Modern ski chalet with walls of windows to enjoy the mountainous view provided of this ski-in ski-out property. Formal and casual living room areas allow for flexible entertaining. Construction - Bear Mountain Builders Interiors - Hunter & Company Photos - Gibeon Photography

To eliminate an inconsistent layout, we removed the wall dividing the dining room from the living room and added a polished brass and ebonized wood handrail to create a sweeping view into the living room. To highlight the family’s passion for reading, we created a beautiful library with custom shelves flanking a niche wallpapered with Flavor Paper’s bold Glow print with color-coded book spines to add pops of color. Tom Dixon pendant lights, acrylic chairs, and a geometric hide rug complete the look.

Cesar Rubio Hulburd Design transformed a 1920s French Provincial-style home to accommodate a family of five with guest quarters. The family frequently entertains and loves to cook. This, along with their extensive modern art collection and Scandinavian aesthetic informed the clean, lively palette.

Wall paint: Simply White, Benjamin Moore; hardwood floor: Southern Pecan Natural, Home Depot; cabinets: Veddinge, Ikea; shelves: Reclaimed Wood Shelving + Brackets, West Elm; backsplash: Retro 2" x 2" Hex Porcelain Mosaic Tile in Glossy White, EliteTile; hardware: Edgecliff Pull - Natural Brass, Schoolhouse Electric; dinnerware: Coupe Line in Opaque White, Heath Ceramics; countertop: Carrara Marble, The Stone Collection; Luna Pendant, Schoolhouse Electric Design: Annabode + Co Photo: Allie Crafton © 2016 Houzz

Allen Russ / Hoachlander Davis Photography, LLC
Living room - traditional dark wood floor living room idea in DC Metro with white walls

Example of a farmhouse exterior home design in New York

Lower level cabana. Photography by Lucas Henning.
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This laundry has the same stone flooring as the mudroom connecting the two spaces visually. While the wallpaper and matching fabric also tie into the mudroom area. Raised washer and dryer make use easy breezy. A Kohler sink with pull down faucet from Newport brass make doing laundry a fun task.

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Elliott Johnson Photographer
Cottage backyard pool photo in San Luis Obispo

Contemporary living room at the Hamptons.
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The Cicero is a modern styled home for today’s contemporary lifestyle. It features sweeping facades with deep overhangs, tall windows, and grand outdoor patio. The contemporary lifestyle is reinforced through a visually connected array of communal spaces. The kitchen features a symmetrical plan with large island and is connected to the dining room through a wide opening flanked by custom cabinetry. Adjacent to the kitchen, the living and sitting rooms are connected to one another by a see-through fireplace. The communal nature of this plan is reinforced downstairs with a lavish wet-bar and roomy living space, perfect for entertaining guests. Lastly, with vaulted ceilings and grand vistas, the master suite serves as a cozy retreat from today’s busy lifestyle. Photographer: Brad Gillette

Indoor soccer field in the basement for the children's entertainment
Large elegant underground basement photo in Chicago with white walls

Set on a narrow hillside lot overlooking the San Francisco Bay in Point Richmond, California, Bay Heirloom is a Mid-Century Modern family home restored, modernized and adapted for contemporary living. Oriented south-southwest toward the Marin Headlands, with views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the residence captures shifting Bay light throughout the day, from fog-muted mornings to vivid, glowing sunsets. The home was built by Karlyn Neel’s grandfather, the owner of the construction company Flo-Crete, one of the Bay Area’s early concrete pumping firms. Flo-Crete completed the foundation and structural concrete work, with family photographs documenting the original cinderblock walls and pours. The firm also contributed to major regional infrastructure projects, including the Transbay BART tube and Candlestick Park, situating the house within a broader legacy of Bay Area construction. Growing up, Neel spent considerable time in the home, developing an early appreciation for mid-century modern principles. Instead of parting with this family heirloom, she purchased the home from her grandfather’s estate. While her grandfather continued to live in the Point Richmond house, Neel purchased a Mid-Century Modern residence in Palm Desert. In contrast to the Bay Area’s cool temperatures, salt air, and persistent winds, the desert home is shaped by heat and sun and requires a different material response. A substantial renovation she led there emphasized thermal performance, filtered light, and restrained detailing. The experience later informed the restoration of her Bay Area family home. What began as a modest Mid-Century Modern update expanded when decades of exposure to marine conditions revealed leaks and significant structural and seismic deficiencies. Neel was determined to honor her grandfather’s perseverance and without hesitation pivoted to a much more intensive project. Addressing these challenges required close coordination between Neel, Klopf Architecture and Kasten Builders, with architectural restraint and construction precision guiding each intervention. Rather than alter the home’s defining features, the project focused on reinforcing the structure from within. Discreet beams were embedded along the rear facade and in an upstairs wall, strengthening the building while maximizing the wall of glass facing the Bay and opening the wall between the kitchen and the living space. These structural interventions allowed the space to open fully to the Bay without visual interruption, with the kitchen repositioned as the social and functional core of an open, continuous living space. The building envelope was updated using weather- and corrosion-resistant materials appropriate to the marine environment. The house unfolds vertically from the street, beginning with a modest garage level and workshop, with the main living spaces located below. Original slate flooring at the entry was preserved, along with select furnishings and artwork collected by Neel’s grandfather, anchoring the restored interior in its past. A restrained palette of black accents and pale, natural finishes replaces darker wood tones, reinforcing openness and calm. A naturally illuminated stair connects to the lowest level, where a former basement was transformed into a guest suite and family room opening onto a deck. From there, steps lead directly to a small concrete boat ramp at the water’s edge. Throughout the project, decisions were guided by continuity rather than transformation for its own sake. Lessons drawn from both desert and coastal climates informed a material strategy rooted in performance and restraint. Bay Heirloom stands as a measured evolution of a family house, structurally renewed and carefully modernized, grounded in the discipline and care that first shaped it. Klopf Architecture Project Team: John Klopf, AIA, Angela Todorova and Fernanda Bernardes Landscape Architect: Huettl Landscape Architecture General Contractor: Kasten Builders Photography: ©2025 Mariko Reed Year Completed: 2022 Location: Point Richmond, CA

