We started with a small, 3 bedroom, 2 bath brick cape and turned it into a 4 bedroom, 3 bath home, with a new kitchen/family room layout downstairs and new owner’s suite upstairs. Downstairs on the rear of the home, we added a large, deep, wrap-around covered porch with a standing seam metal roof.

A rustic-modern house designed to grow organically from its site, overlooking a cornfield, river and mountains in the distance. Indigenous stone and wood materials were taken from the site and incorporated into the structure, which was articulated to honestly express the means of construction. Notable features include an open living/dining/kitchen space with window walls taking in the surrounding views, and an internally-focused circular library celebrating the home owner’s love of literature. Phillip Spears Photographer

Mid-sized arts and crafts front porch idea in Baltimore with decking and a roof extension

The new owners were looking forward to living in their new home with an open floor plan, tall vaulted ceilings, and great views. It featured a large Great Room with two big French Doors separating the Dining Room from the Master Bedroom. But after only a few months they identified a major design flaw: Each of the French Doors had ten glass windows with two large windows above each door. (Check out our before and after designs, traffic flow diagrams and photos of this project.) Glass windows and doors allowed sound and light from guests or the TV in the great room to easily sneak into the bedroom. With unique work and sleep schedules (he’s a pilot, she’s a registered nurse) this design wasn’t working. Then there was a traffic flow design flaw: The Master Bedroom had a second entrance from a hallway. To get into the bedroom from the hallway you needed to walk down another claustrophobic hallway. To get from the Master Bedroom to the Master Bath begin at the most remote corner of the bedroom and down a hallway between two closets. Once inside the bath, a huge triangular Jacuzzi dominating the space. So, from a privacy and traffic flow perspective, this home had some major design issues. When Craig Weber first met with the owners, he listened to their ideas and concerns. The owners trusted Craig to come up with the most efficient and most effective solution to this design dilemma. He offered a solution that resolved the bed-bath traffic flow problem, offered some bedroom room privacy, and updated the bath. First, the two French Doors and windows were removed. A new wall was built with sound-absorbing materials, making the Great Room and Dining Room more comfortable spaces for entertaining while creating the bedroom privacy the owners craved. Solving the Bedroom/Bath traffic flow problem began with removing the two existing closets. The bath door was relocated next to the hall entrance, and then a new walk-in closet was added adjacent to the hallway entrance. The solution offered easy access to and from the bath, closet and hallway without a hint of claustrophobia. The Master Bath underwent a major transformation designed for convenience and comfort – especially during long, cold Minnesota winters. Most everything from the former bath was torn out, beginning with the giant Jacuzzi. A new bathtub that is wider and deeper than the standard size was installed with brushed Nickel fixtures. It’s the perfect place to relax with a glass of wine and candles. Warm floors are a Minnesota “must have.” The bath’s new ceramic floor features in-floor electric heat. Getting in and out of the tub is easy and comfortable. The new walk-in shower again features in-floor heating and a place to sit. The most interesting feature of this shower may the custom ceramic tile installed with unique patterns. A new vanity Cambria Bradshaw countertops features two under-hung ceramic sinks with matching brushed Nickel fixtures. Tall ceilings and three glass windows near the ceiling flood the room with natural light. A new energy-efficient window frames an ornamental stained glass window created by the owner’s father – a great personal touch. A quiet place to sleep. A private dining room for entertaining. A Master Bath to die for. And easy traffic flow. The owners couldn’t have been more delighted with the outcome. And Lilly, their cat, loves it too.

Customer Photo: "Wanted a new papasan cushion and we figured Cushion Source was the best place to go to. Amazing quality and even better pattern than we expected. Love it!" Featured Fabric Premier Prints Isadella Premier Navy/Slub

Horses stand at the Cor-Ten steel hitching post. Materials such as poured-in-place concrete walls and stone quarried on the property create a striking maintenance-free exterior.

