Duplex Project for real estate developer in Lockhart, Texas
Example of a small classic entryway design in Other

This proposal is for a new two-story home on the vacant heavily wooded lot with an existing 150-foot-long driveway lined by several beautiful oak trees culminating in a behemoth 43-inch oak tree where the driveway meets the main lot. The far end of the driveway terminates in a grove of three 43/40/43-inch redwoods and at the very center of the vacant lot stands a gargantuan V-twin 59-inch redwood tree paired with a “small” 29-inch redwood tree. The owners want to build a beautiful contemporary-styled home for their family that fully enjoys and embraces the mature trees on their cozy 65-foot by 100-foot lot. As with all small, constrained lots, this project’s site design started first with meeting the relatively large parking and car maneuvering requirements. Menlo Park’s Department of Transportation typically requires side-facing garages to have 24-feet of backup space. So that they could give the largest feature redwood tree on site an added four feet (50%) of clearance outside of its critical root zone, the owners agreed to install a vehicle turntable at the end of their driveway to eliminate the extra four feet of space needed to back up and turnaround. This allowed them to pull their garage forward an additional four feet towards the front property line on the panhandle side, drastically reducing the rest of the home’s impact on the gargantuan V-Twin paired redwood tree at the center of the lot. One of the owners has mobility issues, and accordingly, they first sought to design a one-story floor plan that incorporated all their family’s needs including plenty of covered patio and deck space to enjoy our fantastic California weather. But that single-story footprint spread too far into the critical root zones of several of the redwood trees on site, even despite the use of the vehicle turntable. During my interview process with the owners, they made it clear to me that one of their primary concerns is ensuring that the largest trees on site would thrive and become features of their new home after construction is complete. The single-story designs that removed the grove of three huge redwood trees were non-starters, as was the skimpy 5x10 master bath I designed when trying to squeeze the whole house program into an overly compromised single-story design. It was therefore deemed necessary to go with a two-story design despite the owner’s mobility issues. This two-story design has a much more compact ground floor footprint and has no bedrooms downstairs, other than the detached ADU. The owners must give up the floor area and incur the costs to install a residential elevator to access their upstairs master suite. Our ground floor footprint is smaller due to the two-story design decision, and our foundation is pulled away from the trees thanks to the vehicle turntable. Yet, a tiny portion of the home’s ground floor footprint still encroaches into the critical root zones of the largest 59” redwood tree. Therefore, as outlined in the Arborist Report prepared by Aesculus Arboricultural Consulting, the structural engineers are incorporating an array of drilled piers and shallow-grade beams for the main home’s foundation and deck area nearest the redwood’s critical root zone. This drilled piers and grade beam foundation is a type of “bridging” foundation as outlined in Aesculus’ report to preserve the health of these trees that the property was designed around. The rest of the foundation will be constructed as an insulated slab-on-grade foundation to minimize the number of steps and ramps needed for the owners to enjoy their home and patio areas. Despite the owner’s desire to keep as many trees as possible on site, and despite the smaller ground floor footprint and the advantage of the vehicle turntable, the need for a 20x20-foot garage and 20x20/25-foot guest parking space on our panhandle lot requires the removal of two heritage trees in the required driveway, a 16” coast redwood, and a 17” coast redwood. An alternate design, such as swapping the garage and guest parking locations north-to-south, still requires the removal of these two trees for vehicle maneuvering but has the added disadvantage of cutting off the home’s sightlines to the behemoth 43” oak tree just outside the currently proposed front patio space and living room. Jim Redman of Elements Landscape is proposing 13 new trees be planted on site to replace the lost value of these two heritage coast redwood trees. This contemporary architectural design features clean lines, and an abundance of full-height windows and large skylights to best take in the immense trees on site. To blend in with the forest-like setting, the home boasts a mix of rich textures and features a color palette of natural wood tones contrasted with dark blue and black. Once through the new steel gate at the street and down the 150-foot tree-lined driveway, a large covered front patio becomes visible past the neighbor’s detached accessory structure. The covered patio is just across the driveway from the beautiful 43” behemoth coast live oak. The single plane of the covered patio roof is delicately supported by a pair of steel posts in a “V-twin” configuration much like the largest redwood trees that tower over the center of the lot and will still be visible above the new two-story home, even from the front yard. The patio is covered in a dark-colored standing seam roof, with steel C-channel fascias, and tongue-and-groove wood ceiling planks on the underside. Generously sized skylights on the patio roof and inside the living area allow for impressive views of the amazing oak canopy as well as precious natural light. Supporting the sloped covered patio on the other side is the two-car garage with a secondary bedroom suite stacked above the garage. This two-story volume is to be clad in vertical clear-coated redwood siding, to tie in with the grove of three 43-inch redwood trees just beyond. The garage door, and the bank of windows for Bedroom#2 above feature a steel fascia eyebrow header feature to provide shade and overhang