For a multigenerational family on a limestone bluff in Westlake Hills, our task was to make a house of strong architecture feel personal, warm and livable. Working in close collaboration with A Parallel Architecture, we approached the interiors as a sequence of tactile experiences, shaping how the home is touched, lit and lived in day to day. The material palette is edited and honest: honed basalt underfoot, limewash plaster on the walls, character-grade oak and Douglas fir overhead, and shou sugi ban for its charred depth. Custom walnut cabinetry and a monolithic marble island anchor the kitchen, and a suspended hearth inspired by the Japanese irori gives the family a place to gather. In the bath, a sunken soaking tub and stone pedestal basin turn daily routines into small rituals, with handmade tile by master artisans adding a human, imperfect touch. Against that quiet backdrop, we layered the rooms with order and eclecticism in careful balance: woven textiles, worldly rugs and one-of-a-kind furnishings chosen for their character and their ability to age with the family. The result is a home that is restrained but never austere, where every surface invites touch and each room feels collected rather than composed. Recognition Terrace Mountain won IIDA Best Residence and has been published in The Local Project and Dwell. The architect's project page also lists a 2026 AIA Austin Design Award (Merit), a 2026 Texas Society of Architects Design Award, a 2026 International Architecture Award and a 2025 Interior Design Best of Year honor Interior Design Magazine

