The 1,750-square foot Manhattan Beach bungalow is home to two humans and three dogs. Originally built in 1929, the bungalow had undergone various renovations that convoluted its original Moorish style. We gutted the home and completely updated both the interior and exterior. We opened the floor plan, rebuilt the ceiling with reclaimed hand-hewn oak beams and created hand-troweled plaster walls that mimicked the construction and look of the original walls. We also rebuilt the living room fireplace by hand, brick-by-brick, and replaced the generic roof tiles with antique handmade clay tiles. We returned much of this 3-bed, 2-bath home to a more authentic aesthetic, while adding modern touches of luxury, like radiant-heated floors, bi-fold doors that open from the kitchen/dining area to a large deck, and a custom steam shower, with Moroccan-inspired tile and an antique mirror. The end result is evocative luxury in a compact space.

A Modern Farmhouse set in a prairie setting exudes charm and simplicity. Wrap around porches and copious windows make outdoor/indoor living seamless while the interior finishings are extremely high on detail. In floor heating under porcelain tile in the entire lower level, Fond du Lac stone mimicking an original foundation wall and rough hewn wood finishes contrast with the sleek finishes of carrera marble in the master and top of the line appliances and soapstone counters of the kitchen. This home is a study in contrasts, while still providing a completely harmonious aura.

A Modern Farmhouse set in a prairie setting exudes charm and simplicity. Wrap around porches and copious windows make outdoor/indoor living seamless while the interior finishings are extremely high on detail. In floor heating under porcelain tile in the entire lower level, Fond du Lac stone mimicking an original foundation wall and rough hewn wood finishes contrast with the sleek finishes of carrera marble in the master and top of the line appliances and soapstone counters of the kitchen. This home is a study in contrasts, while still providing a completely harmonious aura.

We started with a blank slate on this basement project where our only obstacles were exposed steel support columns, existing plumbing risers from the concrete slab, and dropped soffits concealing ductwork on the ceiling. It had the advantage of tall ceilings, an existing egress window, and a sliding door leading to a newly constructed patio. This family of five loves the beach and frequents summer beach resorts in the Northeast. Bringing that aesthetic home to enjoy all year long was the inspiration for the décor, as well as creating a family-friendly space for entertaining. Wish list items included room for a billiard table, wet bar, game table, family room, guest bedroom, full bathroom, space for a treadmill and closed storage. The existing structural elements helped to define how best to organize the basement. For instance, we knew we wanted to connect the bar area and billiards table with the patio in order to create an indoor/outdoor entertaining space. It made sense to use the egress window for the guest bedroom for both safety and natural light. The bedroom also would be adjacent to the plumbing risers for easy access to the new bathroom. Since the primary focus of the family room would be for TV viewing, natural light did not need to filter into that space. We made sure to hide the columns inside of newly constructed walls and dropped additional soffits where needed to make the ceiling mechanicals feel less random. In addition to the beach vibe, the homeowner has valuable sports memorabilia that was to be prominently displayed including two seats from the original Yankee stadium. For a coastal feel, shiplap is used on two walls of the family room area. In the bathroom shiplap is used again in a more creative way using wood grain white porcelain tile as the horizontal shiplap “wood”. We connected the tile horizontally with vertical white grout joints and mimicked the horizontal shadow line with dark grey grout. At first glance it looks like we wrapped the shower with real wood shiplap. Materials including a blue and white patterned floor, blue penny tiles and a natural wood vanity checked the list for that seaside feel. A large reclaimed wood door on an exposed sliding barn track separates the family room from the game room where reclaimed beams are punctuated with cable lighting. Cabinetry and a beverage refrigerator are tucked behind the rolling bar cabinet (that doubles as a Blackjack table!). A TV and upright video arcade machine round-out the entertainment in the room. Bar stools, two rotating club chairs, and large square poufs along with the Yankee Stadium seats provide fun places to sit while having a drink, watching billiards or a game on the TV. Signed baseballs can be found behind the bar, adjacent to the billiard table, and on specially designed display shelves next to the poker table in the family room. Thoughtful touches like the surfboards, signage, photographs and accessories make a visitor feel like they are on vacation at a well-appointed beach resort without being cliché.

