Search results for "Master sensitive" in Home Design Ideas

SLDarch: The shaded Main Entry, tucked deep into the shadows, is approached from a rising stepped garden path, leading up to a gentle, quiet water feature and custom stainless steel, glass and wood pivot entry door...open this and venture in to the Central Foyer space, shrouded by curved concrete & stainless steel structure and orienting the visitor to the central core of this curvaceous home.
From this central orientation point, one begins to perceive the magic and mystery yet to be revealed in the undulating spatial volumes, spiraling out in several directions.
Ahead is the kitchen and breakfast room, to the right are the Children's Bedroom Wing and the 'ocotillo stairs' to Master Bedroom upstairs. Venture left down the gentle ramp that follows along the gurgling water stream and meander past the bar and billiards, or on towards the main living room.
The entire ceiling areas are a brilliant series of overlapping smoothly curved plaster and steel framed layers, separated by translucent poly-carbonate panels.
This combats the intense summer heat and light, but carefully allows indirect natural daylight to gently sift through the deep interior of this unique desert home.
Wandering through the organic curves of this home eventually leads you to another gentle ramp leading to the very private and secluded Meditation Room,
entered through a double shoji door and sporting a supple leather floor radiating around a large circular glass Floor Window. Here is the ideal place to sit and meditate while seeming to hover over the colorful reflecting koi pool just below. The glass meditation room walls slide open, revealing a special desert garden, while at night the gurgling water reflects dancing lights up through the glass floor into this lovely Zen Zone.
"Blocking the intense summer sun was a prime objective here and was accomplished by clever site orientation, massive roof overhangs, super insulated exterior walls and roof, ultra high-efficiency water cooled A/C system and ample earth contact and below grade areas."
There is a shady garden path with foot bridge crossing over a natural desert wash, leading to the detached Desert Office, actually set below the xeriscape desert garden by 30" while hidden below, completely underground and naturally cooled sits another six car garage.
The main residence also has a 4 car below grade garage and lovely swimming pool with party patio in the backyard.
This property falls withing the City Of Scottsdale Natural Area Open Space area so special attention was required for this sensitive desert land project.

SLDarch: The shaded Main Entry, tucked deep into the shadows, is approached from a rising stepped garden path, leading up to a gentle, quiet water feature and custom stainless steel, glass and wood pivot entry door...open this and venture in to the Central Foyer space, shrouded by curved concrete & stainless steel structure and orienting the visitor to the central core of this curvaceous home.
From this central orientation point, one begins to perceive the magic and mystery yet to be revealed in the undulating spatial volumes, spiraling out in several directions.
Ahead is the kitchen and breakfast room, to the right are the Children's Bedroom Wing and the 'ocotillo stairs' to Master Bedroom upstairs. Venture left down the gentle ramp that follows along the gurgling water stream and meander past the bar and billiards, or on towards the main living room.
The entire ceiling areas are a brilliant series of overlapping smoothly curved plaster and steel framed layers, separated by translucent poly-carbonate panels.
This combats the intense summer heat and light, but carefully allows indirect natural daylight to gently sift through the deep interior of this unique desert home.
Wandering through the organic curves of this home eventually leads you to another gentle ramp leading to the very private and secluded Meditation Room,
entered through a double shoji door and sporting a supple leather floor radiating around a large circular glass Floor Window. Here is the ideal place to sit and meditate while seeming to hover over the colorful reflecting koi pool just below. The glass meditation room walls slide open, revealing a special desert garden, while at night the gurgling water reflects dancing lights up through the glass floor into this lovely Zen Zone.
"Blocking the intense summer sun was a prime objective here and was accomplished by clever site orientation, massive roof overhangs, super insulated exterior walls and roof, ultra high-efficiency water cooled A/C system and ample earth contact and below grade areas."
There is a shady garden path with foot bridge crossing over a natural desert wash, leading to the detached Desert Office, actually set below the xeriscape desert garden by 30" while hidden below, completely underground and naturally cooled sits another six car garage.
The main residence also has a 4 car below grade garage and lovely swimming pool with party patio in the backyard.
This property falls withing the City Of Scottsdale Natural Area Open Space area so special attention was required for this sensitive desert land project.

