This residence was a complete gut renovation of a 4-story row house in Park Slope, and included a new rear extension and penthouse addition. The owners wished to create a warm, family home using a modern language that would act as a clean canvas to feature rich textiles and items from their world travels. As with most Brooklyn row houses, the existing house suffered from a lack of natural light and connection to exterior spaces, an issue that Principal Brendan Coburn is acutely aware of from his experience re-imagining historic structures in the New York area. The resulting architecture is designed around moments featuring natural light and views to the exterior, of both the private garden and the sky, throughout the house, and a stripped-down language of detailing and finishes allows for the concept of the modern-natural to shine. Upon entering the home, the kitchen and dining space draw you in with views beyond through the large glazed opening at the rear of the house. An extension was built to allow for a large sunken living room that provides a family gathering space connected to the kitchen and dining room, but remains distinctly separate, with a strong visual connection to the rear garden. The open sculptural stair tower was designed to function like that of a traditional row house stair, but with a smaller footprint. By extending it up past the original roof level into the new penthouse, the stair becomes an atmospheric shaft for the spaces surrounding the core. All types of weather – sunshine, rain, lightning, can be sensed throughout the home through this unifying vertical environment. The stair space also strives to foster family communication, making open living spaces visible between floors. At the upper-most level, a free-form bench sits suspended over the stair, just by the new roof deck, which provides at-ease entertaining. Oak was used throughout the home as a unifying material element. As one travels upwards within the house, the oak finishes are bleached to further degrees as a nod to how light enters the home. The owners worked with CWB to add their own personality to the project. The meter of a white oak and blackened steel stair screen was designed by the family to read “I love you” in Morse Code, and tile was selected throughout to reference places that hold special significance to the family. To support the owners’ comfort, the architectural design engages passive house technologies to reduce energy use, while increasing air quality within the home – a strategy which aims to respect the environment while providing a refuge from the harsh elements of urban living. This project was published by Wendy Goodman as her Space of the Week, part of New York Magazine’s Design Hunting on The Cut. Photography by Kevin Kunstadt

Novato, CA, Bel Marin Keys, landscape transformation. Replaced the water thirsty lawn with low-water plants that provide biodiversity, color and interest throughout the seasons. I've included several landscape design ideas and strategies to replace water-thirsty lawns form several projects I designed. I've included before and after photos and links to the various lawn conversion projects.

Exterior solar shades and awning systems are the most efficient solution to protect your windows and patio areas from the sun's damaging heat and UV rays. Blocking up to 99% of UV, motorized retractable shading systems allow you to block the sun and heat or reverse the strategy to allow in natural light and heat as desired.

Hugh Lofting Timber Framing (HLTF) manufactured and installed the Southern Yellow Pine glued-laminated (glulams) beams and the Douglas Fir lock deck T&G in this modern house in Centreville, MD. HLTF worked closely with Torchio Architects to develop the steel connection designs and the overall glulam strategy for the project. Photos by: Steve Buchanan Photography

The house’s sloped site on a ravine street is highly unusual in Houston’s typically flat and low-lying landscape. In addition, the site is small, facilitating a strategy that creates a basement that houses a three-car garage, utility room, wine room, and storage. At three-fourths the size of the house’s footprint, it maximizes the available living space at the levels above without overshadowing the 1930s vintage suburb with its single family houses and deed restricted setbacks. In addition, the basement garage is entered by driving into the hillside from the bottom of the ravine, obviating the need for an unsightly and space-consuming ramp. Peter Molick Photography

Request Cabinet Quote from Showcase Kitchens Erika Bierman

McAlpin Loft- Study RVP Photography
Large urban home office photo in Cincinnati

This condo in Sterling, VA belongs to a couple about to enter into retirement. They own this home in Sterling, along with a weekend home in West Virginia, a vacation home on Emerald Isle in North Carolina and a vacation home in St. John. They want to use this home as their "home-base" during their retirement, when they need to be in the metro area for business or to see family. The condo is small and they felt it was too "choppy," it didn't have good flow and the rooms were too separated and confined. They wondered if it could have more of an open concept feel but were doubtful due to the size and layout of the home. The furnishings they owned from their previous home were very traditional and heavy. They wanted a much lighter, more open and more contemporary feel to this home. They wanted it to feel clean, light, airy and much bigger then it is. The first thing we tackled was an unsightly, and very heavy stone veneered fireplace wall that separated the family room from the office space. It made both rooms look heavy and dark. We took down the stone and opened up parts of the wall so that the two spaces would flow into each other. We added a view thru fireplace and gave the fireplace wall a faux marble finish to lighten it and make it much more contemporary. Glass shelves bounce light and keep the wall feeling light and streamlined. Custom built ins add hidden storage and make great use of space in these small rooms. Our strategy was to open as much as possible and to lighten the space through the use of color, fabric and glass. New furnishings in lighter colors and soft textures help keep the feeling light and modernize the space. Sheer linen draperies soften the hard lines and add to the light, airy feel. Tinius Photography

