“Compelling.” That’s how one of our judges characterized this stair, which manages to embody both reassuring solidity and airy weightlessness. Architect Mahdad Saniee specified beefy maple treads—each laminated from two boards, to resist twisting and cupping—and supported them at the wall with hidden steel hangers. “We wanted to make them look like they are floating,” he says, “so they sit away from the wall by about half an inch.” The stainless steel rods that seem to pierce the treads’ opposite ends are, in fact, joined by threaded couplings hidden within the thickness of the wood. The result is an assembly whose stiffness underfoot defies expectation, Saniee says. “It feels very solid, much more solid than average stairs.” With the rods working in tension from above and compression below, “it’s very hard for those pieces of wood to move.” The interplay of wood and steel makes abstract reference to a Steinway concert grand, Saniee notes. “It’s taking elements of a piano and playing with them.” A gently curved soffit in the ceiling reinforces the visual rhyme. The jury admired the effect but was equally impressed with the technical acumen required to achieve it. “The rhythm established by the vertical rods sets up a rigorous discipline that works with the intricacies of stair dimensions,” observed one judge. “That’s really hard to do.”

Assembling garden shed kit from SolidBuild. It took 6 hours to assemble for 2 guys and another 6 to paint the outside and stain the inside floors. The kits are made in Europe from selected Norway spruce solid boards with highest attention to details. The inside is finished and ready to "move in".

Little Siesta Cottage- This 1926 home was saved from destruction and moved in three pieces to the site where we deconstructed the revisions and re-assembled the home the way we suspect it originally looked.

©Finished Basement Company
Large transitional look-out carpeted and brown floor basement photo in Denver with beige walls and no fireplace

Little Siesta Cottage- This 1926 home was saved from destruction and moved in three pieces to the site where we deconstructed the revisions and re-assembled the home the way we suspect it originally looked.

Little Siesta Cottage- This 1926 home was saved from destruction and moved in three pieces to the site where we deconstructed the revisions and re-assembled the home the way we suspect it originally looked.

Little Siesta Cottage- This 1926 home was saved from destruction and moved in three pieces to the site where we deconstructed the revisions and re-assembled the home the way we suspect it originally looked.

Little Siesta Cottage- This 1926 home was saved from destruction and moved in three pieces to the site where we deconstructed the revisions and re-assembled the home the way we suspect it originally looked.

Mid-Century Remodel on Tabor Hill This sensitively sited house was designed by Robert Coolidge, a renowned architect and grandson of President Calvin Coolidge. The house features a symmetrical gable roof and beautiful floor to ceiling glass facing due south, smartly oriented for passive solar heating. Situated on a steep lot, the house is primarily a single story that steps down to a family room. This lower level opens to a New England exterior. Our goals for this project were to maintain the integrity of the original design while creating more modern spaces. Our design team worked to envision what Coolidge himself might have designed if he'd had access to modern materials and fixtures. With the aim of creating a signature space that ties together the living, dining, and kitchen areas, we designed a variation on the 1950's "floating kitchen." In this inviting assembly, the kitchen is located away from exterior walls, which allows views from the floor-to-ceiling glass to remain uninterrupted by cabinetry. We updated rooms throughout the house; installing modern features that pay homage to the fine, sleek lines of the original design. Finally, we opened the family room to a terrace featuring a fire pit. Since a hallmark of our design is the diminishment of the hard line between interior and exterior, we were especially pleased for the opportunity to update this classic work.

This is the assembled garden shed kit from SolidBuild. It took 6 hours to assemble for 2 guys and another 6 to paint the outside and stain the inside floors. The kits are made in Europe from selected Norway spruce solid boards with highest attention to details. The inside is finished and ready to "move in".

Little Siesta Cottage- This 1926 home was saved from destruction and moved in three pieces to the site where we deconstructed the revisions and re-assembled the home the way we suspect it originally looked.

Little Siesta Cottage- This 1926 home was saved from destruction and moved in three pieces to the site where we deconstructed the revisions and re-assembled the home the way we suspect it originally looked.

Joe Fletcher
Inspiration for a mid-sized scandinavian built-in desk medium tone wood floor home office remodel in New York with white walls and no fireplace

This previously unused attic space is now a sauna/yoga room. The left sauna wall follows the attic rafters down diagonally to allow a wider space for leg room on the twin sauna benches.

Little Siesta Cottage- This 1926 home was saved from destruction and moved in three pieces to the site where we deconstructed the revisions and re-assembled the home the way we suspect it originally looked.

Assembling garden shed kit from SolidBuild. It took 6 hours to assemble for 2 guys and another 6 to paint the outside and stain the inside floors. The kits are made in Europe from selected Norway spruce solid boards with highest attention to details. The inside is finished and ready to "move in".

Photo: Carolyn Reyes © 2018 Houzz
Example of an urban living room design in Los Angeles

Little Siesta Cottage- This 1926 home was saved from destruction and moved in three pieces to the site where we deconstructed the revisions and re-assembled the home the way we suspect it originally looked.

Piston Design
Example of a tuscan hallway design in Austin with orange walls