Set on a narrow hillside lot overlooking the San Francisco Bay in Point Richmond, California, Bay Heirloom is a Mid-Century Modern family home restored, modernized and adapted for contemporary living. Oriented south-southwest toward the Marin Headlands, with views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the residence captures shifting Bay light throughout the day, from fog-muted mornings to vivid, glowing sunsets. The home was built by Karlyn Neel’s grandfather, the owner of the construction company Flo-Crete, one of the Bay Area’s early concrete pumping firms. Flo-Crete completed the foundation and structural concrete work, with family photographs documenting the original cinderblock walls and pours. The firm also contributed to major regional infrastructure projects, including the Transbay BART tube and Candlestick Park, situating the house within a broader legacy of Bay Area construction. Growing up, Neel spent considerable time in the home, developing an early appreciation for mid-century modern principles. Instead of parting with this family heirloom, she purchased the home from her grandfather’s estate. While her grandfather continued to live in the Point Richmond house, Neel purchased a Mid-Century Modern residence in Palm Desert. In contrast to the Bay Area’s cool temperatures, salt air, and persistent winds, the desert home is shaped by heat and sun and requires a different material response. A substantial renovation she led there emphasized thermal performance, filtered light, and restrained detailing. The experience later informed the restoration of her Bay Area family home. What began as a modest Mid-Century Modern update expanded when decades of exposure to marine conditions revealed leaks and significant structural and seismic deficiencies. Neel was determined to honor her grandfather’s perseverance and without hesitation pivoted to a much more intensive project. Addressing these challenges required close coordination between Neel, Klopf Architecture and Kasten Builders, with architectural restraint and construction precision guiding each intervention. Rather than alter the home’s defining features, the project focused on reinforcing the structure from within. Discreet beams were embedded along the rear facade and in an upstairs wall, strengthening the building while maximizing the wall of glass facing the Bay and opening the wall between the kitchen and the living space. These structural interventions allowed the space to open fully to the Bay without visual interruption, with the kitchen repositioned as the social and functional core of an open, continuous living space. The building envelope was updated using weather- and corrosion-resistant materials appropriate to the marine environment. The house unfolds vertically from the street, beginning with a modest garage level and workshop, with the main living spaces located below. Original slate flooring at the entry was preserved, along with select furnishings and artwork collected by Neel’s grandfather, anchoring the restored interior in its past. A restrained palette of black accents and pale, natural finishes replaces darker wood tones, reinforcing openness and calm. A naturally illuminated stair connects to the lowest level, where a former basement was transformed into a guest suite and family room opening onto a deck. From there, steps lead directly to a small concrete boat ramp at the water’s edge. Throughout the project, decisions were guided by continuity rather than transformation for its own sake. Lessons drawn from both desert and coastal climates informed a material strategy rooted in performance and restraint. Bay Heirloom stands as a measured evolution of a family house, structurally renewed and carefully modernized, grounded in the discipline and care that first shaped it. Klopf Architecture Project Team: John Klopf, AIA, Angela Todorova and Fernanda Bernardes Landscape Architect: Huettl Landscape Architecture General Contractor: Kasten Builders Photography: ©2025 Mariko Reed Year Completed: 2022 Location: Point Richmond, CA