protection, as we are not proposing a large overhang at this “redwood trunk”. The garage and bedroom volume are pulled 16 feet away from the side property line, instead of the minimum required setback of 6’-6”, thus leaving plenty of room for the redwood grove and existing mature pear tree to continue to thrive. This existing mature green screen in this 16-foot-wide side yard is a feature worth soaking in, which is why tall windows with low sill heights are proposed for both the stairs and the upstairs hallway. Though it may be infrequent to approve side-facing 2nd floor windows with sill heights as low as what we’re proposing, we are confident that the mature green screen and the over 16-foot-wide side yard are sufficient to provide for the continued privacy of our neighbor’s rear yard space, especially considering theses windows are in walkway zones. The covered patio at the front entry is also bound by the 10-foot-tall living room. The great room is clad in a dark blue brick veneer, which wraps around all three sides of the living room. Upon entering the home from the covered patio, you are immediately greeted with one of the most impressive features of the home’s design: a 10-foot-tall by 24-foot-wide set of sliding glass doors. From the entry, this huge opening gives merely an initial glimpse of the massive trunks of the gargantuan V-twin redwoods sitting at the center of the lot. All three sliding glass panels open directly out into the smaller partially covered deck in the rear. This roof overhang element matches the design of the front patio with a steel C-channel fascia and a large skylight. But the rear deck’s roof element is set flat at a ten-foot ceiling height so that the living room’s ceiling seems to float above and out beyond the expanse of full-height sliding doors, thus creating an indoor-outdoor living space that will feel much larger than the home’s actual footprint. This rear covered deck is smaller than the patio in the front and also has a mix of solid and open-slatted roofing to allow for more solar access for the relatively small amount of open sky available. The downstairs living room is open to the dining and kitchen areas, as well as the stair-and-elevator tower beyond. The stair tower is very open and glassy, and the stairs wind up and around the redwood-clad elevator tower. From certain perspectives in the 16-foot-wide side yard, it will almost seem as if the grove of three redwoods has a fourth tree that the house and the stairs were carefully built around. Other than the 3-foot-wide windows, the exterior walls of the stair tower, downstairs utility spaces, and Bedroom#3 above are finished in cement plaster, painted dark blue and black. The sloped roof over the stair-and-elevator tower continues cleanly over the area of upstairs Bedroom#3. This roof level is set by the side daylight plane and only yields an inside wall height of just under 6 feet in height. The owners are satisfied that the rest of this upstairs room has a nice vaulted ceiling to make up for the one short wall under the daylight plane. The rest of the ground floor adjacent to the stair tower consists of a small utility wing containing a half-bath, laundry, storage area, and an exterior alcove for the electric heat pump HVAC unit. This short wing also gives more accessible access to the rear yard deck, as well as a backdrop for an outdoor kitchen. The bright white stone backsplash for the outdoor kitchen provides contrast to the otherwise consistent use of cement plaster painted dark blue and black for the two-story wing closest to the detached ADU. Though Bedroom#3 is stacked directly above this small wing, it is relatively short to comply with the side daylight plane of this narrow lot. Still, to further help break up the scale of this wall, another steel fascia eyebrow element is set about 8 feet above the rear deck. The master suite sits centered above the ten-foot-tall great room. The master bedroom and its balcony, as well as the master bathtub area, have a commanding view of the central redwood trees and their impressive canopy, though the balcony is mostly recessed and should pose no privacy concerns to the neighbor’s rear yards. The master balcony parapet is clad in the same brick veneer continuing up from the living room below. A dark-painted metal rail makes up the rest of the open guardrail height. The entire length of the master balcony is comprised of 9-foot-tall sliding glass doors, but the area above the doors, as well as the area below the master bathroom windows, is accented with more redwood siding. The remainder of the master suite bathroom and walk-in closet is finished in cement plaster painted dark blue. The master bathroom has one side yard-facing window but will be frosted glass for both the owner’s and the neighbor’s privacy. The 2nd floor is capped under a simple gable roof design with one roof ridge and varying eave and rake overhangs depending on the 2nd-floor layout and solar orientation. Since these roof planes are quite difficult to see in the middle of the heavily wooded panhandle lot, we are proposing a white TPO roofing for these two upper roof planes as a more sustainable choice compared to more dark-colored roofing like the covered patios and detached ADU. The owners also wish to build a detached 292-square-foot Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) as an office and guest suite. For the ADU foundation to be situated outside the central redwood tree’s critical root zone, this relatively tiny structure takes advantage of the narrower 4-foot side and rear setbacks allowed for ADUs smaller than 800 square feet. The small L-shaped detached ADU frames a wonderful quasi-courtyard around the gargantuan V-twin redwoods at the center of the lot. The ADU shares a matching material palette consisting of cement plaster painted blue and black, vertical redwood siding and soffits, and thin brick veneer. The ADU also features large full-height windows. The only difference between the main home and the ADU material palette is that the roofing will be a dark composition shingle roofing since it will be quite visible from the master balcony.

