The challenge: take a run-of-the mill colonial-style house and turn it into a vibrant, Cape Cod beach home. The creative and resourceful crew at SV Design rose to the occasion and rethought the box. Given a coveted location and cherished ocean view on a challenging lot, SV’s architects looked for the best bang for the buck to expand where possible and open up the home inside and out. Windows were added to take advantage of views and outdoor spaces—also maximizing water-views were added in key locations. The result: a home that causes the neighbors to stop the new owners and express their appreciation for making such a stunning improvement. A home to accommodate everyone and many years of enjoyment to come.

The architects incorporated a rare post-tension structural system into the residence, which eliminated the use of structural beams, and allowed for maximized ceiling heights on both floors and unobstructed views of the water.

Inspiration for a transitional bathroom remodel in New York

Transitional white tile gray floor and double-sink alcove shower photo in Indianapolis with recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, white walls, an undermount sink, a hinged shower door, white countertops and a built-in vanity

TEAM Interior Architect/Designer: LDa Architecture & Interiors Exterior Architect: Schwartz/Silver Architects Builder: C.H. Newton Builders, Inc. Landscape Architect: Horiuchi and Solien Landscape Architects Custom Millwork and Cabinetry: Beacon Millwork Photographer: Greg Premru Photography

Located on a heritage-lined street in Melbourne’s Williamstown, a young family were seeking a contemporary home with ample room to grow. Benni Trajcevski of Achieve Design Group answered their call, creating the epitome of modern living concealed behind a modest façade. To achieve the long wish list including large indoor and outdoor gathering spaces to entertain family and friends, separate adult and children living and sleeping zones, and a pool suitable for year-round use, Benni has maximised every inch of the block. Seamless transitional spaces link inside with out. This flow between the indoors and outdoors is a key feature of the home, achieved through generous open floor planning and glazing. For example, large hidden sliding doors allow the pool to be closed-off for use in winter; acrylic glass panels link the pool with the sunken lounge, which includes a fire pit for year-round comfort. The inclusion of a courtyard and voids throughout create separate useable zones while maintaining the feeling of spaciousness. Orientated to the north and surrounded with floor to ceiling windows to optimise natural light, the courtyard divides the formal lounge area with the informal living area, while the first floor is divided into four separate wings for privacy and functionality. The interiors are detailed with quality materials and finishes to achieve a sleek and sophisticated aesthetic. Contrasting materials in muted tones, including tiles, steel and lightweight timbers are featured throughout. Corian and a moss green wall are unexpected features.

Designed to be a legacy and space where great family memories could be created, OBMI completed the master planning, landscape, interior design, and architecture of the holistic residential Longtail House project. A modern home wrapped in the classic Bermudian style, it’s comprised of 4 bedrooms with in-suite bathrooms including a master suite and a guest apartment. A Great Room combines all family social activity in one space, with an incorporated living room, dining room, and kitchen. Close by is the Library-Music Room, Media Room, Home Office, back of house kitchen support and laundry. Below the Great Room are the Game Room and the wine cellar, which can be observed from above through a glass floor. There is a large garage for vehicles and various sporting items. At the front of the house, overlooking the ocean is the infinity pool, spa, and gardens with endemic shoreline plants. The previous house on the property site was carefully disassembled and recycled as exemplified by the existing cedar wood floors, which were repurposed as entrance ceilings. Even garden plants were recycled where possible. The biggest challenge was during excavation. With a lot of hard rock present, it took several weeks to cut through. Once the foundation level was achieved, all work went smoothly. The house has a strong emphasis on respecting and nurturing the environment, with igloo nests situated at the edge of the cliffs for Longtail seabirds to repose. The layout was set so as to maximize the best sun orientation for the solar panels and for natural cooling from the offshore breezes to occur.

To save money, we used an existing house design our builder had worked on previously and made changes to the layout to open up the space and maximize on our incredible lake views. The first thing we changed was to flip the kitchen layout and move the stove and hood to the side wall to make room for a window and some open shelving over a farmhouse sink. This allowed us to maximize the partial lake views on the south side of the house and saved money on additional custom cabinets. We also removed a smaller pantry that was closing off the open space between the kitchen and living room. Instead, we turned the corner of the kitchen into a much larger, walk-in pantry that also saved us a bit on granite costs and added a ton of storage. Granite: iCloud, leathered finish Island Cabinets: Medallion Appaloosa finish, Brookhill door style Perimeter Cabinets: Divinity Classic painted finish, Potters Mill door style beaded with wide cove top moldings Floors: Castle Combe Hardwood in Corsham Backsplash: Daltile Brickwork in Terrace Appliances: Bertazoni 36-inch all gas oven and range and coordinating appliances Paint Color: Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore Trim: White Dove by Benjamin Moore Windows: Anderson 400 series with pine casings stained in minwax jacobean Pendants: Austin Allen & Company Kitchen Design: Home Again by Hancock Lumber Builder: Island Cove Building and Development Floating Shelves with Jute Rope custom designed and built by Rowe Station Woodworks of New Gloucester, Maine Decor by My Sister's Garage of Windham, Maine

Photo: Rachel Loewen © 2018 Houzz
Example of a transitional dining room design in Chicago

Inspiration for a contemporary living room remodel in Phoenix

Fixtures: Maxim Lighting's Carriage House collection found at www.maximlighting.com Construction: Jorge Ulibarri Custom Homes, www.imyourbuilder.com

This small bathroom remodel was completed in Northern Virginia in Alexandria. To maximize the space in the existing small bathroom, MOSS moved a linen closet further into an adjacent room to make the bathroom feel more open. The result made a world of difference once a top of the line shower/tub combo was installed, along with a brand new bathroom vanity and pocket door to eliminate door swing into their upstairs hallway.

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

The design focus was on maximizing the key asset of the property, which is the panoramic view of the Singapore skyline, while also creating a sense of luxury and spaciousness.

Beach style bedroom photo in Miami

Example of a transitional single-wall wallpaper laundry room design in Chicago with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, blue walls, a side-by-side washer/dryer and white countertops

Conceived of as a C-shaped house with a small private courtyard and a large private rear yard, this new house maximizes the floor area available to build on this smaller Palo Alto lot. An Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) integrated into the main structure gave a floor area bonus. For now, it will be used for visiting relatives. One challenge of this design was keeping a low profile and proportional design while still meeting the FEMA flood plain requirement that the finished floor start about 3′ above grade. The new house has four bedrooms (including the attached ADU), a separate family room with a window seat, a music room, a prayer room, and a large living space that opens to the private small courtyard as well as a large covered patio at the rear. Mature trees around the perimeter of the lot were preserved, and new ones planted, for private indoor-outdoor living. C-shaped house, New home, ADU, Palo Alto, CA, courtyard, KA Project Team: John Klopf, AIA, Angela Todorova, Lucie Danigo
Structural Engineer: ZFA Structural Engineers
Landscape Architect: Outer Space Landscape Architects
Contractor: Coast to Coast Development
Photography: ©2023 Mariko Reed
Year Completed: 2022 Location: Palo Alto, CA

Transitional living room photo in New Orleans

1950s bedroom photo in Grand Rapids