Stuart Wade, Envision Virtual Tours The second-largest and most developed of Georgia's barrier islands, St. Simons is approximately twelve miles long and nearly three miles wide at its widest stretch (roughly the size of Manhattan Island in New York). The island is located in Glynn County on Georgia's coast and lies east of Brunswick (the seat of Glynn County), south of Little St. Simons Island and the Hampton River, and north of Jekyll Island. The resort community of Sea Island is separated from St. Simons on the east by the Black Banks River. Known for its oak tree canopies and historic landmarks, St. Simons is both a tourist destination and, according to the 2010 U.S. census, home to 12,743 residents. Early History The earliest St. Simons Island Village record of human habitation on the island dates to the Late Archaic Period, about 5,000 to 3,000 years ago. Remnants of shell rings left behind by Native Americans from this era survive on many of the barrier islands, including St. Simons. Centuries later, during the period known by historians as the chiefdom era, the Guale Indians established a chiefdom centered on St. Catherines Island and used St. Simons as their hunting and fishing grounds. By 1500 the Guale had established a permanent village of about 200 people on St. Simons, which they called Guadalquini. Beginning in 1568, the Spanish attempted to create missions along the Georgia coast. Catholic missions were the primary means by which Georgia's indigenous Native American chiefdoms were assimilated into the Spanish colonial system along the northern frontier of greater Spanish Florida. In the 1600s St. Simons became home to two Spanish missions: San Buenaventura de Guadalquini, on the southern tip of the island, and Santo Domingo de Asao (or Asajo), on the northern tip. Located on the inland side of the island were the pagan refugee villages of San Simón, the island's namesake, and Ocotonico. In 1684 pirate raids left the missions and villages largely abandoned. Colonial History As Fort Frederica early as 1670, with Great Britain's establishment of the colony of Carolina and its expansion into Georgia territory, Spanish rule was threatened by the English. The Georgia coast was considered "debatable land" by England and Spain, even though Spain had fully retreated from St. Simons by 1702. Thirty-one years later General James Edward Oglethorpe founded the English settlement of Savannah. In 1736 he established Fort Frederica, named after the heir to the British throne, Frederick Louis, prince of Wales, on the west side of St. Simons Island to protect Savannah and the Carolinas from the Spanish threat. Between 1736 and 1749 Fort Frederica was the hub of British military operations along the Georgia frontier. A town of the same name grew up around the fort and was of great importance to the new colony. By 1740 Frederica's population was 1,000. In 1736 the congregation of what would become Christ Church was organized within Fort Frederica as a mission of the Church of England. Charles Wesley led the first services. In 1742 Britain's decisive victory over Spain in the Battle of Bloody Marsh, during the War of Jenkins' Ear, ended the Spanish threat to the Georgia coast. When the British regimen disbanded in 1749, most of the townspeople relocated to the mainland. Fort Frederica went into decline and, except for a short time of prosperity during the 1760s and 1770s under the leadership of merchant James Spalding, never fully recovered. Today the historic citadel's tabby ruins are maintained by the National Park Service. Plantation Era By the start of the American Revolution (1775-83), Fort Frederica was obsolete, and St. Simons was left largely uninhabited as most of its residents joined the patriot army. Besides hosting a small Georgia naval victory on the Fort Frederica River, providing guns from its famous fort for use at Fort Morris in Sunbury, and serving as an arena for pillaging by privateers and British soldiers, the island played almost no role in the war. Following the war, many of the townspeople, their businesses destroyed, turned to agriculture. The island was transformed into fourteen cotton plantations after acres of live oak trees were cleared for farm land and used for building American warships, including the famous USS Constitution, or "Old Ironsides." Although rice was the predominant crop along the neighboring Altamaha River, St. Simons was known for its production of long-staple cotton, which soon came to be known as Sea Island cotton. Between Ebos Landing the 1780s and the outbreak of the Civil War (1861-65), St. Simons's plantation culture flourished. The saline atmosphere and the availability of cheap slave labor proved an ideal combination for the cultivation of Sea Island cotton. In 1803 a group of Ebo slaves who survived the Middle Passage and arrived on the west side of St. Simons staged a rebellion and drowned themselves. The sacred site is known today as Ebos Landing. One of the largest owners of land and slaves on St. Simons was Pierce Butler, master of Hampton Point Plantation, located on the northern end of the island. By 1793 Butler owned more than 500 slaves, who cultivated 800 acres of cotton on St. Simons and 300 acres of rice on Butler's Island in the Altamaha River delta. Butler's grandson, Pierce Mease Butler, who at the age of sixteen inherited a share of his grandfather's estate in 1826, was responsible for the largest sale of human beings in the history of the United States: in 1859, to restore his squandered fortune, he sold 429 slaves in Savannah for more than $300,000. The British actress and writer Fanny Kemble, whose tumultuous marriage to Pierce ended in divorce in 1849, published an eyewitness account of the evils of slavery on St. Simons in her book Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838-1839 (1863). Another Retreat Plantation large owner of land and slaves on St. Simons was Major William Page, a friend and employee of Pierce Butler Sr. Before purchasing Retreat Plantation on the southwestern tip of the island in 1804, Page managed the Hampton plantation and Butler's Island. Upon Page's death in 1827, Thomas Butler King inherited the land together with his wife, Page's daughter, Anna Matilda Page King. King expanded his father-in-law's planting empire on St. Simons as well as on the mainland, and by 1835 Retreat Plantation alone was home to as many as 355 slaves. The center of life during the island's plantation era was Christ Church, Frederica. Organized in 1807 by a group of island planters, the Episcopal church is the second oldest in the Diocese of Georgia. Embargoes imposed by the War of 1812 (1812-15) prevented the parishioners from building a church structure, so they worshiped in the home of John Beck, which stood on the site of Oglethorpe's only St. Simons residence, Orange Hall. The first Christ Church building, finished on the present site in 1820, was ruined by occupying Union troops during the Civil War. In 1884 the Reverend Anson Dodge Jr. rebuilt the church as a memorial to his first wife, Ellen. The cruciform building with a trussed gothic roof and stained-glass windows remains active today as Christ Church. Civil War and Beyond The St. Simons Island Lighthouse outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 put a sudden end to St. Simons's lucrative plantation era. In January of that year, Confederate troops were stationed at the south end of the island to guard the entrance to Brunswick Harbor. Slaves from Retreat Plantation, owned by Thomas Butler King, built earthworks and batteries. Plantation residents were scattered—the men joined the Confederate army and their families moved to the mainland. Cannon fire was heard on the island in December 1861, and Confederate troops retreated in February 1862, after dynamiting the lighthouse to keep its beacon from aiding Union troops. Soon thereafter, Union troops occupied the island, which was used as a camp for freed slaves. By August 1862 more than 500 former slaves lived on St. Simons, including Susie King Taylor, who organized a school for freed slave children. But in November the ex-slaves were taken to Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Fernandina, Florida, leaving the island abandoned. After the Civil War the island never returned to its status as an agricultural community. The plantations lay dormant because there were no slaves to work the fields. After Union general William T. Sherman's January 1865 Special Field Order No. 15 —a demand that former plantations be divided and distributed to former slaves—was overturned by U.S. president Andrew Johnson less than a year later, freedmen and women were forced to work as sharecroppers on the small farms that dotted the land previously occupied by the sprawling plantations. By St. Simons Lumber Mills 1870 real economic recovery began with the reestablishment of the timber industry. Norman Dodge and Titus G. Meigs of New York set up lumber mill operations at Gascoigne Bluff, formerly Hamilton Plantation. The lumber mills provided welcome employment for both blacks and whites and also provided mail and passenger boats to the mainland. Such water traffic, together with the construction of a new lighthouse in 1872, designed by architect Charles B. Cluskey, marked the beginning of St. Simons's tourism industry. The keeper of the lighthouse created a small amusement park, which drew many visitors, as did the seemingly miraculous light that traveled from the top of the lighthouse tower to the bottom. The island became a summer retreat for families from the mainland, particularly from Baxley, Brunswick, and Waycross. The island's resort industry was thriving by the 1880s. Beachfront structures, such as a new pier and grand hotel, were built on the southeastern end of the island and could be accessed by ferry. Around this time wealthy northerners began vacationing on the island. Twentieth Century The St. Simons Island Pier and Village opening in 1924 of the Brunswick–St. Simons Highway, today known as the Torras Causeway, was a milestone in the development of resorts in the area. St. Simons's beaches were now easily accessible to locals and tourists alike. More than 5,000 automobiles took the short drive from Brunswick to St. Simons via the causeway on its opening day, paving the way for convenient residential and resort development. In 1926 automotive pioneer Howard Coffin of Detroit, Michigan, bought large tracts of land on St. Simons, including the former Retreat Plantation, and constructed a golf course, yacht club, paved roads, and a residential subdivision. Although the causeway had brought large numbers of summer people to the island, St. Simons remained a small community with only a few hundred permanent residents until the 1940s. The St. Simons Island outbreak of World War II (1941-45) brought more visitors and residents to St. Simons. Troops stationed at Jacksonville, Florida; Savannah; and nearby Camp Stewart took weekend vacations on the island, and a new naval air base and radar school became home to even more officers and soldiers. The increased wartime population brought the island its first public school. With a major shipyard for the production of Liberty ships in nearby Brunswick, the waters of St. Simons became active with German U-boats. In April 1942, just off the coast, the Texas Company oil tanker S. S. Oklahoma and the S. S. Esso Baton Rouge were torpedoed by the Germans, bringing the war very close to home for island residents. Due in large part to the military's improvement of the island's infrastructure during the war, development on the island boomed in the 1950s and 1960s. More permanent homes and subdivisions were built, and the island was no longer just a summer resort but also a thriving community. In 1950 the Methodist conference and retreat center Epworth by the Sea opened on Gascoigne Bluff. In 1961 novelist Eugenia Price visited St. Simons and began work on her first works of fiction, known as the St. Simons Trilogy. Inspired by real events on the island, Price's trilogy renewed interest in the history of Georgia's coast, and the novelist herself relocated to the island in 1965 and lived there for thirty-one years. St. Simons is also home to contemporary Georgia writer Tina McElroy Ansa. Since Epworth by the Sea 1980 St. Simons's population has doubled. The island's continued status as a vacation destination and its ongoing development boom have put historic landmarks and natural areas at risk. While such landmarks as the Fort Frederica ruins and the Battle of Bloody Marsh site are preserved and maintained by the National Park Service, and while the historic lighthouse is maintained by the Coastal Georgia Historical Society, historic Ebos Landing has been taken over by a sewage treatment plant. Several coastal organizations have formed in recent years to save natural areas on the island. The St. Simons Land Trust, for example, has received donations of large tracts of land and plans to protect property in the island's three traditional African American neighborhoods. Despite its rapid growth and development, St. Simons remains one of the most beautiful and important islands on the Georgia coast.