This pond has a 44 mil liner to ensure a leak free swimming structure. The liner material is sensitive to sunlight and will eventually breakdown over the years if it is exposed. As a result, our team spent 3 days meticulously covering the entire pond liner with stone. Each small boulder is hand placed to ensure a perfect fit and not tear the liner in the building process. The amount of patients and effort by our crew is incredible and the result is always beautiful! The waterfall which adds to the natural feel of the pond was created with large stone shelves and a bog for natural filtration. All of our water features use natural filtration processes and no chemicals. We create a simulated bog which the water is pumped into and cleaned naturally though various levels of sand, stone and wetland plants.
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Indicative of Brinton Brosius Inc’s skilled and thoughtful approach to renovation, this historically sensitive Tudor received a new addition with mudroom, porch, chef’s kitchen and master suite.
Photography: Peter Kubilus

Design work for this eclectic 1900’s home in Maplewood started with making infrastructure improvements throughout the house. The new owners wanted systems that would be energy efficient and ecologically friendly. We installed a very high efficiency HVAC system, replaced the piping and plumbing throughout, and specified new super high efficiency windows. Other exterior improvements included new leaders and gutters, insulation, and new siding in some locations. These upgrades were balanced with maintaining as many as the original details of the house as possible.
When you walk into the house, you still sense the original character and charm of the house, but are surrounded by modern amenities and environmentally sensitive finishes. Specific renovations include updated and reconfigured bathrooms throughout, a new kitchen, finishing of the basement, and repurposing of several rooms so the house would have better flow.
In 2011 the family moved back to New York City, and new owners purchased this Maplewood home. We had the pleaser of working with them to design further improvements to the house necessitated by their growing family. We added a porte cochere, a family-room, and increased the ceiling height in their master bedroom. These improvements augmented our design work previously completed in 2008, and the house continues to be a blend of traditional old-house details with modern, contemporary furnishings that perfectly suite a family with young children.

This historic 1840’s Gothic Revival home perched on the harbor, presented an array of challenges: they included a narrow-restricted lot cozy to the neighboring properties, a sensitive coastal location, and a structure desperately in need of major renovations.
The renovation concept respected the historic notion of individual rooms and connecting hallways, yet wanted to take better advantage of water views. The solution was an expansion of windows on the water siding of the house, and a small addition that incorporates an open kitchen/family room concept, the street face of the home was historically preserved.
The interior of the home has been completely refreshed, bringing in a combined reflection of art and family history with modern fanciful choices.
Adds testament to the successful renovation, the master bathroom has been described as “full of rainbows” in the morning.

SLDarch: The shaded Main Entry, tucked deep into the shadows, is approached from a rising stepped garden path, leading up to a gentle, quiet water feature and custom stainless steel, glass and wood pivot entry door...open this and venture in to the Central Foyer space, shrouded by curved concrete & stainless steel structure and orienting the visitor to the central core of this curvaceous home.
From this central orientation point, one begins to perceive the magic and mystery yet to be revealed in the undulating spatial volumes, spiraling out in several directions.
Ahead is the kitchen and breakfast room, to the right are the Children's Bedroom Wing and the 'ocotillo stairs' to Master Bedroom upstairs. Venture left down the gentle ramp that follows along the gurgling water stream and meander past the bar and billiards, or on towards the main living room.
The entire ceiling areas are a brilliant series of overlapping smoothly curved plaster and steel framed layers, separated by translucent poly-carbonate panels.
This combats the intense summer heat and light, but carefully allows indirect natural daylight to gently sift through the deep interior of this unique desert home.
Wandering through the organic curves of this home eventually leads you to another gentle ramp leading to the very private and secluded Meditation Room,
entered through a double shoji door and sporting a supple leather floor radiating around a large circular glass Floor Window. Here is the ideal place to sit and meditate while seeming to hover over the colorful reflecting koi pool just below. The glass meditation room walls slide open, revealing a special desert garden, while at night the gurgling water reflects dancing lights up through the glass floor into this lovely Zen Zone.
"Blocking the intense summer sun was a prime objective here and was accomplished by clever site orientation, massive roof overhangs, super insulated exterior walls and roof, ultra high-efficiency water cooled A/C system and ample earth contact and below grade areas."
There is a shady garden path with foot bridge crossing over a natural desert wash, leading to the detached Desert Office, actually set below the xeriscape desert garden by 30" while hidden below, completely underground and naturally cooled sits another six car garage.
The main residence also has a 4 car below grade garage and lovely swimming pool with party patio in the backyard.
This property falls withing the City Of Scottsdale Natural Area Open Space area so special attention was required for this sensitive desert land project.