Imagine a lazy morning in this casually elegant kitchen, sipping your freshly brewed coffee as natural light pours through floor to ceiling windows. Then imagine being in this kitchen sipping your morning coffee and gazing out at the beautiful rolling landscape of one of New England’s prestigious golf clubs. Imagine . . . The owner of this beautiful contemporary kitchen with its idyllic setting imagined ! And her kitchen designer captured her imagination and brought this inspired space to life in both style and function. Columns of stainless steel are balanced by columns with the warmth of birch wood with just a hint of stain. On an adjacent wall one more wood column rises from floor to ceiling. A strong horizontal line of cabinetry seemingly intersects the vertical columns. While contemporary in design, the cabinetry in this kitchen found its beginnings with the Shakers and the designers of the Craftsman period. Increasing the size of the framing on the doors, accenting the cabinet shapes with square-edged trim and blocks of wood at varying depths, thinly slicing and randomly sizing the natural stone on the accent wall, and choosing oversized stainless steel handles definitively bring this kitchen forward in time. Recycled glass countertops in a soft, quiet color continue to help this kitchen live so harmoniously with its surroundings. As the day unfolds and the lazy morning turns into ambitious meal preparation, it is clear that this kitchen is a chef’s delight. The stainless steel columns incorporate double ovens, a microwave and a steam oven. Two wood columns house a refrigerator and a freezer. The separate wood column reveals pantry storage, and a TV is hidden behind a lift-up door. On the island with its clean, rectangular shape two dishwashers flank the sink. Imagine ! how much more pleasant the task of clean-up is when you overlook the family living space and vista beyond. In the cook center, a complement of drawers provides excellent storage for pots and pans, utensils, spices and herbs around the 5-burner cooktop. A powerful vent with a rear exhaust maintains the horizontal design of the space. And the freshly-brewed coffee in the morning ? It comes from a built-in coffee maker that’s just around the corner from the refrigerator. Along with a wine refrigerator, it creates a beverage and serving center between the kitchen and the dining room. The homeowner envisioned a kitchen that is as beautiful as its surroundings. Her kitchen designer wanted her kitchen to be as functional as it is beautiful. Both agree that this kitchen lives up to their expectations!

A stone’s throw from Coogee Beach and nestled into the end of a private cul-de-sac, this secluded Sydney beachside garden balances beautifully the horticultural and the structural. With a seamless connection between the interior and exterior, this house is actually all about the garden. And so it should be as it is the home of the owners of Secret Gardens.

An interesting and fun project on the property of a much larger home. This was a complete rebuild of a Kids Cottage to a Tiny Home. A complete a design incorporating unique bed and trundle sleep area with additional storage. Here you can see new siding, deck and custom rail system. We designed this Tiny Home for the owner’s children to camp in. Sleeps three, has refrigerator and additional storage. Supplied everything including the new windows and doors.

We started with a small, 3 bedroom, 2 bath brick cape and turned it into a 4 bedroom, 3 bath home, with a new kitchen/family room layout downstairs and new owner’s suite upstairs. Downstairs on the rear of the home, we added a large, deep, wrap-around covered porch with a standing seam metal roof.

The owner’s vision of an industrial chic kitchen included a French LeCanche range in charcoal with brass accents, a custom brass and brushed stainless steel hood, and a burnished zinc island countertop. The floor is a polished concrete with radiant heating, island pendants were found in a vintage store and are prismatic glass and bronze. The Island cabinet finish, in midnight stained quarter sawn white oak, was used for the serving buffet and mudroom bench and cubbies.