We are excited to announce that we have formally changed the name of our business from San Juan Pools of Charlotte to Poolscapes of Charlotte. We decided to change our name (but not our corporate structure) due to the growth and evolution of our business. We feel the name “Poolscapes” better reflects the full service capabilities of our company and the expertise to build the back yard of your dreams. We proudly install the best fiberglass pools in the industry made by San Juan Fiberglass Pools. Whatever your needs, you can count on Poolscapes of Charlotte to deliver the highest quality products and services. We are the Carolina’s premier fiberglass pool builder, with over 500 pools and spas installed in the Charlotte metro area since 1999. We have an “A+” rating for over 14 consecutive years from the Better Business Bureau, we have an “A” rating from Angie's List, and we have won several prestigious national awards for excellence and design. Our pools built here in the Charlotte area have been published in seven national magazines. We can customize your pool with a wide variety of accessories and options including salt generators, fountains, waterfalls, spillover spas, automatic pool cleaners, multi-color LED lighting, swim jet systems, glass or ceramic tile, fire & water features and many custom decking features including stamped concrete, travertine, natural stone, acrylic coatings, pavers & more. We can customize your backyard with fire places, fire pits, raised planter beds, retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, fencing, landscaping, irrigation and more. Please call or email us for a backyard consultation & poolscape design. (704) 544-0424 info@poolsofcharlotte.com http://www.poolsofcharlotte.com

