The owners requested that their home harmonize with the spirit of the surrounding Colorado mountain setting and enhance their outdoor recreational lifestyle - while reflecting their contemporary architectural tastes. The site was burdened with a myriad of strict design criteria enforced by the neighborhood covenants and architectural review board. Creating a distinct design challenge, the covenants included a narrow interpretation of a “mountain style” home which established predetermined roof pitches, glazing percentages and material palettes - at direct odds with the client‘s vision of a flat-roofed, glass, “contemporary” home. Our solution finds inspiration and opportunities within the site covenant’s strict definitions. It promotes and celebrates the client’s outdoor lifestyle and resolves the definition of a contemporary “mountain style” home by reducing the architecture to its most basic vernacular forms and relying upon local materials. The home utilizes a simple base, middle and top that echoes the surrounding mountains and vegetation. The massing takes its cues from the prevalent lodgepole pine trees that grow at the mountain’s high altitudes. These pine trees have a distinct growth pattern, highlighted by a single vertical trunk and a peaked, densely foliated growth zone above a sparse base. This growth pattern is referenced by placing the wood-clad body of the home at the second story above an open base composed of wood posts and glass. A simple peaked roof rests lightly atop the home - visually floating above a triangular glass transom. The home itself is neatly inserted amongst an existing grove of lodgepole pines and oriented to take advantage of panoramic views of the adjacent meadow and Continental Divide beyond. The main functions of the house are arranged into public and private areas and this division is made apparent on the home’s exterior. Two large roof forms, clad in pre-patinated zinc, are separated by a sheltering central deck - which signals the main entry to the home. At this connection, the roof deck is opened to allow a cluster of aspen trees to grow – further reinforcing nature as an integral part of arrival. Outdoor living spaces are provided on all levels of the house and are positioned to take advantage of sunrise and sunset moments. The distinction between interior and exterior space is blurred via the use of large expanses of glass. The dry stacked stone base and natural cedar cladding both reappear within the home’s interior spaces. This home offers a unique solution to the client’s requests while satisfying the design requirements of the neighborhood covenants. The house provides a variety of indoor and outdoor living spaces that can be utilized in all seasons. Most importantly, the house takes its cues directly from its natural surroundings and local building traditions to become a prototype solution for the “modern mountain house”. Overview Ranch Creek Ranch Winter Park, Colorado Completion Date October, 2007 Services Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture

When we embarked on designing this Santa-Barbara style townhome located on Craig Ranch’s prestigious 17th green, we immediately started visualizing the modern improvements we would make to reflect the clients’ true style. Lighting throughout the home was first on the list, then came floor coverings, wall coverings, and furnishings! Introducing brighter colors, modern frames, and bold patterns were key to balance out the heavier dark wood elements of both the home’s original architecture and some of the client’s existing pieces. Whimsical touches, elegant appointments, and sophisticated style are prevalent throughout this new modernized abode. creating a fresh feel in each room.

Deep Rock Barn is a six-stall horse barn located on a hillside overlooking the farm property. The barn, covered in reclaimed cypress boards, has an immediate patina of age and blends with the existing farm structures scattered on the farm. The mass of the barn is reduced with an open walk on one side with shed roof that gives direct access to the farm manager’s office. Tack room and wash stall complete the main level with the upper level being used for hay storage. The clients’ desire to maintain the high degree of detail prevalent in the other farm buildings was achieved with cooperation of the designer with the barn builder. Train also worked with the manufacturer of the doors and stalls to ensure design detail consistency.

The owners requested that their home harmonize with the spirit of the surrounding Colorado mountain setting and enhance their outdoor recreational lifestyle - while reflecting their contemporary architectural tastes. The site was burdened with a myriad of strict design criteria enforced by the neighborhood covenants and architectural review board. Creating a distinct design challenge, the covenants included a narrow interpretation of a “mountain style” home which established predetermined roof pitches, glazing percentages and material palettes - at direct odds with the client‘s vision of a flat-roofed, glass, “contemporary” home. Our solution finds inspiration and opportunities within the site covenant’s strict definitions. It promotes and celebrates the client’s outdoor lifestyle and resolves the definition of a contemporary “mountain style” home by reducing the architecture to its most basic vernacular forms and relying upon local materials. The home utilizes a simple base, middle and top that echoes the surrounding mountains and vegetation. The massing takes its cues from the prevalent lodgepole pine trees that grow at the mountain’s high altitudes. These pine trees have a distinct growth pattern, highlighted by a single vertical trunk and a peaked, densely foliated growth zone above a sparse base. This growth pattern is referenced by placing the wood-clad body of the home at the second story above an open base composed of wood posts and glass. A simple peaked roof rests lightly atop the home - visually floating above a triangular glass transom. The home itself is neatly inserted amongst an existing grove of lodgepole pines and oriented to take advantage of panoramic views of the adjacent meadow and Continental Divide beyond. The main functions of the house are arranged into public and private areas and this division is made apparent on the home’s exterior. Two large roof forms, clad in pre-patinated zinc, are separated by a sheltering central deck - which signals the main entry to the home. At this connection, the roof deck is opened to allow a cluster of aspen trees to grow – further reinforcing nature as an integral part of arrival. Outdoor living spaces are provided on all levels of the house and are positioned to take advantage of sunrise and sunset moments. The distinction between interior and exterior space is blurred via the use of large expanses of glass. The dry stacked stone base and natural cedar cladding both reappear within the home’s interior spaces. This home offers a unique solution to the client’s requests while satisfying the design requirements of the neighborhood covenants. The house provides a variety of indoor and outdoor living spaces that can be utilized in all seasons. Most importantly, the house takes its cues directly from its natural surroundings and local building traditions to become a prototype solution for the “modern mountain house”. Overview Ranch Creek Ranch Winter Park, Colorado Completion Date October, 2007 Services Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture

