Corners are eroded on all of the structures to allow the interior space to marry with the exterior views and site. Decks wrap these corners as well and provide an intermediate transition zone between structure and landscape. Inspired by local fishing shacks and wharf buildings dotting the coast of Maine, this retreat interweaves large glazed openings with simple taut-skinned New England shingled cottages. This skin is incised to open views to the sea beyond and relies on light steel framing and thin braces to preserve the simple forms eroded toward sweeping views.Eric Reinholdt - Project Architect/Lead Designer with Elliott + Elliott Architecture Photo: Eric Reinholdt

Tucked away in a densely wooded lot, this modern style home features crisp horizontal lines and outdoor patios that playfully offset a natural surrounding. A narrow front elevation with covered entry to the left and tall galvanized tower to the right help orient as many windows as possible to take advantage of natural daylight. Horizontal lap siding with a deep charcoal color wrap the perimeter of this home and are broken up by a horizontal windows and moments of natural wood siding. Inside, the entry foyer immediately spills over to the right giving way to the living rooms twelve-foot tall ceilings, corner windows, and modern fireplace. In direct eyesight of the foyer, is the homes secondary entrance, which is across the dining room from a stairwell lined with a modern cabled railing system. A collection of rich chocolate colored cabinetry with crisp white counters organizes the kitchen around an island with seating for four. Access to the main level master suite can be granted off of the rear garage entryway/mudroom. A small room with custom cabinetry serves as a hub, connecting the master bedroom to a second walk-in closet and dual vanity bathroom. Outdoor entertainment is provided by a series of landscaped terraces that serve as this homes alternate front facade. At the end of the terraces is a large fire pit that also terminates the axis created by the dining room doors. Downstairs, an open concept family room is connected to a refreshment area and den. To the rear are two more bedrooms that share a large bathroom. Photographer: Ashley Avila Photography Builder: Bouwkamp Builders, Inc.

Example of a large minimalist brown three-story wood house exterior design with a shed roof and a metal roof

Relocating to Portland, Oregon from California, this young family immediately hired Amy to redesign their newly purchased home to better fit their needs. The project included updating the kitchen, hall bath, and adding an en suite to their master bedroom. Removing a wall between the kitchen and dining allowed for additional counter space and storage along with improved traffic flow and increased natural light to the heart of the home. This galley style kitchen is focused on efficiency and functionality through custom cabinets with a pantry boasting drawer storage topped with quartz slab for durability, pull-out storage accessories throughout, deep drawers, and a quartz topped coffee bar/ buffet facing the dining area. The master bath and hall bath were born out of a single bath and a closet. While modest in size, the bathrooms are filled with functionality and colorful design elements. Durable hex shaped porcelain tiles compliment the blue vanities topped with white quartz countertops. The shower and tub are both tiled in handmade ceramic tiles, bringing much needed texture and movement of light to the space. The hall bath is outfitted with a toe-kick pull-out step for the family’s youngest member!

Example of a huge minimalist backyard brick patio design in Omaha with a fire pit and a gazebo

As a cottage, the Ridgecrest was designed to take full advantage of a property rich in natural beauty. Each of the main houses three bedrooms, and all of the entertaining spaces, have large rear facing windows with thick craftsman style casing. A glance at the front motor court reveals a guesthouse above a three-stall garage. Complete with separate entrance, the guesthouse features its own bathroom, kitchen, laundry, living room and bedroom. The columned entry porch of the main house is centered on the floor plan, but is tucked under the left side of the homes large transverse gable. Centered under this gable is a grand staircase connecting the foyer to the lower level corridor. Directly to the rear of the foyer is the living room. With tall windows and a vaulted ceiling. The living rooms stone fireplace has flanking cabinets that anchor an axis that runs through the living and dinning room, ending at the side patio. A large island anchors the open concept kitchen and dining space. On the opposite side of the main level is a private master suite, complete with spacious dressing room and double vanity master bathroom. Buffering the living room from the master bedroom, with a large built-in feature wall, is a private study. Downstairs, rooms are organized off of a linear corridor with one end being terminated by a shared bathroom for the two lower bedrooms and large entertainment spaces. Photographer: Ashley Avila Photography Builder: Douglas Sumner Builder, Inc. Interior Design: Vision Interiors by Visbeen

Double Beam Staircase with Cable Railing System This unique project was a true work of art. Our client's home combined natural elements such as stone, wood and iron for a rustic ambiance. Combined with our modern style Cable Railing System, this house was truly a masterpiece.

