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.

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 Allen Russ

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.

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Situated in a pocket of classic Oak woodlands in Portola valley, the site of this home addition had partial views of the incredible landscape below, but lacked physical access to its full splendor. Analogous to a fallen log, the addition extends out from the original home to inhabit the slope, laying host to a new and unexpected habitable micro-environment. Gently cascading down the hillside, it echoes the natural slope of the site with a long, broad flowing stair lined with panoramic windows to capture views of the valley. As it terminates, a deck is laid forth and seemingly slips under the curtain wall beyond, spilling out onto a grassy play area and forming a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor living. Morning and evening light filtering through the trees create a dappled light that plays on the building and blends the house into the wooded hillside. Nature and nurture, soil and sun, is reinforced through all materials. The consistent color of the exterior panels forms a warm canvas for the light cast through the trees to create a brilliant exhibition of light and shadow that dances across the East and West façade as the sun moves throughout the day. The obscured forms of the surrounding trees dematerialize the house, which is consumed into the hillside. On the inside, faced with horizontally laid Eucalyptus, “cut-outs” in the cabinetry create small, warm apertures in the West façade where dramatic evening sun lights up the house and signals, “Its dinner time!”

Situated in a pocket of classic Oak woodlands in Portola valley, the site of this home addition had partial views of the incredible landscape below, but lacked physical access to its full splendor. Analogous to a fallen log, the addition extends out from the original home to inhabit the slope, laying host to a new and unexpected habitable micro-environment. Gently cascading down the hillside, it echoes the natural slope of the site with a long, broad flowing stair lined with panoramic windows to capture views of the valley. As it terminates, a deck is laid forth and seemingly slips under the curtain wall beyond, spilling out onto a grassy play area and forming a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor living. Morning and evening light filtering through the trees create a dappled light that plays on the building and blends the house into the wooded hillside. Nature and nurture, soil and sun, is reinforced through all materials. The consistent color of the exterior panels forms a warm canvas for the light cast through the trees to create a brilliant exhibition of light and shadow that dances across the East and West façade as the sun moves throughout the day. The obscured forms of the surrounding trees dematerialize the house, which is consumed into the hillside. On the inside, faced with horizontally laid Eucalyptus, “cut-outs” in the cabinetry create small, warm apertures in the West façade where dramatic evening sun lights up the house and signals, “Its dinner time!”

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.

This homeowner’s master bathroom was a very popular style during the 90’s. Although, white can make a space feel larger, the bathroom was bland and needed an update. Soft neutral walls, marble tile throughout and shaker style Waypoint Cabinets, make this elegant bathroom a perfect place to wake up in the morning and unwind at night. There are many features in this bathroom that we love. The veining pattern of the beautiful White Carrara marble tops and tub deck added just the right amount of contrast to this bathroom. Honed Bianco Perla Marble tiles were used in the shower and on the floor. The frameless shower reveals the finer details of this design with a basket weave tile accent band on the shower back wall, basket weave tile in the niche and on the shower floor. Bullnose tile was used to frame the window instead of wood trim and was also used inside the niche. Expansive framed mirrors enlarge the room and reflect back the window light and the beauty of the shower and tub. Heated floor mats beneath the tiles with programmable thermostat are unseen but will be highly appreciated by this home owner. No more walking on cold tiles! The transformation of this bathroom is luxurious! White and Grey was used in this space which resulted in a crisp, elegant updated look that will remain in style for years to come. Items used in this remodel: Waypoint Living Spaces Cabinetry Shaker Style in Linen Finish Cabinet Hardware: Sutton in Satin Nickel Finish White Carrara Marble 12x24 Honed Bianco Perla Marble Tiles 8x16 Honed Bianco Perla Marble Tiles 1x2 Basketweave with Grey 4x12 Bullnose pieces Fixtures: Kohler 36x60 White Acrylic tub Delta Lahara Shower Faucet with 8” wide spread and Roman Tub Faucet Heated Floors with Programmable Thermostat

The structured wiring panel. All telephone lines (white Category 5e), network lines (blue Category 5e), and Television lines (RG6/Quad-Shield Coaxial cable) from the home terminate here. Telephone service on selective lines is patched in via a telephone distribution board (flat, silver cables). Network connections are handled on the adjacent patch panel. Incoming television signal (orange coaxial cable) is amplified and distributed to the home. The television amplifier supports an active return channel, allowing for cable modems or On-Demand programming and communucation from cable television set-top boxes. If the customer elects to subscribe to cable, satellite, or other provided-content TV, they can change the feed from HD antenna to Cable Television service at the interior grounding block located near this panel. Project background: A whole-home re-wire. DemNET Technologies was brought in to remove and recycle old, outdated wiring, and re-wire this home with modern, high speed cable. DemNET also installed a structured wiring center and telecom rack, ran new wires to the outdoor service boxes, installed a HDTV antenna in the attic, and installed 7.1 surround sound in the family room, with a Zone 2 setup in the basement. Photo: DemNET Technologies

Situated in a pocket of classic Oak woodlands in Portola valley, the site of this home addition had partial views of the incredible landscape below, but lacked physical access to its full splendor. Analogous to a fallen log, the addition extends out from the original home to inhabit the slope, laying host to a new and unexpected habitable micro-environment. Gently cascading down the hillside, it echoes the natural slope of the site with a long, broad flowing stair lined with panoramic windows to capture views of the valley. As it terminates, a deck is laid forth and seemingly slips under the curtain wall beyond, spilling out onto a grassy play area and forming a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor living. Morning and evening light filtering through the trees create a dappled light that plays on the building and blends the house into the wooded hillside. Nature and nurture, soil and sun, is reinforced through all materials. The consistent color of the exterior panels forms a warm canvas for the light cast through the trees to create a brilliant exhibition of light and shadow that dances across the East and West façade as the sun moves throughout the day. The obscured forms of the surrounding trees dematerialize the house, which is consumed into the hillside. On the inside, faced with horizontally laid Eucalyptus, “cut-outs” in the cabinetry create small, warm apertures in the West façade where dramatic evening sun lights up the house and signals, “Its dinner time!”

Situated in a pocket of classic Oak woodlands in Portola valley, the site of this home addition had partial views of the incredible landscape below, but lacked physical access to its full splendor. Analogous to a fallen log, the addition extends out from the original home to inhabit the slope, laying host to a new and unexpected habitable micro-environment. Gently cascading down the hillside, it echoes the natural slope of the site with a long, broad flowing stair lined with panoramic windows to capture views of the valley. As it terminates, a deck is laid forth and seemingly slips under the curtain wall beyond, spilling out onto a grassy play area and forming a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor living. Morning and evening light filtering through the trees create a dappled light that plays on the building and blends the house into the wooded hillside. Nature and nurture, soil and sun, is reinforced through all materials. The consistent color of the exterior panels forms a warm canvas for the light cast through the trees to create a brilliant exhibition of light and shadow that dances across the East and West façade as the sun moves throughout the day. The obscured forms of the surrounding trees dematerialize the house, which is consumed into the hillside. On the inside, faced with horizontally laid Eucalyptus, “cut-outs” in the cabinetry create small, warm apertures in the West façade where dramatic evening sun lights up the house and signals, “Its dinner time!”

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

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.