Sleek and organic design with pebbles stone giving a natural look of a river walk running from the inside bathroom to the outdoor shower in a private patio. Maple cabinets and granite countertops. Design by Luz Marina Selles. Photos by Mike Small Photography.

This gem of a house was built in the 1950s, when its neighborhood undoubtedly felt remote. The university footprint has expanded in the 70 years since, however, and today this home sits on prime real estate—easy biking and reasonable walking distance to campus. When it went up for sale in 2017, it was largely unaltered. Our clients purchased it to renovate and resell, and while we all knew we'd need to add square footage to make it profitable, we also wanted to respect the neighborhood and the house’s own history. Swedes have a word that means “just the right amount”: lagom. It is a guiding philosophy for us at SYH, and especially applied in this renovation. Part of the soul of this house was about living in just the right amount of space. Super sizing wasn’t a thing in 1950s America. So, the solution emerged: keep the original rectangle, but add an L off the back. With no owner to design with and for, SYH created a layout to appeal to the masses. All public spaces are the back of the home--the new addition that extends into the property’s expansive backyard. A den and four smallish bedrooms are atypically located in the front of the house, in the original 1500 square feet. Lagom is behind that choice: conserve space in the rooms where you spend most of your time with your eyes shut. Put money and square footage toward the spaces in which you mostly have your eyes open. In the studio, we started calling this project the Mullet Ranch—business up front, party in the back. The front has a sleek but quiet effect, mimicking its original low-profile architecture street-side. It’s very Hoosier of us to keep appearances modest, we think. But get around to the back, and surprise! lofted ceilings and walls of windows. Gorgeous.

This residential kitchen project was performed in conjunction with Legacy Custom Homes/RSD, Frank Ponterio Interiors, and NuHaus/Exclusive Woodworking. The goal of this project was to fabricate and install marble slabs in a fashion that mimicked the custom millwork in the rest of this estate home on the Northshore of Chicago. John Tithof and Jason Cranmer, along with the fabrication production team, executed this project on behalf of Tithof Tile & Marble. The client wanted the panels to appear as if carved from dimensional stone blocks rather than the classic full height stone backsplash. One of the primary focuses was keeping the client involved through the templating and layout process to ensure they knew what their project would look like before anything was cut or installed. The evolution of this process has changed in recent years. Gone are the days of blue tape and visualizing the completed job. With the recent introduction of the revolutionary Perfect Match and Slabsmith software programs we have the ability to digitally layout every slab project and create a virtual representation of the project for approval prior to cutting.

This early 20th century Poppleton Park home was originally 2548 sq ft. with a small kitchen, nook, powder room and dining room on the first floor. The second floor included a single full bath and 3 bedrooms. The client expressed a need for about 1500 additional square feet added to the basement, first floor and second floor. In order to create a fluid addition that seamlessly attached to this home, we tore down the original one car garage, nook and powder room. The addition was added off the northern portion of the home, which allowed for a side entry garage. Plus, a small addition on the Eastern portion of the home enlarged the kitchen, nook and added an exterior covered porch. Special features of the interior first floor include a beautiful new custom kitchen with island seating, stone countertops, commercial appliances, large nook/gathering with French doors to the covered porch, mud and powder room off of the new four car garage. Most of the 2nd floor was allocated to the master suite. This beautiful new area has views of the park and includes a luxurious master bath with free standing tub and walk-in shower, along with a 2nd floor custom laundry room! Attention to detail on the exterior was essential to keeping the charm and character of the home. The brick façade from the front view was mimicked along the garage elevation. A small copper cap above the garage doors and 6” half-round copper gutters finish the look. KateBenjamin Photography

Inspiration for a cottage bathroom remodel in Minneapolis

"The master bath reveals a perfect marriage of the masculine and feminine - as well as the modern and traditional. Dark wood is wrapped around a large inset mirror; a floating cabinet of the same dark wood rests under a substantial marble top. A large, white soaking tub placed under a linear fireplace next to a wall covered in wallpaper of organic shapes of mother-of-pearl brings a warmth to the room, as do accessories mimicking nature." - Gaylene Simmons, Naples Illustrated