Bright space with elegant beach feel, golf course views and stunning architectural features. Use of oversized art, lux fabrics and textures as well as sculptural chandeliers and lighting create a unique luxurious space with a warm inviting aesthetic. Robert Brantley Photography

We are excited to announce that we have formally changed the name of our business from San Juan Pools of Charlotte to Poolscapes of Charlotte. We decided to change our name (but not our corporate structure) due to the growth and evolution of our business. We feel the name “Poolscapes” better reflects the full service capabilities of our company and the expertise to build the back yard of your dreams. We proudly install the best fiberglass pools in the industry made by San Juan Fiberglass Pools. Whatever your needs, you can count on Poolscapes of Charlotte to deliver the highest quality products and services. We are the Carolina’s premier fiberglass pool builder, with over 500 pools and spas installed in the Charlotte metro area since 1999. We have an “A+” rating for over 14 consecutive years from the Better Business Bureau, we have an “A” rating from Angie's List, and we have won several prestigious national awards for excellence and design. Our pools built here in the Charlotte area have been published in seven national magazines. We can customize your pool with a wide variety of accessories and options including salt generators, fountains, waterfalls, spillover spas, automatic pool cleaners, multi-color LED lighting, swim jet systems, glass or ceramic tile, fire & water features and many custom decking features including stamped concrete, travertine, natural stone, acrylic coatings, pavers & more. We can customize your backyard with fire places, fire pits, raised planter beds, retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, fencing, landscaping, irrigation and more. Please call or email us for a backyard consultation & poolscape design. (704) 544-0424 info@poolsofcharlotte.com http://www.poolsofcharlotte.com