This inviting breakfast nook captures the essence of modern farmhouse living—warm, functional, and effortlessly refined. Walls painted in Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray create a soft, neutral backdrop, allowing the architectural details and layered textures to take center stage. Custom built-in bench seating and open shelving, finished in Sherwin Williams Alabaster, brighten the space while adding a clean, timeless contrast. The deep-stained bench tops introduce a rich, grounding element that ties beautifully to the warm wood tones of the table and flooring, creating a cozy, anchored feel. A saturated stained ceiling beam draws the eye upward, adding depth and architectural interest while beautifully framing the nook and reinforcing the home’s rustic character. Above, an oxidized nickel pendant light makes a striking statement. Its antique-inspired finish brings a sense of history and character, perfectly balancing the fresh, tailored lines of the space and reinforcing the modern farmhouse aesthetic. Thoughtfully styled shelving adds personality and charm, while natural light pours in through nearby windows, making this nook the perfect spot to gather, unwind, and start the day.

The family of this contempory colonial home could only see their backyard for a very limited time of year from their large screened porch. The room let in too much pollen, dirt, cold air, rain, ice, heat and insects to enjoy. Using Four Seasons Sunrooms customized Walls Under System, our expert crew was able to precisely and easily fit in the vinyl sliding windows with Conserva-Glass Select that have a lifetime warranty. All the windows slide open and come with the exclusive Invisi-Sreens. The floor was structurally reinforced and icynene spray foam was added beneath the floor and in the ceiling for maximum energy efficiency. The back wall was blue boarded and plastered for a smooth painted finish and a prefinished wood floor completed the look for an elegant full useable space. And, when they are not using the space as an open breezy screen porch, the High performance heat pump heating and cooling system quietly and quickly makes the new space perfectly cozy in winter and cool in summer. Sure to be their new favorite room in the house!

The architect and designer Guy Derwent was approached by his client with a clear and compelling brief: to completely transform a grand Victorian terrace house they were planning to renovate. The client envisioned something far beyond a standard renovation – this was to be a bold and dramatic reimagining of a family home that could grow with them over time. With the property having remained largely untouched for more than fifty years, the architects saw an opportunity to unlock its potential and deliver a contemporary design that would contrast beautifully with its Victorian heritage. The existing layout consisted of a series of small, disconnected rooms to the rear of the house. To respond to the client’s need for openness and flexibility, the architect proposed a radical restructuring of the ground floor: The rear rooms were completely removed Suspended timber floors were lowered by up to two metres to align with the garden Two bold extensions were added The first extension filled in the side return with a London stock brick facade and a glazed roof, while the second – a striking black steel and glass pavilion was glazed on three sides and placed along the garden elevation. This new pavilion redefined the building’s relationship with the garden. Its steel-framed glazing created a seamless dialogue between interior and exterior, offering a sense of immersion in the surrounding landscape. At the heart of the plan sits a dramatic, five-metre-tall dining space that acts as a transition from the original entrance hall into the new addition. A large, circular cast-glass window, framed in steel, provides a visual and spatial link between old and new, allowing light and movement to travel through the depth of the home. Throughout the project, a series of black metal elements were introduced as sculptural interventions – each marking moments of transformation within the house. These included the bespoke steel framed circular window, a custom metal staircase, a cylindrical support column, and the striking steel and glass garden pavilion. Together, they formed a coherent architectural language that underscored the project’s bold intent. Our steel windows and doors played a vital role in delivering the project’s vision. The architects chose steel for its refined sight lines and distinctive material character, which helped bridge the gap between the historical context of the building and the bold new additions. The black steel frames provided a crisp contrast to the pale London stock brick and added definition to the glazed pavilion, reinforcing the sense of architectural precision. In particular, the fine steel profiles of the garden room allowed the extension to feel both lightweight and immersive, blurring the boundary between the house and its garden. The architect drew inspiration from the Bauhaus Movement, particularly the work of Walter Gropius, whose approach to functional beauty and industrial materials informed the design of the garden pavilion. Here, our glazing system was used not just for transparency, but as an expressive architectural element. The carefully proportioned panels help to conceal the roof thickness and reinforce the pavilion’s industrial yet abstract character – a deliberate nod to product design and modernist detailing. Sustainability was an important factor in the selection of materials. Our steel systems, made from 99% recycled content and 100% recyclable, aligned with the project’s broader environmental goals. The architects noted that this commitment to material longevity and circularity was central to their decision to use steel. The durability and recyclability of the windows and doors ensured the project met both aesthetic and ethical criteria. This London terrace house now stands as a celebration of contrast – between heritage and innovation, solidity and transparency, tradition and transformation. Our steel windows and doors were not simply components; they were essential tools in crafting a home that is as bold and expressive as it is functional. The result is a home designed for modern family life, where light, space, and materiality come together in perfect harmony.

Boxes were lined with additional geotextile to prevent soil leakage and preserve timbers. Note reinforcing "dead man" timber to reinforce bed construction. Photos by John Kelly of LandscapeConsultation.com