This project won in the 2013 Builders Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh Housing Excellence Award for Best Urban Renewal Renovation Project. The glass bowl was made in the glass studio owned by the owner which is adjacent to the residence. The mirror is a repurposed window. The door is repurposed from a boarding house. George Mendel

Due heritage considerations, restoration was complex and costly. Due poor site drainage and old construction technique, wall damage due salt damp was prevalent. Existing levels needed regrade with landscaping provided by Lesli Hewett, a relative of the early settlers who resided in the cottage. While the roof structure was intact, it required new galvanised sheeting and the eastern wall needed rebuilding as your finger would go through the wall! Original limestone blocks were rotated to hide age. Stone footings replacement with concete. New work maintained the curvature and ground movement of 180 years of movement. Rotted original floors were replaced by century-old jarrah repurposed from Adelaide's old Clark Shoes factory. The Daringa House offers a farm house feel comprising two bedrooms both with separate ensuites, living, dining and a kitchen area overlooking gardens. The Colton Cottage, with original slate floors, is entirely separate, offering a studio and full size bathroom.

Due heritage considerations, restoration was complex and costly. Due poor site drainage and old construction technique, wall damage due salt damp was prevalent. Existing levels needed regrade with landscaping provided by Lesli Hewett, a relative of the early settlers who resided in the cottage. While the roof structure was intact, it required new galvanised sheeting and the eastern wall needed rebuilding as your finger would go through the wall! Original limestone blocks were rotated to hide age. Stone footings replacement with concete. New work maintained the curvature and ground movement of 180 years of movement. Rotted original floors were replaced by century-old jarrah repurposed from Adelaide's old Clark Shoes factory. The Daringa House offers a farm house feel comprising two bedrooms both with separate ensuites, living, dining and a kitchen area overlooking gardens. The Colton Cottage, with original slate floors, is entirely separate, offering a studio and full size bathroom.

Due heritage considerations, restoration was complex and costly. Due poor site drainage and old construction technique, wall damage due salt damp was prevalent. Existing levels needed regrade with landscaping provided by Lesli Hewett, a relative of the early settlers who resided in the cottage. While the roof structure was intact, it required new galvanised sheeting and the eastern wall needed rebuilding as your finger would go through the wall! Original limestone blocks were rotated to hide age. Stone footings replacement with concete. New work maintained the curvature and ground movement of 180 years of movement. Rotted original floors were replaced by century-old jarrah repurposed from Adelaide's old Clark Shoes factory. The Daringa House offers a farm house feel comprising two bedrooms both with separate ensuites, living, dining and a kitchen area overlooking gardens. The Colton Cottage, with original slate floors, is entirely separate, offering a studio and full size bathroom.

Due heritage considerations, restoration was complex and costly. Due poor site drainage and old construction technique, wall damage due salt damp was prevalent. Existing levels needed regrade with landscaping provided by Lesli Hewett, a relative of the early settlers who resided in the cottage. While the roof structure was intact, it required new galvanised sheeting and the eastern wall needed rebuilding as your finger would go through the wall! Original limestone blocks were rotated to hide age. Stone footings replacement with concete. New work maintained the curvature and ground movement of 180 years of movement. Rotted original floors were replaced by century-old jarrah repurposed from Adelaide's old Clark Shoes factory. The Daringa House offers a farm house feel comprising two bedrooms both with separate ensuites, living, dining and a kitchen area overlooking gardens. The Colton Cottage, with original slate floors, is entirely separate, offering a studio and full size bathroom.