We are excited to announce that we have formally changed the name of our business from San Juan Pools of Charlotte to Poolscapes of Charlotte. We decided to change our name (but not our corporate structure) due to the growth and evolution of our business. We feel the name “Poolscapes” better reflects the full service capabilities of our company and the expertise to build the back yard of your dreams. We proudly install the best fiberglass pools in the industry made by San Juan Fiberglass Pools. Whatever your needs, you can count on Poolscapes of Charlotte to deliver the highest quality products and services. We are the Carolina’s premier fiberglass pool builder, with over 500 pools and spas installed in the Charlotte metro area since 1999. We have an “A+” rating for over 14 consecutive years from the Better Business Bureau, we have an “A” rating from Angie's List, and we have won several prestigious national awards for excellence and design. Our pools built here in the Charlotte area have been published in seven national magazines. We can customize your pool with a wide variety of accessories and options including salt generators, fountains, waterfalls, spillover spas, automatic pool cleaners, multi-color LED lighting, swim jet systems, glass or ceramic tile, fire & water features and many custom decking features including stamped concrete, travertine, natural stone, acrylic coatings, pavers & more. We can customize your backyard with fire places, fire pits, raised planter beds, retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, fencing, landscaping, irrigation and more. Please call or email us for a backyard consultation & poolscape design. (704) 544-0424 info@poolsofcharlotte.com http://www.poolsofcharlotte.com

We are excited to announce that we have formally changed the name of our business from San Juan Pools of Charlotte to Poolscapes of Charlotte. We decided to change our name (but not our corporate structure) due to the growth and evolution of our business. We feel the name “Poolscapes” better reflects the full service capabilities of our company and the expertise to build the back yard of your dreams. We proudly install the best fiberglass pools in the industry made by San Juan Fiberglass Pools. Whatever your needs, you can count on Poolscapes of Charlotte to deliver the highest quality products and services. We are the Carolina’s premier fiberglass pool builder, with over 500 pools and spas installed in the Charlotte metro area since 1999. We have an “A+” rating for over 14 consecutive years from the Better Business Bureau, we have an “A” rating from Angie's List, and we have won several prestigious national awards for excellence and design. Our pools built here in the Charlotte area have been published in seven national magazines. We can customize your pool with a wide variety of accessories and options including salt generators, fountains, waterfalls, spillover spas, automatic pool cleaners, multi-color LED lighting, swim jet systems, glass or ceramic tile, fire & water features and many custom decking features including stamped concrete, travertine, natural stone, acrylic coatings, pavers & more. We can customize your backyard with fire places, fire pits, raised planter beds, retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, fencing, landscaping, irrigation and more. Please call or email us for a backyard consultation & poolscape design. (704) 544-0424 info@poolsofcharlotte.com http://www.poolsofcharlotte.com

We are excited to announce that we have formally changed the name of our business from San Juan Pools of Charlotte to Poolscapes of Charlotte. We decided to change our name (but not our corporate structure) due to the growth and evolution of our business. We feel the name “Poolscapes” better reflects the full service capabilities of our company and the expertise to build the back yard of your dreams. We proudly install the best fiberglass pools in the industry made by San Juan Fiberglass Pools. Whatever your needs, you can count on Poolscapes of Charlotte to deliver the highest quality products and services. We are the Carolina’s premier fiberglass pool builder, with over 500 pools and spas installed in the Charlotte metro area since 1999. We have an “A+” rating for over 14 consecutive years from the Better Business Bureau, we have an “A” rating from Angie's List, and we have won several prestigious national awards for excellence and design. Our pools built here in the Charlotte area have been published in seven national magazines. We can customize your pool with a wide variety of accessories and options including salt generators, fountains, waterfalls, spillover spas, automatic pool cleaners, multi-color LED lighting, swim jet systems, glass or ceramic tile, fire & water features and many custom decking features including stamped concrete, travertine, natural stone, acrylic coatings, pavers & more. We can customize your backyard with fire places, fire pits, raised planter beds, retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, fencing, landscaping, irrigation and more. Please call or email us for a backyard consultation & poolscape design. (704) 544-0424 info@poolsofcharlotte.com http://www.poolsofcharlotte.com