Inspiration for a country kitchen remodel in Baltimore

Located on farmland in McLean, Virginia, the American Farmhouse balances the expected comforts of a new home with the bucolic beauty of an old farmhouse. The final site plan still has evidence showing parallel courses of the barn’s destiny. The house mass is broken and lowered so that the home can remain secondary to the monolithic barn structure. Earthy and elemental materials are selected for the home that reference the barn without directly mimicking it. Wooden members found inside the barn and from other barns bridge ceilings and are used in floors along with rustic slate adding to a sense of simplicity to the farmhouse design. The age and patina of the barn is reflected in the house’s textural use of board and batten and field stone layered similar to stone foundations. The original development plan was to demolish the existing barn and construct three suburban homes. Part of an endangered breed, as one of the few remaining barns in the area, it was originally viewed as a challenge in a luxury home construction with several difficulties posed to the impending project: it would be expensive to renovate, vulnerable to demolition, and threatened by urban sprawl. However, instead of trying to alter or destroy the barn, the structure was fully embraced into the traditional architecture project as a centerpiece and was used as the inspiration for the home. The new house was sited parallel to the barn so that views to the barn gable were accessible.

Interior design by SOCO Interiors. Photography by Giovanni. Built by Stock Development.
Living room - transitional formal and enclosed living room idea in Miami with gray walls and a standard fireplace

The new patio space is greatly expanded over what was original to the home. Renn Kuhnen Photography
This is an example of a mid-sized mid-century modern full sun backyard landscaping in Milwaukee for summer.

The arbor over the swing is intended to shade the sitting area in this hot yard as the sun comes from the left side of the swing. Evergreen Pandorea vines eventually grew over the top. The style mimicked that of the already existing pergola on the deck. The swing gives the family a resting place to watch people practicing on the putting green.

Kitchen - rustic kitchen idea in Atlanta

We started with a blank slate on this basement project where our only obstacles were exposed steel support columns, existing plumbing risers from the concrete slab, and dropped soffits concealing ductwork on the ceiling. It had the advantage of tall ceilings, an existing egress window, and a sliding door leading to a newly constructed patio. This family of five loves the beach and frequents summer beach resorts in the Northeast. Bringing that aesthetic home to enjoy all year long was the inspiration for the décor, as well as creating a family-friendly space for entertaining. Wish list items included room for a billiard table, wet bar, game table, family room, guest bedroom, full bathroom, space for a treadmill and closed storage. The existing structural elements helped to define how best to organize the basement. For instance, we knew we wanted to connect the bar area and billiards table with the patio in order to create an indoor/outdoor entertaining space. It made sense to use the egress window for the guest bedroom for both safety and natural light. The bedroom also would be adjacent to the plumbing risers for easy access to the new bathroom. Since the primary focus of the family room would be for TV viewing, natural light did not need to filter into that space. We made sure to hide the columns inside of newly constructed walls and dropped additional soffits where needed to make the ceiling mechanicals feel less random. In addition to the beach vibe, the homeowner has valuable sports memorabilia that was to be prominently displayed including two seats from the original Yankee stadium. For a coastal feel, shiplap is used on two walls of the family room area. In the bathroom shiplap is used again in a more creative way using wood grain white porcelain tile as the horizontal shiplap “wood”. We connected the tile horizontally with vertical white grout joints and mimicked the horizontal shadow line with dark grey grout. At first glance it looks like we wrapped the shower with real wood shiplap. Materials including a blue and white patterned floor, blue penny tiles and a natural wood vanity checked the list for that seaside feel. A large reclaimed wood door on an exposed sliding barn track separates the family room from the game room where reclaimed beams are punctuated with cable lighting. Cabinetry and a beverage refrigerator are tucked behind the rolling bar cabinet (that doubles as a Blackjack table!). A TV and upright video arcade machine round-out the entertainment in the room. Bar stools, two rotating club chairs, and large square poufs along with the Yankee Stadium seats provide fun places to sit while having a drink, watching billiards or a game on the TV. Signed baseballs can be found behind the bar, adjacent to the billiard table, and on specially designed display shelves next to the poker table in the family room. Thoughtful touches like the surfboards, signage, photographs and accessories make a visitor feel like they are on vacation at a well-appointed beach resort without being cliché.

The owner said "any color but white" for her farmhouse kitchen country kitchen. Earthy and elemental materials are selected for the home that reference the barn without directly mimicking it. Wooden members found inside the barn and from other barns bridge ceilings and are used in floors along with rustic slate adding to a sense of simplicity to the farmhouse design.