Due heritage considerations, restoration was complex and costly. Due poor site drainage and old construction technique, wall damage due salt damp was prevalent. Existing levels needed regrade with landscaping provided by Lesli Hewett, a relative of the early settlers who resided in the cottage. While the roof structure was intact, it required new galvanised sheeting and the eastern wall needed rebuilding as your finger would go through the wall! Original limestone blocks were rotated to hide age. Stone footings replacement with concete. New work maintained the curvature and ground movement of 180 years of movement. Rotted original floors were replaced by century-old jarrah repurposed from Adelaide's old Clark Shoes factory. The Daringa House offers a farm house feel comprising two bedrooms both with separate ensuites, living, dining and a kitchen area overlooking gardens. The Colton Cottage, with original slate floors, is entirely separate, offering a studio and full size bathroom.

Due heritage considerations, restoration was complex and costly. Due poor site drainage and old construction technique, wall damage due salt damp was prevalent. Existing levels needed regrade with landscaping provided by Lesli Hewett, a relative of the early settlers who resided in the cottage. While the roof structure was intact, it required new galvanised sheeting and the eastern wall needed rebuilding as your finger would go through the wall! Original limestone blocks were rotated to hide age. Stone footings replacement with concete. New work maintained the curvature and ground movement of 180 years of movement. Rotted original floors were replaced by century-old jarrah repurposed from Adelaide's old Clark Shoes factory. The Daringa House offers a farm house feel comprising two bedrooms both with separate ensuites, living, dining and a kitchen area overlooking gardens. The Colton Cottage, with original slate floors, is entirely separate, offering a studio and full size bathroom.

Due heritage considerations, restoration was complex and costly. Due poor site drainage and old construction technique, wall damage due salt damp was prevalent. Existing levels needed regrade with landscaping provided by Lesli Hewett, a relative of the early settlers who resided in the cottage. While the roof structure was intact, it required new galvanised sheeting and the eastern wall needed rebuilding as your finger would go through the wall! Original limestone blocks were rotated to hide age. Stone footings replacement with concete. New work maintained the curvature and ground movement of 180 years of movement. Rotted original floors were replaced by century-old jarrah repurposed from Adelaide's old Clark Shoes factory. The Daringa House offers a farm house feel comprising two bedrooms both with separate ensuites, living, dining and a kitchen area overlooking gardens. The Colton Cottage, with original slate floors, is entirely separate, offering a studio and full size bathroom.

Due heritage considerations, restoration was complex and costly. Due poor site drainage and old construction technique, wall damage due salt damp was prevalent. Existing levels needed regrade with landscaping provided by Lesli Hewett, a relative of the early settlers who resided in the cottage. While the roof structure was intact, it required new galvanised sheeting and the eastern wall needed rebuilding as your finger would go through the wall! Original limestone blocks were rotated to hide age. Stone footings replacement with concete. New work maintained the curvature and ground movement of 180 years of movement. Rotted original floors were replaced by century-old jarrah repurposed from Adelaide's old Clark Shoes factory. The Daringa House offers a farm house feel comprising two bedrooms both with separate ensuites, living, dining and a kitchen area overlooking gardens. The Colton Cottage, with original slate floors, is entirely separate, offering a studio and full size bathroom.

Due heritage considerations, restoration was complex and costly. Due poor site drainage and old construction technique, wall damage due salt damp was prevalent. Existing levels needed regrade with landscaping provided by Lesli Hewett, a relative of the early settlers who resided in the cottage. While the roof structure was intact, it required new galvanised sheeting and the eastern wall needed rebuilding as your finger would go through the wall! Original limestone blocks were rotated to hide age. Stone footings replacement with concete. New work maintained the curvature and ground movement of 180 years of movement. Rotted original floors were replaced by century-old jarrah repurposed from Adelaide's old Clark Shoes factory. The Daringa House offers a farm house feel comprising two bedrooms both with separate ensuites, living, dining and a kitchen area overlooking gardens. The Colton Cottage, with original slate floors, is entirely separate, offering a studio and full size bathroom.

Due heritage considerations, restoration was complex and costly. Due poor site drainage and old construction technique, wall damage due salt damp was prevalent. Existing levels needed regrade with landscaping provided by Lesli Hewett, a relative of the early settlers who resided in the cottage. While the roof structure was intact, it required new galvanised sheeting and the eastern wall needed rebuilding as your finger would go through the wall! Original limestone blocks were rotated to hide age. Stone footings replacement with concete. New work maintained the curvature and ground movement of 180 years of movement. Rotted original floors were replaced by century-old jarrah repurposed from Adelaide's old Clark Shoes factory. The Daringa House offers a farm house feel comprising two bedrooms both with separate ensuites, living, dining and a kitchen area overlooking gardens. The Colton Cottage, with original slate floors, is entirely separate, offering a studio and full size bathroom.