We are excited to announce that we have formally changed the name of our business from San Juan Pools of Charlotte to Poolscapes of Charlotte. We decided to change our name (but not our corporate structure) due to the growth and evolution of our business. We feel the name “Poolscapes” better reflects the full service capabilities of our company and the expertise to build the back yard of your dreams. We proudly install the best fiberglass pools in the industry made by San Juan Fiberglass Pools. Whatever your needs, you can count on Poolscapes of Charlotte to deliver the highest quality products and services. We are the Carolina’s premier fiberglass pool builder, with over 500 pools and spas installed in the Charlotte metro area since 1999. We have an “A+” rating for over 14 consecutive years from the Better Business Bureau, we have an “A” rating from Angie's List, and we have won several prestigious national awards for excellence and design. Our pools built here in the Charlotte area have been published in seven national magazines. We can customize your pool with a wide variety of accessories and options including salt generators, fountains, waterfalls, spillover spas, automatic pool cleaners, multi-color LED lighting, swim jet systems, glass or ceramic tile, fire & water features and many custom decking features including stamped concrete, travertine, natural stone, acrylic coatings, pavers & more. We can customize your backyard with fire places, fire pits, raised planter beds, retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, fencing, landscaping, irrigation and more. Please call or email us for a backyard consultation & poolscape design. (704) 544-0424 info@poolsofcharlotte.com http://www.poolsofcharlotte.com

We are excited to announce that we have formally changed the name of our business from San Juan Pools of Charlotte to Poolscapes of Charlotte. We decided to change our name (but not our corporate structure) due to the growth and evolution of our business. We feel the name “Poolscapes” better reflects the full service capabilities of our company and the expertise to build the back yard of your dreams. We proudly install the best fiberglass pools in the industry made by San Juan Fiberglass Pools. Whatever your needs, you can count on Poolscapes of Charlotte to deliver the highest quality products and services. We are the Carolina’s premier fiberglass pool builder, with over 500 pools and spas installed in the Charlotte metro area since 1999. We have an “A+” rating for over 14 consecutive years from the Better Business Bureau, we have an “A” rating from Angie's List, and we have won several prestigious national awards for excellence and design. Our pools built here in the Charlotte area have been published in seven national magazines. We can customize your pool with a wide variety of accessories and options including salt generators, fountains, waterfalls, spillover spas, automatic pool cleaners, multi-color LED lighting, swim jet systems, glass or ceramic tile, fire & water features and many custom decking features including stamped concrete, travertine, natural stone, acrylic coatings, pavers & more. We can customize your backyard with fire places, fire pits, raised planter beds, retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, fencing, landscaping, irrigation and more. Please call or email us for a backyard consultation & poolscape design. (704) 544-0424 info@poolsofcharlotte.com http://www.poolsofcharlotte.com

We are excited to announce that we have formally changed the name of our business from San Juan Pools of Charlotte to Poolscapes of Charlotte. We decided to change our name (but not our corporate structure) due to the growth and evolution of our business. We feel the name “Poolscapes” better reflects the full service capabilities of our company and the expertise to build the back yard of your dreams. We proudly install the best fiberglass pools in the industry made by San Juan Fiberglass Pools. Whatever your needs, you can count on Poolscapes of Charlotte to deliver the highest quality products and services. We are the Carolina’s premier fiberglass pool builder, with over 500 pools and spas installed in the Charlotte metro area since 1999. We have an “A+” rating for over 14 consecutive years from the Better Business Bureau, we have an “A” rating from Angie's List, and we have won several prestigious national awards for excellence and design. Our pools built here in the Charlotte area have been published in seven national magazines. We can customize your pool with a wide variety of accessories and options including salt generators, fountains, waterfalls, spillover spas, automatic pool cleaners, multi-color LED lighting, swim jet systems, glass or ceramic tile, fire & water features and many custom decking features including stamped concrete, travertine, natural stone, acrylic coatings, pavers & more. We can customize your backyard with fire places, fire pits, raised planter beds, retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, fencing, landscaping, irrigation and more. Please call or email us for a backyard consultation & poolscape design. (704) 544-0424 info@poolsofcharlotte.com http://www.poolsofcharlotte.com

Clematis armandii 'Evergreen Clematis' (foreground) arches over a custom-built cedar arbor, modeled to accentuate the home's Craftsman-style architecture. Welded mild-steel panel fills create a scaffold for Akebia quinata 'Five-leaf Akebia Vine' (background), lending seasonal privacy and afternoon shade along this narrow sideyard access walkway.