©Teague Hunziker. With just one owner, this mid-century masterpiece is largely untouched and remains much as it originally looked in 1972.
Kitchen - mid-century modern u-shaped kitchen idea in Los Angeles with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, granite countertops, brown backsplash, stone slab backsplash, black appliances, an island and brown countertops

Saturday June 27, 2:30 to 4:00pm | Bluemont Piedmont Retreat by Jay Graham, FASLA of Graham Landscape Architecture, with Ralph Cunningham, FAIA Nestled at the base of the Shenandoah foothills in Virginia, this 178-acre site, once used for agriculture, has been transformed by the current owners into an attractive country retreat. The expansive landscape surrounding the residence incorporates Modernist design elements while acknowledging the site’s vibrant agricultural history. Visitors enter the property along an extended driveway, aligned to perfectly capture views of the nearby foothills before meandering through a wooded area featuring a beautiful array of stone walls and mature oak trees that terminate abruptly in a clearing, offering guests their first glimpse of the main residence. Pathways, and terraces, encircle the home where a wedge-shaped entry garden beckons, drawing visitors through the front door. Other spaces include the Tapestry and Master’s gardens, which were designed to introduce a diverse palette of plants to the property, direct views, and provide an additional splash of color and personality to the outdoor area. Adjacent to the home and bounded by natural boulders found on site, a turf platform provides flat ground for outdoor games. Beyond the lawn, a newly established meadow completes the design plan as it draws attention outward to more natural aspects of the environment, a pond, and restored woodlands. Photo copyright Maxwell Mackenzie

As a cottage, the Ridgecrest was designed to take full advantage of a property rich in natural beauty. Each of the main houses three bedrooms, and all of the entertaining spaces, have large rear facing windows with thick craftsman style casing. A glance at the front motor court reveals a guesthouse above a three-stall garage. Complete with separate entrance, the guesthouse features its own bathroom, kitchen, laundry, living room and bedroom. The columned entry porch of the main house is centered on the floor plan, but is tucked under the left side of the homes large transverse gable. Centered under this gable is a grand staircase connecting the foyer to the lower level corridor. Directly to the rear of the foyer is the living room. With tall windows and a vaulted ceiling. The living rooms stone fireplace has flanking cabinets that anchor an axis that runs through the living and dinning room, ending at the side patio. A large island anchors the open concept kitchen and dining space. On the opposite side of the main level is a private master suite, complete with spacious dressing room and double vanity master bathroom. Buffering the living room from the master bedroom, with a large built-in feature wall, is a private study. Downstairs, rooms are organized off of a linear corridor with one end being terminated by a shared bathroom for the two lower bedrooms and large entertainment spaces. Photographer: Ashley Avila Photography Builder: Douglas Sumner Builder, Inc. Interior Design: Vision Interiors by Visbeen

Photos for Arkwright Construction, styling by Kimberly Swedelius.
Example of a minimalist staircase design in Chicago

Tucked away in a densely wooded lot, this modern style home features crisp horizontal lines and outdoor patios that playfully offset a natural surrounding. A narrow front elevation with covered entry to the left and tall galvanized tower to the right help orient as many windows as possible to take advantage of natural daylight. Horizontal lap siding with a deep charcoal color wrap the perimeter of this home and are broken up by a horizontal windows and moments of natural wood siding. Inside, the entry foyer immediately spills over to the right giving way to the living rooms twelve-foot tall ceilings, corner windows, and modern fireplace. In direct eyesight of the foyer, is the homes secondary entrance, which is across the dining room from a stairwell lined with a modern cabled railing system. A collection of rich chocolate colored cabinetry with crisp white counters organizes the kitchen around an island with seating for four. Access to the main level master suite can be granted off of the rear garage entryway/mudroom. A small room with custom cabinetry serves as a hub, connecting the master bedroom to a second walk-in closet and dual vanity bathroom. Outdoor entertainment is provided by a series of landscaped terraces that serve as this homes alternate front facade. At the end of the terraces is a large fire pit that also terminates the axis created by the dining room doors. Downstairs, an open concept family room is connected to a refreshment area and den. To the rear are two more bedrooms that share a large bathroom. Photographer: Ashley Avila Photography Builder: Bouwkamp Builders, Inc.