The owners requested that their home harmonize with the spirit of the surrounding Colorado mountain setting and enhance their outdoor recreational lifestyle - while reflecting their contemporary architectural tastes. The site was burdened with a myriad of strict design criteria enforced by the neighborhood covenants and architectural review board. Creating a distinct design challenge, the covenants included a narrow interpretation of a “mountain style” home which established predetermined roof pitches, glazing percentages and material palettes - at direct odds with the client‘s vision of a flat-roofed, glass, “contemporary” home. Our solution finds inspiration and opportunities within the site covenant’s strict definitions. It promotes and celebrates the client’s outdoor lifestyle and resolves the definition of a contemporary “mountain style” home by reducing the architecture to its most basic vernacular forms and relying upon local materials. The home utilizes a simple base, middle and top that echoes the surrounding mountains and vegetation. The massing takes its cues from the prevalent lodgepole pine trees that grow at the mountain’s high altitudes. These pine trees have a distinct growth pattern, highlighted by a single vertical trunk and a peaked, densely foliated growth zone above a sparse base. This growth pattern is referenced by placing the wood-clad body of the home at the second story above an open base composed of wood posts and glass. A simple peaked roof rests lightly atop the home - visually floating above a triangular glass transom. The home itself is neatly inserted amongst an existing grove of lodgepole pines and oriented to take advantage of panoramic views of the adjacent meadow and Continental Divide beyond. The main functions of the house are arranged into public and private areas and this division is made apparent on the home’s exterior. Two large roof forms, clad in pre-patinated zinc, are separated by a sheltering central deck - which signals the main entry to the home. At this connection, the roof deck is opened to allow a cluster of aspen trees to grow – further reinforcing nature as an integral part of arrival. Outdoor living spaces are provided on all levels of the house and are positioned to take advantage of sunrise and sunset moments. The distinction between interior and exterior space is blurred via the use of large expanses of glass. The dry stacked stone base and natural cedar cladding both reappear within the home’s interior spaces. This home offers a unique solution to the client’s requests while satisfying the design requirements of the neighborhood covenants. The house provides a variety of indoor and outdoor living spaces that can be utilized in all seasons. Most importantly, the house takes its cues directly from its natural surroundings and local building traditions to become a prototype solution for the “modern mountain house”. Overview Ranch Creek Ranch Winter Park, Colorado Completion Date October, 2007 Services Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture

Kitchen - mediterranean kitchen idea in San Francisco

This kitchen was designed for a couple who have lived in their home for more than 30 years and have no plans to move. They LOVE the color blue. In terms of design, the challenges were about striking the right balance between the family’s desire to have ‘everything’ blue and the existing 1980’s yellowed oak, prevalent throughout the home.
 When we started out on the design journey, the existing style was very traditional with a lot of oak trim, walls, floors and doors, but as the project moved along it was evident that the family wanted to update the style, leaning towards a more Transitional style. The existing kitchen was very dated with oak cabinets and floors and fell short in several areas: it was too small, without ample storage, had a tiny, angled island and was inefficient in terms of layout. In addition, the refrigerator was full depth and sat within a major walkway. The kitchen and nook area are open to the adjacent family room, also filled with oak; floors, formal ceiling molding, cabinetry, fireplace wall and mantle. This was another challenge; to blend the existing oak with the new, creating a distinctive, harmonious, and very inter-connected space. To address these issues, we framed in the existing wet bar in the family room, and opened that space into the kitchen. This was perfect for a counter-depth, built-in fridge and pantry and increased their storage capacity. We removed the tiny angled island and replaced with a longer narrow island which now serves as a prep space and landing area for the cooking space. We removed the existing dated hexagonal window in the nook, changed out the exterior door and created a new bar, complete with a more formal area within the nook to accommodate the glassware and dishware that was originally stored in the family room wet bar area. The new kitchen design incorporates painted shaker cabinets, Pro-Style Sub Zero, Wolf and Cove appliances, multiple workspaces, and, of course the use of ‘Blue’. To provide maximum ergonomic function, roll out trays were strategically planned at heights specific for convenient cooking apparatus and cutlery dividers included in drawers.

When we embarked on designing this Santa-Barbara style townhome located on Craig Ranch’s prestigious 17th green, we immediately started visualizing the modern improvements we would make to reflect the clients’ true style. Lighting throughout the home was first on the list, then came floor coverings, wall coverings, and furnishings! Introducing brighter colors, modern frames, and bold patterns were key to balance out the heavier dark wood elements of both the home’s original architecture and some of the client’s existing pieces. Whimsical touches, elegant appointments, and sophisticated style are prevalent throughout this new modernized abode. creating a fresh feel in each room.