Awarded by the Classical institute of art and architecture , the linnean house has a restrained and simple elevation of doors and windows. Nestled in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Washington, D.C., the Linnean House is classical in both plan and elevation throughout its award-winning house plans. The main mass, comprising of the most formal and public spaces, is a spatial triptych along a symmetrical main axis. Inside the luxury home, the limestone façade, simple but well-proportioned with classical elements, extends itself into both the entry portico and main foyer with consistent proportions and materiality. This introduction allows the flanking living and dining rooms to be perceived as separate pavilions, each equipped with eight equal-proportioned French doors symmetrical of the main axis. Beyond the classical spaces are two wings which lead to the master suite and a kitchen/family space, respectively. Both of which are situated to queue from the French door axis, a focal feature in the repeatedly published home design. At the entry foyer, the stark stone luxury architecture is warmed by two symmetrical wood armoire-like freestanding sculptural objects, a persistent theme throughout the luxury house. In the kitchen, for instance, stand four similar wood armoire objects at opposite corners that act as columns and help give this space a sense of boundary and enclosure. The master bath vanity, in similar fashion, is introduced as a central free-standing form anchoring itself as a notable presence in the space. Lastly, the wine room is designed as a series of free-standing heavy wood cavity walls spanned only by a hint of glass.

Here is what Renovation Style magazine of Better Homes and Garden says about this project: [ "KITCHEN REFLECTS HERITAGE This house was renovated with an emphasis on salvaged, local, and natural materials—especially in the kitchen. “Way back, this space was a barn,” designer Mitra Samimi says. “These materials create a bit of romance for the past. The more rustic pieces are really the punctuation on what’s mostly a classic traditional design.” Pine removed during the reconstruction of the attic was remilled and used as kitchen trim and flooring. One long stained pine beam, original to the house, runs just above the cupboards, while the original rafters were preserved and left unpainted.Countertops are honed Vermont slate and butcher block. These textured materials contrast with the creamy white and yellow paint tones that lighten the interior. “They also break up that sterile feeling you typically get when you use all the same materials for countertops and surfaces,” Samimi says.] - Here you can see and read the entire story as published in Better Homes and Garden's Renovation Style magazine. http://www.mitradesigns.com/…/w…/uploads/2011/07/garnett.pdf This is a traditional design example of only one of the styles. All of our design styles reflects the styles that our clients desire. As apparent and as see on our website, we design for a wide variety of styles, ranging from traditional and historic, to classic modern and contemporary! On this project, our client liked a classic Vermont country farmhouse style. Mitra Designs scope of the work for this project included designs for the architecture, interior architecture, interior design, and project design management during construction. Visit us on our website www.mitradesigns.com Susan Teare Photography

http://landscapearchitect.epubxp.com/i/443081-jan-2015/11 Full backyard and frontyard remodel. Custom designed driveway with grass inlays and drought tolerant plant selections.

The mHouse is the brainchild of a magazine publisher intent on changing the way houses are constructed and how their owners relate to them. Named after one of the company’s website, the mHouse serves as a built manifesto of innovative panel materials such as rice hull composites and thermally fused laminate – becoming a case study house for over 30 international material suppliers. The design challenge was quite clear – how to use a series of new materials unproven in the US building trades to create a beautiful house that meets the unique needs of today’s family. The result is a building that is highly rational in its construction systems, while encouraging social gathering. The mHouse serves as a direct counterpoint to the typical suburban builder home – creating unique outdoor spaces in place of the typical open lawn, a variety of different views in contrast to one major view, and expressing a confidence in the future over nostalgia for the past. Through a series of layers and nodes, the landscape grounds the house and heightens the views from inside, using indigenous plantings applied in non-traditional ways, the landscape mirrors the house in rethinking the suburban home. The mHouse strikes a balance between proven methods and innovative solutions, resulting in one version of what is possible with these materials and setting the stage for future iterations and new possibilities. Size Total Finished Area: 3,405 sf Completion Date September 2015 Services Architecture Interior Design Consultant: Amy Carman Design Landscape Consultant: Texten

