Turret Roof with radius glass Observation tower
Inspiration for an eclectic open concept family room remodel in Seattle

Associated Housewrights
Living room - craftsman living room idea

Moss Garden: A Living Carpet of Tranquility A moss garden is a serene, low-maintenance landscape feature that evokes a profound sense of calm and natural beauty. Composed of vibrant, velvety mosses that thrive in shaded, humid environments, these gardens offer a soft, carpet-like groundcover that replaces traditional lawns or gravel with rich, green texture. At Westland Design, our moss gardens are thoughtfully integrated into the overall landscape to enhance a feeling of timelessness and stillness. Whether nestled beneath the canopy of trees, edging a stone pathway, or surrounding a tranquil water feature, moss brings subtle movement and color to quiet corners of the garden. Key qualities of a moss garden include: Evergreen softness: Moss provides lush, year-round greenery that requires no mowing or fertilizing. Quiet beauty: It absorbs sound, contributing to a peaceful, contemplative environment. Natural elegance: Ideal for Japanese-style gardens or woodland settings, moss complements stone, water, and wood elements with organic harmony. A moss garden is more than a design choice—it’s an invitation to slow down, observe closely, and appreciate nature’s quiet elegance.

This gorgeous home is located in the guard gated community of Desert Mountain. Drive up the beautiful brick paved driveway that leads to an inviting front patio. Enter into a glamorous great room floor plan with Travertine floors throughout. Family room has a tiled feature wall with fireplace. The gourmet kitchen has custom Alder cabinets, granite counters, center island with breakfast bar, Monogram apps, butlers pantry and walk-in pantry. Master has private entrance, sitting area, built-in desk, bath has double vanity, walk-in closet and step-in tiled shower. The backyard is an entertainers delight with covered patio, pool & spa with water features, putting green,cool Loft/studio has separate bathroom and steam shower, observation deck, fireplace, TV, and amazing majestic mountain views.

On the quick view, the landscape for this speculative summer home development could not be more ordinary. Its story all too common. As a product of a farm’s subdivision, it had all the trappings of American residential sprawl – large front lawn exposed to street, few mature trees, clumsy entry sequence with service and front door in direct conflict, and lack of privacy. To fulfill its function as a summer and vacation house destination, the new owner understood the landscape required a transformation. A delightful and magical surprise was the property’s mature Poplar forest, abutting the new house. By removing and transplanting the Poplars, a sculpted void and solid composition established a garden structure. Introducing scale and a landscape continuum, the relocated tall Poplars erased the house front’s youthful origins. A distinctive landscape personality grew out of the skeletal structure of the Poplar groves. A bold landscape graphic emerged with simplified underplanting strengthens the Poplar’s mono-culture presentation, calming the eye and inviting further sensory observation and reflection.

Volumes give movement to an essential design that becomes convenience. The quality of the finest materials as Tecnolite and Tecnolux provides functionality to the beauty of the finishings. The integrated wash-basin cm.26 high form a whole with the elements in observance of the balance and the pureness of the forms, feature of all the collection.

Unlike traditional windows, the Tilt & Turn system offers two unique opening positions. The tilt position lets in the fresh air at the top of the window without creating a draft or being fully exposed to the outside. With a further turn of the handle, the window pane swings inwards, allowing for maximum ventilation and easy access for cleaning and maintenance. Here you can observe the Tilt function of the Kitchen window.

View of front raised patio at night showing wood stained soffits and brown specialty tiles at entry. Porcelain exterior tiles.
Mid-sized modern white two-story stucco flat roof idea in Miami

The goal of this project was to craft clean lines, gentle flows, and seasonal texture within an established woodland setting. Challenges arose from dappled light and deer pressure, along with the need for minimal irrigation. These conditions inspired us to create a woodland meadow enriched with understory birches, flowering shrubs, part-shade perennials, and spring bulbs. The inclusion of woodland ephemerals, stepping-stone paths and strategically-placed boulders enhanced the opportunity for quiet contemplation and wildlife observation. The crisp, curved edges of the tightly-jointed walks invite you into the garden while clearly defining maintenance areas. Angela Kearney, Minglewood, LLC

Forms and colors inspired by rural buildings of old Napa Valley were finished to complement the owners urban aesthetic. This collection of shed and gable structures blend simplicity, sophistication and a connection to the land to create a home, gallery and studio. At its heart, is a three-story wine tower for wine storage and a 270-degree observation deck. Pedestal-mounted solar panels track the sun and provide energy for the radiant floor heating system and electrical needs. Low e-glazing, high-efficiency insulation and sun-control shading systems maintain interior temperatures.

