark cabinets and compliment the breakfast area furniture, It's amazing how adding a few gold elements and changing out lighting and a backsplash totally transformed this space.

Renovation and expansion of a 1930s-era classic. Buying an old house can be daunting. But with careful planning and some creative thinking, phasing the improvements helped this family realize their dreams over time. The original International Style house was built in 1934 and had been largely untouched except for a small sunroom addition. Phase 1 construction involved opening up the interior and refurbishing all of the finishes. Phase 2 included a sunroom/master bedroom extension, renovation of an upstairs bath, a complete overhaul of the landscape and the addition of a swimming pool and terrace. And thirteen years after the owners purchased the home, Phase 3 saw the addition of a completely private master bedroom & closet, an entry vestibule and powder room, and a new covered porch.

Our client purchased what had been a custom home built in 1973 on a high bank waterfront lot. They did their due diligence with respect to the septic system, well and the existing underground fuel tank but little did they know, they had purchased a house that would fit into the Three Little Pigs Story book. The original idea was to do a thorough cosmetic remodel to bring the home up to date using all high durability/low maintenance materials and provide the homeowners with a flexible floor plan that would allow them to live in the home for as long as they chose to, not how long the home would allow them to stay safely. However, there was one structure element that had to change, the staircase. The staircase blocked the beautiful water/mountain few from the kitchen and part of the dining room. It also bisected the second-floor master suite creating a maze of small dysfunctional rooms with a very narrow (and unsafe) top stair landing. In the process of redesigning the stairs and reviewing replacement options for the 1972 custom milled one inch thick cupped and cracked cedar siding, it was discovered that the house had no seismic support and that the dining/family room/hot tub room and been a poorly constructed addition and required significant structural reinforcement. It should be noted that it is not uncommon for this home to be subjected to 60-100 mile an hour winds and that the geographic area is in a known earthquake zone. Once the structural engineering was complete, the redesign of the home became an open pallet. The homeowners top requests included: no additional square footage, accessibility, high durability/low maintenance materials, high performance mechanicals and appliances, water and energy efficient fixtures and equipment and improved lighting incorporated into: two master suites (one upstairs and one downstairs), a healthy kitchen (appliances that preserve fresh food nutrients and materials that minimize bacterial growth), accessible bathing and toileting, functionally designed closets and storage, a multi-purpose laundry room, an exercise room, a functionally designed home office, a catio (second floor balcony on the front of the home), with an exterior that was not just code compliant but beautiful and easy to maintain. All of this was achieved and more. The finished project speaks for itself.