Sponsored
Sunbury, OH
J.Holderby - Renovations
Franklin County's Leading General Contractors - 2X Best of Houzz!

Pond, garden water features, Kansas City Fountain Design Group , the Fountain Builders in Kansas City, is an innovative firm of fountain restoration Kansas City, fountain installation Kansas City, historic fountain repair Kansas City with specific skills in fountain design, pond, garden water features Kansas City, strategic and open space planning, open space master planning, urban and environmental design and community consultation with high standards of graphic and technical outputs. We pride ourselves on the development of aquascape and hardscape design ,site responsive and implementable concept, with demonstrated technical and project skills to ensure the successful translation of innovative designs to high quality constructed works.
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SLDarch: The shaded Main Entry, tucked deep into the shadows, is approached from a rising stepped garden path, leading up to a gentle, quiet water feature and custom stainless steel, glass and wood pivot entry door...open this and venture in to the Central Foyer space, shrouded by curved concrete & stainless steel structure and orienting the visitor to the central core of this curvaceous home.
From this central orientation point, one begins to perceive the magic and mystery yet to be revealed in the undulating spatial volumes, spiraling out in several directions.
Ahead is the kitchen and breakfast room, to the right are the Children's Bedroom Wing and the 'ocotillo stairs' to Master Bedroom upstairs. Venture left down the gentle ramp that follows along the gurgling water stream and meander past the bar and billiards, or on towards the main living room.
The entire ceiling areas are a brilliant series of overlapping smoothly curved plaster and steel framed layers, separated by translucent poly-carbonate panels.
This combats the intense summer heat and light, but carefully allows indirect natural daylight to gently sift through the deep interior of this unique desert home.
Wandering through the organic curves of this home eventually leads you to another gentle ramp leading to the very private and secluded Meditation Room,
entered through a double shoji door and sporting a supple leather floor radiating around a large circular glass Floor Window. Here is the ideal place to sit and meditate while seeming to hover over the colorful reflecting koi pool just below. The glass meditation room walls slide open, revealing a special desert garden, while at night the gurgling water reflects dancing lights up through the glass floor into this lovely Zen Zone.
"Blocking the intense summer sun was a prime objective here and was accomplished by clever site orientation, massive roof overhangs, super insulated exterior walls and roof, ultra high-efficiency water cooled A/C system and ample earth contact and below grade areas."
There is a shady garden path with foot bridge crossing over a natural desert wash, leading to the detached Desert Office, actually set below the xeriscape desert garden by 30" while hidden below, completely underground and naturally cooled sits another six car garage.
The main residence also has a 4 car below grade garage and lovely swimming pool with party patio in the backyard.
This property falls withing the City Of Scottsdale Natural Area Open Space area so special attention was required for this sensitive desert land project.