Keep every element of your wardrobe neat and within reach with a closet organizing system. Mix and match coordinating drawers, bins and boxes to create the perfect storage for everything down to the last pair of pumps. With a range of paint and stain options available, you can customize your set to fit beautifully into any style. Add seating and a runner and your closet is likely to become your favorite room. Scroll to shop the pieces in this stylish storage scene.

Create a true conversation-starter in your home when you install custom modern wine cellar doors with sleek lines, insulated and functional glass windows, and handcrafted door hardware.

This new home is conveniently located minutes away from I-75, Topgolf, Downtown Chattanooga, and Camp Jordan. This is a perfect starter home with premium finishes and a partially brick exterior. This new homeowner will be able to relax and unwind in their covered and screened in rear patio. There will be many more home offerings coming soon proudly built by EPG Homes in the Hummingbird Village community available soon.

Our customers at Linwood Ave. hired us to complete a full 3-story renovation for their row house, in the ever popular neighborhood of Canton. We were tasked with taking the separate & combined needs of our newly engaged couple, to create a space that didn't feel compromised. For starters, we needed optimal storage, maximal light, and space for entertaining. On the main level we opened up their living/dining/kitchen, but created a mudroom in the back that could store bikes, outdoor equipment, coats, shoes, and every other eyesore that is useful but should not be seen. For the kitchen, we wanted to create a space that was highly functional, and didn't leave the home feeling like another shot-gun row house. By building a wall for the mudroom, it allowed us to utilize both sides of the kitchen while keeping our sight lines open. For their master bathroom we packed in a lot of luxury for a small space. The bathroom included a large shower, double vanity, and separate toilet room. We installed medicine cabinets and built-in storage wherever there was an opportunity. Overall, the end result is an elegant space that the couple has room to grow into, for years to come.

Our customers at Linwood Ave. hired us to complete a full 3-story renovation for their row house, in the ever popular neighborhood of Canton. We were tasked with taking the separate & combined needs of our newly engaged couple, to create a space that didn't feel compromised. For starters, we needed optimal storage, maximal light, and space for entertaining. On the main level we opened up their living/dining/kitchen, but created a mudroom in the back that could store bikes, outdoor equipment, coats, shoes, and every other eyesore that is useful but should not be seen. For the kitchen, we wanted to create a space that was highly functional, and didn't leave the home feeling like another shot-gun row house. By building a wall for the mudroom, it allowed us to utilize both sides of the kitchen while keeping our sight lines open. For their master bathroom we packed in a lot of luxury for a small space. The bathroom included a large shower, double vanity, and separate toilet room. We installed medicine cabinets and built-in storage wherever there was an opportunity. Overall, the end result is an elegant space that the couple has room to grow into, for years to come.

These homeowners came to Castle looking for a solution that would allow them to stay in their 1946 stucco bungalow in the St. Paul neighborhood that they loved. What was once a young couple’s starter home (1 ½ story with two bedrooms on the main floor and a tiny attic space) was no longer big enough after having two kids. The need for more room became the family’s highest priority, so they came to Castle for help creating the space they needed for their growing family. With very little headroom in the attic, the decision was made to tear off the roof and add a completely new 2nd story addition with three bedrooms, a bathroom, and a commons area. The stairway to the new 2nd-floor space needed to be rebuilt to comply with code requirements and was extended slightly into the dining room below. The new 2nd story addition gave the homeowners an opportunity to revise the exterior look of the home with vertical board and batten siding above the 1st-floor stucco. A new front entry portico was added to compliment the addition, and the existing masonry chimney was extended above the new roof line. The homeowners took over the work on the project after drywall was installed and did all the interior trim & millwork, tile, flooring, and painting & staining themselves. They’re loving the results! Tour this project in person, September 28 – 29, during the 2019 Castle Home Tour!