Hillside Modernism In Context. The owners of this modern hillside home sought to have a home in a nice Los Angeles neighborhood wherein they could raise their burgeoning family. The owners purchased a 1948 2000sf, single story, 2 bedroom English Cottage styled home (believed to have been originally owned by Yul Brynner) on a ½ acre hillside site in the exclusive Brentwood area of Los Angeles. The property slopes downward away from the street and overlooks a mini eucalyptus arroyo. The owners love their new location but are now faced-with having to raise their new and growing family on a hillside with extremely limited yard spaces for children to play and in a location where nature is very close – deer as well as coyotes wander the arroyo. In 2000 the owners commissioned architect Richard Best to add 2500sf to the cottage and transform it into a home more fitting to their growing family’s needs. Subsequently, in 2014/15, the owners again commissioned Richard to create a 2-story master suite addition. Living in or visiting the completed project - the original 1948 home remodeled + the 2000 addition + the 2014/15 addition, one goes through an unexpected and delightful experience as the spaces of the home “unfold” to reveal intimacy and environmental immersion. It was important to Richard and to the owners that their remodels and additions be appropriately designed to fit into the neighborhood and have the feel, scale, and soul of the original cottage. With this in-mind, Richard has interpreted the design intentions of the original cottage - “modernizing” the architectural vocabulary and creating open-plan, 2-story additions which promote site “engagement” at various floor levels and openness to the outdoors in a manner clearly inspired by the original cottage, yet modern. At the front door of the original (still remains as it was) 1948 structure, one is presented with a quaint a low-slung entry which establishes a very comfortable sense of scale. Inside, the remodeled spaces of the original cottage exude comfort and a cozy sensibility evoked by the reuse of the original home’s exposed timber framing structure, open-plan circulation, and an inventive two-sided steel fireplace which acts as a room divider between the living room and a home office. Accordion wood doors connect these rooms to a newly formed outdoor rear patio. At this point one also gets ones first hint that something very interesting is happening just beyond – a glimpse of the 2000 & 2014/15 additions. Moving from the original 1948 structure into the 2-story 2000 addition, one is greeted by a modern and open linear floor plan arrangement – a kitchen, casual dining and family room extend perpendicularly from the 1948 structure into the rear yard and down the hillside. The open framed cathedral ceiling and wood roof trusses establish a lofty feeling and a rhythm discretely separating the open rooms one from the other. Extensive use of windows and French doors connect the indoors to the outdoors and provide abundant natural lighting. This new appendage ends with a symmetrical family room which has no corners – it is a geometry composed of two overlapped squares - one rotated 45 degrees atop the other to create double opportunities for bay windows. The design not only connects the home to the desired exterior flat yards spaces, but it also takes full advantage of the sloping terrain by adding a floor below the original level so as to maintain a scale appropriate to the neighborhood. The exterior materials were chosen taking “hints” from the original 1948 structure – natural redwood siding, reused brick veneer and wood doors/windows all serving to aesthetically connect the addition back-to the spirit of the original structure. By 2014/15 the owners’ family has fully blossomed - the children are now teenagers and there is a need for additional space. However, the owners are very content with their remodeled cottage and Richard’s 2000 addition – unsure how to add to a home which they feel is quite perfect as it is … wanting whatever changes are to be made to be sympathetic to it. They are also concerned about potential additions blocking-out their views of the eucalyptus arroyo. The owners approached Richard with trepidation – we love our perfect house but we need it to be a bit bigger and we don’t want to block-out the arroyo views or create a hemmed-in feeling – how can we add but still see the arroyo. In response Richard created a private yet connected 2-story master suite, which by its positioning, dynamic geometries and extensive glazing create the fourth side of the former rear patio, making it into exterior courtyard with views around and through the new addition into the arroyo. A dynamic angularity in the new master addition (inspired by the 2000 addition) simultaneously reduces the apparent size/presence of the master suite addition on the edge of the eucalyptus arroyo while creating framed views into the arroyo from the newly formed courtyard. The new master suite - a master bathroom, master closet and a master sleeping loft each having exterior decks and/or patios, is connected back to the 2000 addition via a glazed hallway which provides a sense of connectedness and privacy. A modern rustic aesthetic of exposed board-formed concrete, natural finished Corten steel exterior cladding, frameless metal windows, and clear finished Douglas Fir planks serve to “extend” the soul of the original cottage into the master suite. The project is a highly sustainable design as well. Energy use is reduced by employing a high efficiency heat pump heating and cooling system, dual paned/gasketed metal window/door systems, natural lighting through a Kalwall skylight and generous exterior glazing with extensive eaves for shading, rigid roof insulation, and earthen backing – the lower floor is up-against the hillside which tends to even-out the day/night temperature differential. Credits: Architecture & Interior Design: Richard Best Architect Inc. Structural Engineering: Dan Echeto & David Choi Associates Interior Decor: Noelle Schoop Landscape: Connie Heitzman Photos: Carmel McFayden and Adriano Sarmento / James Porschen

An original 1930’s English Tudor with only 2 bedrooms and 1 bath spanning about 1730 sq.ft. was purchased by a family with 2 amazing young kids, we saw the potential of this property to become a wonderful nest for the family to grow. The plan was to reach a 2550 sq. ft. home with 4 bedroom and 4 baths spanning over 2 stories. With continuation of the exiting architectural style of the existing home. A large 1000sq. ft. addition was constructed at the back portion of the house to include the expended master bedroom and a second-floor guest suite with a large observation balcony overlooking the mountains of Angeles Forest. An L shape staircase leading to the upstairs creates a moment of modern art with an all white walls and ceilings of this vaulted space act as a picture frame for a tall window facing the northern mountains almost as a live landscape painting that changes throughout the different times of day. Tall high sloped roof created an amazing, vaulted space in the guest suite with 4 uniquely designed windows extruding out with separate gable roof above. The downstairs bedroom boasts 9’ ceilings, extremely tall windows to enjoy the greenery of the backyard, vertical wood paneling on the walls add a warmth that is not seen very often in today’s new build. The master bathroom has a showcase 42sq. walk-in shower with its own private south facing window to illuminate the space with natural morning light. A larger format wood siding was using for the vanity backsplash wall and a private water closet for privacy. In the interior reconfiguration and remodel portion of the project the area serving as a family room was transformed to an additional bedroom with a private bath, a laundry room and hallway. The old bathroom was divided with a wall and a pocket door into a powder room the leads to a tub room. The biggest change was the kitchen area, as befitting to the 1930’s the dining room, kitchen, utility room and laundry room were all compartmentalized and enclosed. We eliminated all these partitions and walls to create a large open kitchen area that is completely open to the vaulted dining room. This way the natural light the washes the kitchen in the morning and the rays of sun that hit the dining room in the afternoon can be shared by the two areas. The opening to the living room remained only at 8’ to keep a division of space.