The Gun Lake Residence replaces a small, aging, existing house located on a narrow peninsula on Gun Lake, in west Michigan. The peninsula is neatly populated with century-old homes that quietly occupy this uncommon setting. The project site offers extraordinary views of the water in multiple directions and extends to the east with open space, bordering on an historic, 19th-century community ice house.
A primary project goal was to reimagine the relationship of the house to its surroundings while remaining sensitive to the communal context of the neighboring properties. The design seed of the new project included rotating the footprint of the existing house 90 degrees to open the long side of the home toward the lake, maximizing views and gaining optimal benefit of the linear site. Drawing inspiration from the traditional lake vernacular of the neighboring houses, the two principal roof forms of the new house reciprocate the setting -- the modern, clean lines of the upper gable roof upholds the clarity and tradition of the neighborhood, while the lower roof mimics the extension of the landscape and invites improvisational use. The horizontal flat roof allows use of the deck in all weather and cantilevers the most used public spaces into the landscape in a band of captured horizontal space. A wood-clad retaining wall refines a cut into the earth and harbors a transitional, outdoor room between the water and the basement.
At 2200 finished square feet, the conditioned building envelope is compact. And like the exterior, the interior form responds directly to its use. The upper floor is a monastic repetition of modest sleeping cells and bathrooms with unique directional views, combined with a grand central stair and master bedroom at each corner that captures myriad views of the water, over the trees, in all directions.
The main floor utilizes a core of small, functional spaces to shield the adjacent road, and forms a backdrop to the open interior spaces. Aided by the reaching, cedar-bellied roof, the living, dining, and kitchen spaces spill to the outdoors through an unusually porous exterior wall. Three sliding glass doors–including one at 20 feet wide–and a finished, surrounding ground plane cohere the landscape to the main living level.
Super-insulated wood-framed walls, triple-paned aluminum-clad wood windows, and a structurally insulated roof panels make-up the core of the building envelope, and additional exterior high-performance design features include geothermal heating/cooling and a green roof. Cementitious lap siding, concrete panels, hardwood decking, cedar soffits, and river rock comprise the exterior finish. In addition to cedar ceilings, interior finishes include porcelain ceramic tile, cork flooring, tight pile wool carpet, and neutral painted walls -- designed in quiet tones to highlight the most important interior ingredient: views outside.

This historic 1840’s Gothic Revival home perched on the harbor, presented an array of challenges: they included a narrow-restricted lot cozy to the neighboring properties, a sensitive coastal location, and a structure desperately in need of major renovations.
The renovation concept respected the historic notion of individual rooms and connecting hallways, yet wanted to take better advantage of water views. The solution was an expansion of windows on the water siding of the house, and a small addition that incorporates an open kitchen/family room concept, the street face of the home was historically preserved.
The interior of the home has been completely refreshed, bringing in a combined reflection of art and family history with modern fanciful choices.
Adds testament to the successful renovation, the master bathroom has been described as “full of rainbows” in the morning.

SLDarch: The shaded Main Entry, tucked deep into the shadows, is approached from a rising stepped garden path, leading up to a gentle, quiet water feature and custom stainless steel, glass and wood pivot entry door...open this and venture in to the Central Foyer space, shrouded by curved concrete & stainless steel structure and orienting the visitor to the central core of this curvaceous home.
From this central orientation point, one begins to perceive the magic and mystery yet to be revealed in the undulating spatial volumes, spiraling out in several directions.
Ahead is the kitchen and breakfast room, to the right are the Children's Bedroom Wing and the 'ocotillo stairs' to Master Bedroom upstairs. Venture left down the gentle ramp that follows along the gurgling water stream and meander past the bar and billiards, or on towards the main living room.
The entire ceiling areas are a brilliant series of overlapping smoothly curved plaster and steel framed layers, separated by translucent poly-carbonate panels.
This combats the intense summer heat and light, but carefully allows indirect natural daylight to gently sift through the deep interior of this unique desert home.
Wandering through the organic curves of this home eventually leads you to another gentle ramp leading to the very private and secluded Meditation Room,
entered through a double shoji door and sporting a supple leather floor radiating around a large circular glass Floor Window. Here is the ideal place to sit and meditate while seeming to hover over the colorful reflecting koi pool just below. The glass meditation room walls slide open, revealing a special desert garden, while at night the gurgling water reflects dancing lights up through the glass floor into this lovely Zen Zone.
"Blocking the intense summer sun was a prime objective here and was accomplished by clever site orientation, massive roof overhangs, super insulated exterior walls and roof, ultra high-efficiency water cooled A/C system and ample earth contact and below grade areas."
There is a shady garden path with foot bridge crossing over a natural desert wash, leading to the detached Desert Office, actually set below the xeriscape desert garden by 30" while hidden below, completely underground and naturally cooled sits another six car garage.
The main residence also has a 4 car below grade garage and lovely swimming pool with party patio in the backyard.
This property falls withing the City Of Scottsdale Natural Area Open Space area so special attention was required for this sensitive desert land project.