Henrique Queiroga
Living room - contemporary living room idea

Saturday June 27, 2:30 to 4:00pm | Bluemont Piedmont Retreat by Jay Graham, FASLA of Graham Landscape Architecture, with Ralph Cunningham, FAIA Nestled at the base of the Shenandoah foothills in Virginia, this 178-acre site, once used for agriculture, has been transformed by the current owners into an attractive country retreat. The expansive landscape surrounding the residence incorporates Modernist design elements while acknowledging the site’s vibrant agricultural history. Visitors enter the property along an extended driveway, aligned to perfectly capture views of the nearby foothills before meandering through a wooded area featuring a beautiful array of stone walls and mature oak trees that terminate abruptly in a clearing, offering guests their first glimpse of the main residence. Pathways, and terraces, encircle the home where a wedge-shaped entry garden beckons, drawing visitors through the front door. Other spaces include the Tapestry and Master’s gardens, which were designed to introduce a diverse palette of plants to the property, direct views, and provide an additional splash of color and personality to the outdoor area. Adjacent to the home and bounded by natural boulders found on site, a turf platform provides flat ground for outdoor games. Beyond the lawn, a newly established meadow completes the design plan as it draws attention outward to more natural aspects of the environment, a pond, and restored woodlands. Photo copyright Maxwell Mackenzie

photos by Pedro Marti The main goal of this renovation was to improve the overall flow of this one bedroom. The existing layout consisted of too much unusable circulation space and poorly laid out storage located at the entry of the apartment. The existing kitchen was an antiquated, small enclosed space. The main design solution was to remove the long entry hall by opening the kitchen to create one large open space that interacted with the main living room. A new focal point was created in the space by adding a long linear element of floating shelves with a workspace below opposite the kitchen running from the entry to the living space. Visually the apartment is tied together by using the same material for various elements throughout. Grey oak is used for the custom kitchen cabinetry, the floating shelves and desk, and to clad the entry walls. Custom light grey acid etched glass is used for the upper kitchen cabinets, the drawer fronts below the desk, and the tall closet doors at the entry. In the kitchen black granite countertops wrap around terminating with a raised dining surface open to the living room. The black counters are mirrored with a soft black acid etched backsplash that helps the kitchen feel larger as they create the illusion of receding. The existing floors of the apartment were stained a dark ebony and complimented by the new dark metallic porcelain tiled kitchen floor. In the bathroom the tub was replaced with an open shower. Brown limestone floors flow straight from the bathroom into the shower with out a curb, European style. The walls are tiled with a large format light blue glass.

As a cottage, the Ridgecrest was designed to take full advantage of a property rich in natural beauty. Each of the main houses three bedrooms, and all of the entertaining spaces, have large rear facing windows with thick craftsman style casing. A glance at the front motor court reveals a guesthouse above a three-stall garage. Complete with separate entrance, the guesthouse features its own bathroom, kitchen, laundry, living room and bedroom. The columned entry porch of the main house is centered on the floor plan, but is tucked under the left side of the homes large transverse gable. Centered under this gable is a grand staircase connecting the foyer to the lower level corridor. Directly to the rear of the foyer is the living room. With tall windows and a vaulted ceiling. The living rooms stone fireplace has flanking cabinets that anchor an axis that runs through the living and dinning room, ending at the side patio. A large island anchors the open concept kitchen and dining space. On the opposite side of the main level is a private master suite, complete with spacious dressing room and double vanity master bathroom. Buffering the living room from the master bedroom, with a large built-in feature wall, is a private study. Downstairs, rooms are organized off of a linear corridor with one end being terminated by a shared bathroom for the two lower bedrooms and large entertainment spaces. Photographer: Ashley Avila Photography Builder: Douglas Sumner Builder, Inc. Interior Design: Vision Interiors by Visbeen

The opposing angles at the "bend" of the main bedroom suite create an opportunity for gorgeous indirect light into the bathroom. A custom vanity and minimalist shower enclosure complete the sleek, modern look set against the calm colors of the Milestone plaster walls. Photography: Andrew Pogue Photography.

Concrete can be made to look like any substance. Tile, stone, wood, brick, etc. With unlimited color options, Ky-Kan Coatings can transform any room in your home or business using lightweight, beautiful concrete.

The strong formal axis set up by this portal demands an appropriately dramatic termination of the visit it created. This is accomplished by a clever alteration of the window end of the dining room. A new space with a strong focal point is now created for balance. An irregular space with two asymmetrical windows and one splayed wall is transforming by adding another splayed wall to match the exiting one. A new door to the powder room in this wall mirrors an existing recess in the existing spayed wall to create a symmetrical effect. This simple action makes the minuscule powder room much larger, creating a sense of false perspective to increase the apparent size of the dining room and places a single window on axis with the foyer. This window is given an appropriately grand window treatments with traditional swags framing a diaphanous sheer. This shear conveys the same softness as the sandblasted glass panels at the opposite end of the room, yet provided a transitional counterpoint to their modernity.