The Columbia River Gorge offers a dramatic backdrop to this hill-side retreat for a young family. Careful positioning of the plan and windows provide views to Mount Adams and Mount Hood. The home is a linear composition of a two-level volume linked to a single-level guest suite and garage. Each volume was studied and articulated to successfully balance views & privacy. The first-floor living level spills out to the rugged landscape through glass doors that open to stepped patios of natural basalt. Vast expanses of windows assure a vivid display of seasonal changes from every room. Elements include standing seam metal roofs, dark horizontal cedar siding, and a full height board-formed concrete wall designed to retain the steeply sloped natural terrain. Inside an open floor plan employing high ceilings and materials such as exposed Doug Fir framing, radiant concrete floors and bleached wood ceilings guarantees a modern, timeless look. Incorporating the owner's stock of salvaged wood screens and vintage European light fixtures makes this home truly unique and full of personality. Photographer: Nakamoto Forestry

The backyard had an area that collected water and killed a few Arborvitae. The electric pole was also an eyesore. The area was raised and new plantings were installed with a path created to move the water away from the yard.

Limited space and steep terrain made this back yard virtually unusable. This design includes WOLF PVC in Amberwood field and Rosewood accent. The deck not only provides an outdoor living space but also bridges the gap from the back door to the patio with fire feature that was excavated into the side of the hill. Massive trees and granite ledge rock made this project not only a challenging design but also a challenging build. Due to topographic restraints helical stairs were fabricated on site with custom glue lam stringers. Access requirements for the client were to have access to both side yards, driveway and newly constructed patio. The faux bluestone steps lead up from the driveway and CST Pavers and Block wall were used to create built-in seating surrounding the fire pit and multiple areas to dine, entertain and relax. The faux bluestone steps lead up from the driveway to the patio featuring curved wall and built-in seating in CST Pavers and block wall surround patio and built in fire feature. Picture frame PVC skirting provides the finished look to this great space.

Oklahoma flagstone steps with stone risers to the front door. The steps are flanked by shade loving ferns.
Design ideas for a traditional shade front yard stone garden path in Atlanta.

When full-time Massachusetts residents contemplate building a second home in Telluride, Colorado the question immediately arises; does it make most sense to hire a regionally based Rocky Mountain architect or a sea level architect conveniently located for all of the rigorous collaboration required for successful bespoke home design. Determined to prove the latter true, Siemasko + Verbridge accompanied the potential client as they scoured the undulating Telluride landscape in search of the perfect house site. The selected site’s harmonious balance of untouched meadow rising up to meet the edge of an aspen grove and the opposing 180 degree view of Wilson’s Range spoke to everyone. A plateau just beyond a fork in the meadow provided a natural flatland, requiring little excavation and yet the right amount of upland slope to capture the views. The intrinsic character of the site was only enriched by an elk trail and snake-rail fence. Establishing the expanse of Wilson’s range would be best served by rejecting the notion of selected views, the central sweeping curve of the roof inverts a small saddle in the range with which it is perfectly aligned. The soaring wave of custom windows and the open floor plan make the relatively modest house feel sizable despite its footprint of just under 2,000 square feet. Officially a two bedroom home, the bunk room and loft allow the home to comfortably sleep ten, encouraging large gatherings of family and friends. The home is completely off the grid in response to the unique and fragile qualities of the landscape. Great care was taken to respect the regions vernacular through the use of mostly native materials and a palette derived from the terrain found at 9,820 feet above sea level. Photographer: Gibeon Photography

The Columbia River Gorge offers a dramatic backdrop to this hill-side retreat for a young family. Careful positioning of the plan and windows provide views to Mount Adams and Mount Hood. The home is a linear composition of a two-level volume linked to a single-level guest suite and garage. Each volume was studied and articulated to successfully balance views & privacy. The first-floor living level spills out to the rugged landscape through glass doors that open to stepped patios of natural basalt. Vast expanses of windows assure a vivid display of seasonal changes from every room. Elements include standing seam metal roofs, dark horizontal cedar siding, and a full height board-formed concrete wall designed to retain the steeply sloped natural terrain. Inside an open floor plan employing high ceilings and materials such as exposed Doug Fir framing, radiant concrete floors and bleached wood ceilings guarantees a modern, timeless look. Incorporating the owner's stock of salvaged wood screens and vintage European light fixtures makes this home truly unique and full of personality. Photographer: Nakamoto Forestry