The Gun Lake Residence replaces a small, aging, existing house located on a narrow peninsula on Gun Lake, in west Michigan. The peninsula is neatly populated with century-old homes that quietly occupy this uncommon setting. The project site offers extraordinary views of the water in multiple directions and extends to the east with open space, bordering on an historic, 19th-century community ice house.
A primary project goal was to reimagine the relationship of the house to its surroundings while remaining sensitive to the communal context of the neighboring properties. The design seed of the new project included rotating the footprint of the existing house 90 degrees to open the long side of the home toward the lake, maximizing views and gaining optimal benefit of the linear site. Drawing inspiration from the traditional lake vernacular of the neighboring houses, the two principal roof forms of the new house reciprocate the setting -- the modern, clean lines of the upper gable roof upholds the clarity and tradition of the neighborhood, while the lower roof mimics the extension of the landscape and invites improvisational use. The horizontal flat roof allows use of the deck in all weather and cantilevers the most used public spaces into the landscape in a band of captured horizontal space. A wood-clad retaining wall refines a cut into the earth and harbors a transitional, outdoor room between the water and the basement.
At 2200 finished square feet, the conditioned building envelope is compact. And like the exterior, the interior form responds directly to its use. The upper floor is a monastic repetition of modest sleeping cells and bathrooms with unique directional views, combined with a grand central stair and master bedroom at each corner that captures myriad views of the water, over the trees, in all directions.
The main floor utilizes a core of small, functional spaces to shield the adjacent road, and forms a backdrop to the open interior spaces. Aided by the reaching, cedar-bellied roof, the living, dining, and kitchen spaces spill to the outdoors through an unusually porous exterior wall. Three sliding glass doors–including one at 20 feet wide–and a finished, surrounding ground plane cohere the landscape to the main living level.
Super-insulated wood-framed walls, triple-paned aluminum-clad wood windows, and a structurally insulated roof panels make-up the core of the building envelope, and additional exterior high-performance design features include geothermal heating/cooling and a green roof. Cementitious lap siding, concrete panels, hardwood decking, cedar soffits, and river rock comprise the exterior finish. In addition to cedar ceilings, interior finishes include porcelain ceramic tile, cork flooring, tight pile wool carpet, and neutral painted walls -- designed in quiet tones to highlight the most important interior ingredient: views outside.

Sponsored
Columbus, OH
HomeCraft Remodeling
Custom Craftsmanship & Build Solutions in Franklin County, Ohio

Step into a Coral Gables masterpiece where architectural history meets modern luxury. Designed by Touzet Studio, this project harmoniously blends classic charm with contemporary comfort.
The unanimous approval from the Board of Architects speaks to the project's dedication to preserving the essence of the original 1920s and 30s Mediterranean house. Sensitivity to scale and materials ensures a seamless integration of the old and the new.
As you explore, you'll find a luxurious master bedroom wing, thoughtfully connected to the existing structure through a glass walkway. This addition offers a serene space that effortlessly bridges the past and the present.
A family room with high wood ceilings becomes the heart of the home, inviting relaxation and cherished moments with loved ones. Tradition and modernity coexist harmoniously in this space.
Our commitment extends to the meticulous restoration of the historic structure, breathing fresh life into its storied walls.
In addition to this, we've added a modern kitchen, a stylish bar, and a refined library/media room, carefully designed to cater to your contemporary needs.
Discover the essence of Coral Gables living, where the past is honored, and luxury is redefined. This project isn't just a development; it's an opportunity to embrace the charm of the past while relishing the comforts of the present.

The Aaron Peck house is in the heart of Wickford Village in North Kingstown and dates to the late eighteenth century. The original structure was a modest storey and a half gambrel with later saltbox and contemporary kitchen additions.
While the house had been worked on extensively over the years, it was built over a shallow, unventilated crawlspace and all previous work had overlooked addressing the decay that two hundred and thirty years of wet, stale air can have on the floor framing and house sills. When Picus Woodwrights was engaged, we could push against one side of the house and feel the walls move on the opposite side.
The homeowners reached out to us to design and build a master suite on the second floor that would provide modern amenities while remaining sensitive to the original features of the house. However, we all quickly realized that before we could take this part of the project on, the house would need significant structural work and the long-closed crawlspace would need to be opened. This gave us the opportunity to not only replace any failed framing and add a full foundation but to upgrade all of the utilities and add spray foam insulation, as well. We also restored the original single-hung windows and added discrete central air and heat to the first and second floors.
Picus managed not only the project budget, design and construction but also the administrative oversight that comes with a project in need of extensive structural work located on the water and in a historic district. Ultimately, we restored or rebuilt most of the interior of the house and, in so doing, addressed both the needs of the client and the needs of the building. While in construction, we sometimes fondly and sometimes wryly referred to the house as a Faberge egg or a ship-in-a-bottle.