As you step further into the basement, you're greeted by a blend of comfort and curated touches. Sink into a distressed wax pull-up sofa that's the epitome of relaxation. Next to it, a hair-on-hide patchwork ottoman adds texture and uniqueness. A traditional vintage rug lays the foundation, tying together the room's diverse elements. Tucked into a corner, copper pottery adds an artistic note, without overpowering the space. One of the room's true gems is the antique safe, repurposed as an end table—a conversation starter that's as practical as it is intriguing. Complementing the cozy setting is an impactful yet well-scaled whitetail deer tapestry, all situated next to lakeside windows that bathe the room in inviting light. It's a perfectly balanced mix that invites you to unwind and stay awhile.

Welcome some fun creative flair into your life with the Oslo Bean Shaped Coffee Table from Convenience Concepts. Its minimalist design and unique shape help to optimize space without taking up too much room. The high piano gloss finish and midcentury modern legs creates a contrasting look that was designed to be a conversation starter, while offering plenty of usable space. The Oslo Bean Shaped Coffee Table is crafted from MDF and finished with a non-lead based paint and sturdy solid rubberwood legs, this 17 pound coffee table is built for longevity. Part of the Scandinavian inspired Oslo Collection from Convenience Concepts, add the Oslo Bean Shaped Coffee Table and other pieces to your home today!

Spacious white kitchen features a large party starter island with quartz countertops and Thermador appliances. Functional kitchen that offers plenty of cabinet and counter space including a walk-in pantry and a prep/office space.

Elizabeth Grillo, Ben Penland
Example of a minimalist bathroom design in Charlotte

Another finished project! We love how this classic wood and carpet staircase turned out! This beautiful staircase features an extra wide starter step, a climbing (compound) volute and Knuckle Series iron balusters! Interested in a similar style staircase for your home? Click the link to learn what parts were used to create this beautiful staircase!

Like many West Coast cities, Seattle is facing a severe housing shortage at a time when labor and material costs have skyrocketed. Combined with a lack of available dirt, housing vacancy rates stubbornly hover under 5%. A response to this housing perfect storm has been the evolution of a new housing prototype called a detached Auxiliary Dwelling Unit (DADU). This is commonly referred to as a Mother-in-Law (MIL) unit. As the name implies, this is a small, self-contained housing type that allows for additional housing to be built on an existing lot, creating greater density within our urban fabric. Generally thought of as either starter housing or aging-in-place concepts, these are extremely efficient floor plans that squeeze all the basic living functions into a compact space while envisioning the urban fabric as one's living room. In the case of our little DADU, our footprint is 20' x 20' and provides a ground level garage/music studio and an upper level apartment. The misconception of these structure - thanks in large part to the misinformation campaign of the Not-So-Big-House movement - is the smaller translates into cheaper. Since these are essentially small houses, the truth is these are very expensive structures on a cost/sf basis. We conceptualized this structure as inexpensively as we could think of and it still ended up costing more than $400,000 or around $500/sf.

The MaxMount Shelf System is a durable, long-lasting, and simple-to-install garage solution. Use a standalone Starter Kit to cover a 32" wide section in your garage, or add 32" Extension Kits for more storage. Load up the overhead section of your shelf system with bulky items like bins, camping gear, or coolers. And personalize the hook bars beneath the overhead storage with a variety of hook options to hold sporting equipment, heavy-duty tools, and more.

Stain grade double stacked mantel with tumbled marble tile surround. Gas starter and gas logs
Inspiration for a large transitional open concept ceramic tile and multicolored floor family room remodel in Dallas with multicolored walls, a corner fireplace, a tile fireplace and a tv stand

Outdoor living projects can add instant value, beauty and amazing opportunities for more enjoyment from dining to relaxing to just more living space. Decks are great starters but dream big and consider a sunroom for all season indoor - outdoor living for your home!

Elizabeth Grillo, Ben Penland
Kitchen - modern kitchen idea in Charlotte

PHOTO CREDIT ... INTERIOR DESIGN BY: Pierre Jean-Baptiste Interiors, Ltd. © This media room started off as a beige room with starter furniture. We added grey grasscloth wallpaper as well as Sherwin Williams ceiling and wall paint in the adjacent spaces. The new blackout roman shades control light as required for the new VPL-VW1100ES Sony 4K projector. We custom designed the new cabinetry and concealed all of the new AV equipment inside. The red sectional adds a pop of color and fun in this neutral colored room. The new custom upholstered axis chair and accent tables play well with the new lighting that we incorporated. See more at Pierreji.com