Awarded by the Classical institute of art and architecture , the linnean house has a restrained and simple elevation of doors and windows. Nestled in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Washington, D.C., the Linnean House is classical in both plan and elevation throughout its award-winning house plans. The main mass, comprising of the most formal and public spaces, is a spatial triptych along a symmetrical main axis. Inside the luxury home, the limestone façade, simple but well-proportioned with classical elements, extends itself into both the entry portico and main foyer with consistent proportions and materiality. This introduction allows the flanking living and dining rooms to be perceived as separate pavilions, each equipped with eight equal-proportioned French doors symmetrical of the main axis. Beyond the classical spaces are two wings which lead to the master suite and a kitchen/family space, respectively. Both of which are situated to queue from the French door axis, a focal feature in the repeatedly published home design. At the entry foyer, the stark stone luxury architecture is warmed by two symmetrical wood armoire-like freestanding sculptural objects, a persistent theme throughout the luxury house. In the kitchen, for instance, stand four similar wood armoire objects at opposite corners that act as columns and help give this space a sense of boundary and enclosure. The master bath vanity, in similar fashion, is introduced as a central free-standing form anchoring itself as a notable presence in the space. Lastly, the wine room is designed as a series of free-standing heavy wood cavity walls spanned only by a hint of glass.

Awarded by the Classical institute of art and architecture , the linnean house has a restrained and simple elevation of doors and windows. Nestled in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Washington, D.C., the Linnean House is classical in both plan and elevation throughout its award-winning house plans. The main mass, comprising of the most formal and public spaces, is a spatial triptych along a symmetrical main axis. Inside the luxury home, the limestone façade, simple but well-proportioned with classical elements, extends itself into both the entry portico and main foyer with consistent proportions and materiality. This introduction allows the flanking living and dining rooms to be perceived as separate pavilions, each equipped with eight equal-proportioned French doors symmetrical of the main axis. Beyond the classical spaces are two wings which lead to the master suite and a kitchen/family space, respectively. Both of which are situated to queue from the French door axis, a focal feature in the repeatedly published home design. At the entry foyer, the stark stone luxury architecture is warmed by two symmetrical wood armoire-like freestanding sculptural objects, a persistent theme throughout the luxury house. In the kitchen, for instance, stand four similar wood armoire objects at opposite corners that act as columns and help give this space a sense of boundary and enclosure. The master bath vanity, in similar fashion, is introduced as a central free-standing form anchoring itself as a notable presence in the space. Lastly, the wine room is designed as a series of free-standing heavy wood cavity walls spanned only by a hint of glass.

Awarded by the Classical institute of art and architecture , the linnean house has a restrained and simple elevation of doors and windows. Nestled in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Washington, D.C., the Linnean House is classical in both plan and elevation throughout its award-winning house plans. The main mass, comprising of the most formal and public spaces, is a spatial triptych along a symmetrical main axis. Inside the luxury home, the limestone façade, simple but well-proportioned with classical elements, extends itself into both the entry portico and main foyer with consistent proportions and materiality. This introduction allows the flanking living and dining rooms to be perceived as separate pavilions, each equipped with eight equal-proportioned French doors symmetrical of the main axis. Beyond the classical spaces are two wings which lead to the master suite and a kitchen/family space, respectively. Both of which are situated to queue from the French door axis, a focal feature in the repeatedly published home design. At the entry foyer, the stark stone luxury architecture is warmed by two symmetrical wood armoire-like freestanding sculptural objects, a persistent theme throughout the luxury house. In the kitchen, for instance, stand four similar wood armoire objects at opposite corners that act as columns and help give this space a sense of boundary and enclosure. The master bath vanity, in similar fashion, is introduced as a central free-standing form anchoring itself as a notable presence in the space. Lastly, the wine room is designed as a series of free-standing heavy wood cavity walls spanned only by a hint of glass.