3M's Prestige window films are not only designed to be unnoticeable to the casual observer but are also designed to offer superior heat rejecting capabilities - most notably, the sun's infrared heat.

A collection that unites the poetic and unique beauty of stones harnessed by Dekton® technology, as those dreams where we observe and vaguely feel in control but only the deepest part of our mind truly understands. The collection is named in honor of the lavish inspiration of the two worlds conveyed in marbled colors to captivate our eyes and bring to any space a feeling we understand but cannot explain.

The goal of this project was to craft clean lines, gentle flows, and seasonal texture within an established woodland setting. Challenges arose from dappled light and deer pressure, along with the need for minimal irrigation. These conditions inspired us to create a woodland meadow enriched with understory birches, flowering shrubs, part-shade perennials, and spring bulbs. The inclusion of woodland ephemerals, stepping-stone paths and strategically-placed boulders enhanced the opportunity for quiet contemplation and wildlife observation. The crisp, curved edges of the tightly-jointed walks invite you into the garden while clearly defining maintenance areas. Angela Kearney, Minglewood, LLC

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.

Observation Deck

Pea gravel pathway leading back down the hill to the home. Flagstone steps and Sandstone Boulders
Photo of a huge contemporary full sun backyard gravel formal garden.

This kitchen had not been renovated since the salt box colonial house was built in the 1960’s. The new owner felt it was time for a complete refresh with some traditional details and adding in the owner’s contemporary tastes. At initial observation, we determined the house had good bones; including high ceilings and abundant natural light from a double-hung window and three skylights overhead recently installed by our client. Mixing the homeowners desires required the skillful eyes of Cathy and Ed from Renovisions. The original kitchen had dark stained, worn cabinets, in-adequate lighting and a non-functional coat closet off the kitchen space. In order to achieve a true transitional look, Renovisions incorporated classic details with subtle, simple and cleaner line touches. For example, the backsplash mix of honed and polished 2” x 3” stone-look subway tile is outlined in brushed stainless steel strips creating an edgy feel, especially at the niche above the range. Removing the existing wall that shared the coat closet opened up the kitchen to allow adding an island for seating and entertaining guests. We chose natural maple, shaker style flat panel cabinetry with longer stainless steel pulls instead of knobs, keeping in line with the clients desire for a sleeker design. This kitchen had to be gutted to accommodate the new layout featuring an island with pull-out trash and recycling and deeper drawers for utensils. Spatial constraints were top of mind and incorporating a convection microwave above the slide-in range made the most sense. Our client was thrilled with the ability to bake, broil and microwave from GE’s advantium oven – how convenient! A custom pull-out cabinet was built for his extensive array of spices and oils. The sink base cabinet provides plenty of area for the large rectangular stainless steel sink, single-lever multi-sprayer faucet and matching filtered water dispenser faucet. The natural, yet sleek green soapstone countertop with distinct white veining created a dynamic visual and principal focal point for the now open space. While oak wood flooring existed in the entire first floor, as an added element of color and interest we installed multi-color slate-look porcelain tiles in the kitchen area. We also installed a fully programmable floor heating system for those chilly New England days. Overall, out client was thrilled with his Mission Transition.

Spectacular red granite boulders through out the rough landscape, harsh winds, intense heat and sometimes, even snow, were all horticultural challenges and inspirations on this beautiful Mediterranean seaside property. Nicholas Walker and his team worked in conjunction with his brother Malcolm to create a stunning series of Belgian Blue Stone terraces and pathways to connect the diverse sections of the property and integrate the indoor and outdoor living experience. They designed a sheltered cactus oasis, organic culinary garden and an intimate Ipe observation deck as virtual rooms linked by the elegant stone pathways and framed by the sea.