Design work for this eclectic 1900’s home in Maplewood started with making infrastructure improvements throughout the house. The new owners wanted systems that would be energy efficient and ecologically friendly. We installed a very high efficiency HVAC system, replaced the piping and plumbing throughout, and specified new super high efficiency windows. Other exterior improvements included new leaders and gutters, insulation, and new siding in some locations. These upgrades were balanced with maintaining as many as the original details of the house as possible.
When you walk into the house, you still sense the original character and charm of the house, but are surrounded by modern amenities and environmentally sensitive finishes. Specific renovations include updated and reconfigured bathrooms throughout, a new kitchen, finishing of the basement, and repurposing of several rooms so the house would have better flow.
In 2011 the family moved back to New York City, and new owners purchased this Maplewood home. We had the pleaser of working with them to design further improvements to the house necessitated by their growing family. We added a porte cochere, a family-room, and increased the ceiling height in their master bedroom. These improvements augmented our design work previously completed in 2008, and the house continues to be a blend of traditional old-house details with modern, contemporary furnishings that perfectly suite a family with young children.

SLDarch: The shaded Main Entry, tucked deep into the shadows, is approached from a rising stepped garden path, leading up to a gentle, quiet water feature and custom stainless steel, glass and wood pivot entry door...open this and venture in to the Central Foyer space, shrouded by curved concrete & stainless steel structure and orienting the visitor to the central core of this curvaceous home.
From this central orientation point, one begins to perceive the magic and mystery yet to be revealed in the undulating spatial volumes, spiraling out in several directions.
Ahead is the kitchen and breakfast room, to the right are the Children's Bedroom Wing and the 'ocotillo stairs' to Master Bedroom upstairs. Venture left down the gentle ramp that follows along the gurgling water stream and meander past the bar and billiards, or on towards the main living room.
The entire ceiling areas are a brilliant series of overlapping smoothly curved plaster and steel framed layers, separated by translucent poly-carbonate panels.
This combats the intense summer heat and light, but carefully allows indirect natural daylight to gently sift through the deep interior of this unique desert home.
Wandering through the organic curves of this home eventually leads you to another gentle ramp leading to the very private and secluded Meditation Room,
entered through a double shoji door and sporting a supple leather floor radiating around a large circular glass Floor Window. Here is the ideal place to sit and meditate while seeming to hover over the colorful reflecting koi pool just below. The glass meditation room walls slide open, revealing a special desert garden, while at night the gurgling water reflects dancing lights up through the glass floor into this lovely Zen Zone.
"Blocking the intense summer sun was a prime objective here and was accomplished by clever site orientation, massive roof overhangs, super insulated exterior walls and roof, ultra high-efficiency water cooled A/C system and ample earth contact and below grade areas."
There is a shady garden path with foot bridge crossing over a natural desert wash, leading to the detached Desert Office, actually set below the xeriscape desert garden by 30" while hidden below, completely underground and naturally cooled sits another six car garage.
The main residence also has a 4 car below grade garage and lovely swimming pool with party patio in the backyard.
This property falls withing the City Of Scottsdale Natural Area Open Space area so special attention was required for this sensitive desert land project.