The project involved a large program that would yield a massive home on a limited and restricted site. The design strategy involved deconstructing the volume into pavilions that could generate a dialogue between built form and landscape and create intimate connections between the golf course and the living spaces. Robin Hill

Cherry Lane Residence Bathroom. Construction by RisherMartin Fine Homes. Photography by Andrea Calo
Example of a transitional kids' bathroom design in Austin

Hugh Lofting Timber Framing (HLTF) manufactured and installed the Southern Yellow Pine glued-laminated (glulams) beams and the Douglas Fir lock deck T&G in this modern house in Centreville, MD. HLTF worked closely with Torchio Architects to develop the steel connection designs and the overall glulam strategy for the project. Photos by: Steve Buchanan Photography

A small corner of the outside walkway demonstrates our drainage strategy.... open spaces on either side of the concrete walk are covered with polished La Paz pebbles, allowing water to percolate onto the site. Photo-Chris Jacobson, GardenArt Group

CKM Home Design took the sleek, stark space from a blank canvas to a warm mixed media masterpiece by adding layers of texture, color and light. The client, a fashionable and sophisticated 22-year-old aspiring actress was looking for a warm, glamorous aesthetic that melded with the building’s contemporary vibe and architecture. The space included many typical NYC apartment nuances requiring some creative design strategies and elements: one large open space living/dining area, awkward narrow nook that needed a purpose and some personality but also had some impressive design elements to maximize including the vast oversized windows and high ceilings. photo red: Peter Rymwid

Inspiration for a mid-sized country bedroom remodel in Los Angeles

The owners of this home came to us with a plan to build a new high-performance home that physically and aesthetically fit on an infill lot in an old well-established neighborhood in Bellingham. The Craftsman exterior detailing, Scandinavian exterior color palette, and timber details help it blend into the older neighborhood. At the same time the clean modern interior allowed their artistic details and displayed artwork take center stage. We started working with the owners and the design team in the later stages of design, sharing our expertise with high-performance building strategies, custom timber details, and construction cost planning. Our team then seamlessly rolled into the construction phase of the project, working with the owners and Michelle, the interior designer until the home was complete. The owners can hardly believe the way it all came together to create a bright, comfortable, and friendly space that highlights their applied details and favorite pieces of art. Photography by Radley Muller Photography​ Design by Deborah Todd Building Design Services Interior Design by Spiral Studios​

This 3 BR, 3 1/2 bath home allows the owners to live on one level most of the time. The Master Suite is on the main level along with the Living Room, Kitchen, Dining, pantries, Sun Room and service areas. The upper level houses two ample bedrooms while the lower level supports a rec center, media room, wine cellar, shop and full wet bar. Conceived as a Great Room house, the main level is designed as one seamless space that flows onto an ample deck overlooking the rear yard. We also incorporated a variety of green building techniques - photo-voltaic shingles on the roof of the garage to generate a portion of the home's energy, a super insulated building envelope, rain water harvesting, high performance windows and doors, a high efficiency heat pump, low flow bath & kitchen fixtures, Energy Star appliances and LED lighting - that greatly reduced this structure's carbon footprint. All of the strategies amounted to a 30% reduction in the energy consumption in this home relative to comparable structures.

This condo in Sterling, VA belongs to a couple about to enter into retirement. They own this home in Sterling, along with a weekend home in West Virginia, a vacation home on Emerald Isle in North Carolina and a vacation home in St. John. They want to use this home as their "home-base" during their retirement, when they need to be in the metro area for business or to see family. The condo is small and they felt it was too "choppy," it didn't have good flow and the rooms were too separated and confined. They wondered if it could have more of an open concept feel but were doubtful due to the size and layout of the home. The furnishings they owned from their previous home were very traditional and heavy. They wanted a much lighter, more open and more contemporary feel to this home. They wanted it to feel clean, light, airy and much bigger then it is. The first thing we tackled was an unsightly, and very heavy stone veneered fireplace wall that separated the family room from the office space. It made both rooms look heavy and dark. We took down the stone and opened up parts of the wall so that the two spaces would flow into each other. We added a view thru fireplace and gave the fireplace wall a faux marble finish to lighten it and make it much more contemporary. Glass shelves bounce light and keep the wall feeling light and streamlined. Custom built ins add hidden storage and make great use of space in these small rooms. Our strategy was to open as much as possible and to lighten the space through the use of color, fabric and glass. New furnishings in lighter colors and soft textures help keep the feeling light and modernize the space. Sheer linen draperies soften the hard lines and add to the light, airy feel. Tinius Photography

We designed a “tree house” suspended above the ground on glued-laminated timber columns supporting two stories, forty feet above the forest floor. Suquamish means “place of clear water”. The care of the land that drove this residence included simple strategies for capturing rain and percolating storm water, minimal excavation and removal of soils, low-impact concrete foundations, and a light structure that captures views of the forest, water, and a distant Seattle skyline to the east.

Matthew Carbone
Example of a minimalist exterior home design in New York