The original owner built a 700sf cottage on this lovely cove in the 1960's. The new owners required more room for their extended family and guests, however they were keen to keep the small, modest appearance. Through a collaborative design process new addition was designed and a redo of the interiors for the wonderful prospects of the bay. The house was bid and the Architect-General Contractor team worked collaboratively to reduce costs more. 1400sf

Photo Credit: Warren Jagger
Large elegant master marble floor drop-in bathtub photo in New York with recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets and white walls

Our inspiration for this home was an updated and refined approach to Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Prairie-style”; one that responds well to the harsh Central Texas heat. By DESIGN we achieved soft balanced and glare-free daylighting, comfortable temperatures via passive solar control measures, energy efficiency without reliance on maintenance-intensive Green “gizmos” and lower exterior maintenance. The client’s desire for a healthy, comfortable and fun home to raise a young family and to accommodate extended visitor stays, while being environmentally responsible through “high performance” building attributes, was met. Harmonious response to the site’s micro-climate, excellent Indoor Air Quality, enhanced natural ventilation strategies, and an elegant bug-free semi-outdoor “living room” that connects one to the outdoors are a few examples of the architect’s approach to Green by Design that results in a home that exceeds the expectations of its owners. Photo by Mark Adams Media

This was a down to the studs interior remodel of a historic home in Boise's North End. Through an extensive Design Phase we opened up the living spaces, relocated and rearranged bathrooms, re-designed the mail level to include an Owner's Suite, and added living space in the attic. The interior of this home had not been touched for a half century and now serves the needs of a growing family with updates from attic to lower level game room. Credit: Josh Roper - Photos Credit: U-Rok Designs – Interiors

Interior Designer Brad McCallum Creates Two Stunning Spaces The first of these two projects features a unique basement designed for Canadian gold-medal Olympian, Ben Herbert. He and his wife wanted to create a space that offered versatility so they could not only host company in it but also display memorabilia from Herbert’s travels and career as a professional curler. Keeping the couple’s design goals in mind, interior designer Brad McCallum incorporated Eldorado Stone’s Chapel Hill Stacked stone with refined wood cabinetry. McCallum beautifully reflected the home’s close proximity to the Canadian Rocky Mountains through the addition of rough hewn stone, all the while maintaining a sense of refinement with clean lines, lustrous stainless steel fixtures, and horizontal design. The second of McCallum’s projects was to overhaul the design of a family’s wet bar and devise a way to achieve the owners’ hopes for a design that married rustic and contemporary styles together. McCallum combined opposing pastoral elements to create an unexpected harmony between the textures of stone and did so successfully. The smoothness of maple wood evoked modern characteristics accentuated by the tight joints and horizontal lines of Eldorado Stone’s Chapel Hill Stacked Stone. In both projects, McCallum created a sense of continuity with the design that paved the way for his clients’ spaces to be one-of-a-kind. Eldorado Stone Featured: Chapel Hill Stacked Stone Designer/ Photographer/ Builder: Brad McCallum Website: www.urban-abode.com

Transitional dining room photo in New York

Completed in two phases, the kitchen in this home was first overhauled and the wall separating it from the dining room was torn down. The structure, hidden in the boxed ceiling, compliments the original details as they were woven into this new great room. New sliding doors replacing the relocated bathroom at the rear beckon one to the garden. This created the palette for the owner to tailor the finishes exquisitely. The resplendent marble counter top is the heart of their tasteful new living space, ideal for entertaining. For phase two, the owner commissioned ONE Design to flood the upper level of the home with light. The owner, inspired by her rural upbringing in Humboldt, wished to draw inspiration from this and her Eichler-like grandparent’s home. ONE Design vaulted the ceilings to create an open soaring roof and provide a clean three dimensional canvass. Adding skylights which bathe the clean walls in an ever changing light show was the centerpiece of this transformation. Transom windows over the bedroom doors offer additional light to the interior circulation space. Enlarged windows combine the owner’s desire to live in a “glass house,” while paying respect to the Edwardian heritage of the home and providing expansive views of the meadow-like garden oasis. The cherry on top is the attic retreat, adding a north facing dormer that peeks at the Golden Gate Bridge offers a serene perch — perfect escapism for a creative writer!

A rustic-modern house designed to grow organically from its site, overlooking a cornfield, river and mountains in the distance. Indigenous stone and wood materials were taken from the site and incorporated into the structure, which was articulated to honestly express the means of construction. Notable features include an open living/dining/kitchen space with window walls taking in the surrounding views, and an internally-focused circular library celebrating the home owner’s love of literature. Phillip Spears Photographer