Sponsored
Fredericksburg, OH
High Point Cabinets
Columbus' Experienced Custom Cabinet Builder | 4x Best of Houzz Winner

Way back in the late 1970s, the owners of an 1894 Victorian in Somerville hired Charlie Allen Renovations to renovate and restore their home, a landmark property that had been divided into apartments and lost some of its period charm. This was a memorable project and it was a shock when the homeowners called in December 2014 to let us know that their home had been badly damaged by a fire. They asked if we could once again restore it to its original prominence.
This time nearly every original element of the home needed to be restored or rebuilt.
We began the process by carefully removing all original moulding and paneling, which was then catalogued, thoroughly cleaned, and stored away. Belfor, a property restoration firm, was hired to remove soot and smoky odors, which required opening the walls and then rebuilding them. Numerous decorative elements throughout the home, including an intricate stained glass window in the dining room, had been too badly damaged to be restored; these were carefully remade by both our talented team and by an exceptional group of project partners, to match their original design.
All of the windows in the house had to be replaced, and all of its floors needed to be refinished. Tile hearth surrounding the dining room fireplace and the living room fireplace mantel and surround were removed, cleaned, and replaced.
The homeowners also took the opportunity to have some long-desired renovations accomplished, including remodeling the outdated kitchen, which now features an expansive island, pantry closet, new cork flooring, backsplash, and greenhouse window.
Today, the house is fully both meticulously restored and remodeled, and the owners are happily back home. At its conclusion, the project was awarded with the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission’s 2017 Directors Award and a 2018 Contractor of the Year Gold Award.
Along with Belfor, additional project partners include Jackson Schillaci Woodworking, master finisher Wayne Towle, and Jim Anderson Stained Glass.
Photo by Shelly Harrison Photography

This pond has a 44 mil liner to ensure a leak free swimming structure. The liner material is sensitive to sunlight and will eventually breakdown over the years if it is exposed. As a result, our team spent 3 days meticulously covering the entire pond liner with stone. Each small boulder is hand placed to ensure a perfect fit and not tear the liner in the building process. The amount of patients and effort by our crew is incredible and the result is always beautiful! The waterfall which adds to the natural feel of the pond was created with large stone shelves and a bog for natural filtration. All of our water features use natural filtration processes and no chemicals. We create a simulated bog which the water is pumped into and cleaned naturally though various levels of sand, stone and wetland plants.

The Gun Lake Residence replaces a small, aging, existing house located on a narrow peninsula on Gun Lake, in west Michigan. The peninsula is neatly populated with century-old homes that quietly occupy this uncommon setting. The project site offers extraordinary views of the water in multiple directions and extends to the east with open space, bordering on an historic, 19th-century community ice house.
A primary project goal was to reimagine the relationship of the house to its surroundings while remaining sensitive to the communal context of the neighboring properties. The design seed of the new project included rotating the footprint of the existing house 90 degrees to open the long side of the home toward the lake, maximizing views and gaining optimal benefit of the linear site. Drawing inspiration from the traditional lake vernacular of the neighboring houses, the two principal roof forms of the new house reciprocate the setting -- the modern, clean lines of the upper gable roof upholds the clarity and tradition of the neighborhood, while the lower roof mimics the extension of the landscape and invites improvisational use. The horizontal flat roof allows use of the deck in all weather and cantilevers the most used public spaces into the landscape in a band of captured horizontal space. A wood-clad retaining wall refines a cut into the earth and harbors a transitional, outdoor room between the water and the basement.
At 2200 finished square feet, the conditioned building envelope is compact. And like the exterior, the interior form responds directly to its use. The upper floor is a monastic repetition of modest sleeping cells and bathrooms with unique directional views, combined with a grand central stair and master bedroom at each corner that captures myriad views of the water, over the trees, in all directions.
The main floor utilizes a core of small, functional spaces to shield the adjacent road, and forms a backdrop to the open interior spaces. Aided by the reaching, cedar-bellied roof, the living, dining, and kitchen spaces spill to the outdoors through an unusually porous exterior wall. Three sliding glass doors–including one at 20 feet wide–and a finished, surrounding ground plane cohere the landscape to the main living level.
Super-insulated wood-framed walls, triple-paned aluminum-clad wood windows, and a structurally insulated roof panels make-up the core of the building envelope, and additional exterior high-performance design features include geothermal heating/cooling and a green roof. Cementitious lap siding, concrete panels, hardwood decking, cedar soffits, and river rock comprise the exterior finish. In addition to cedar ceilings, interior finishes include porcelain ceramic tile, cork flooring, tight pile wool carpet, and neutral painted walls -- designed in quiet tones to highlight the most important interior ingredient: views outside.
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