Le terrain, se composant auparavant principalement d'une pelouse et de haies, a été transformé en un jardin structuré avec plusieurs pièces extérieures. Les éléments-clés du plan consistent en une série de structures métalliques habillées de jasmin étoilé, qui se répètent d'un bout à l'autre du jardin. En alternant espaces ouverts et espaces clôturés, elles invitent le visiteur à s'aventurer et à découvrir des endroits cosy et revigorants. Une aura de mystère rajoute une dimension supplémentaire à cet univers. Le tracé en zig-zag de la pelouse centrale évoque de manière ludique le dessin des panneaux métalliques. Ifs taillés en cône, yuccas géants, palmiers cycas et cyprès s'entremêlent afin de créer d'éclatants tableaux.

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Hillside Modernism In Context. The owners of this modern hillside home sought to have a home in a nice Los Angeles neighborhood wherein they could raise their burgeoning family. The owners purchased a 1948 2000sf, single story, 2 bedroom English Cottage styled home (believed to have been originally owned by Yul Brynner) on a ½ acre hillside site in the exclusive Brentwood area of Los Angeles. The property slopes downward away from the street and overlooks a mini eucalyptus arroyo. The owners love their new location but are now faced-with having to raise their new and growing family on a hillside with extremely limited yard spaces for children to play and in a location where nature is very close – deer as well as coyotes wander the arroyo. In 2000 the owners commissioned architect Richard Best to add 2500sf to the cottage and transform it into a home more fitting to their growing family’s needs. Subsequently, in 2014/15, the owners again commissioned Richard to create a 2-story master suite addition. Living in or visiting the completed project - the original 1948 home remodeled + the 2000 addition + the 2014/15 addition, one goes through an unexpected and delightful experience as the spaces of the home “unfold” to reveal intimacy and environmental immersion. It was important to Richard and to the owners that their remodels and additions be appropriately designed to fit into the neighborhood and have the feel, scale, and soul of the original cottage. With this in-mind, Richard has interpreted the design intentions of the original cottage - “modernizing” the architectural vocabulary and creating open-plan, 2-story additions which promote site “engagement” at various floor levels and openness to the outdoors in a manner clearly inspired by the original cottage, yet modern. At the front door of the original (still remains as it was) 1948 structure, one is presented with a quaint a low-slung entry which establishes a very comfortable sense of scale. Inside, the remodeled spaces of the original cottage exude comfort and a cozy sensibility evoked by the reuse of the original home’s exposed timber framing structure, open-plan circulation, and an inventive two-sided steel fireplace which acts as a room divider between the living room and a home office. Accordion wood doors connect these rooms to a newly formed outdoor rear patio. At this point one also gets ones first hint that something very interesting is happening just beyond – a glimpse of the 2000 & 2014/15 additions. Moving from the original 1948 structure into the 2-story 2000 addition, one is greeted by a modern and open linear floor plan arrangement – a kitchen, casual dining and family room extend perpendicularly from the 1948 structure into the rear yard and down the hillside. The open framed cathedral ceiling and wood roof trusses establish a lofty feeling and a rhythm discretely separating the open rooms one from the other. Extensive use of windows and French doors connect the indoors to the outdoors and provide abundant natural lighting. This new appendage ends with a symmetrical family room which has no corners – it is a geometry composed of two overlapped squares - one rotated 45 degrees atop the other to create double opportunities for bay windows. The design not only connects the home to the desired exterior flat yards spaces, but it also takes full advantage of the sloping terrain by adding a floor below the original level so as to maintain a scale appropriate to the neighborhood. The exterior materials were chosen taking “hints” from the original 1948 structure – natural redwood siding, reused brick veneer and wood doors/windows all serving to aesthetically connect the addition back-to the spirit of the original structure. By 2014/15 the owners’ family has fully blossomed - the children are now teenagers and there is a need for additional space. However, the owners are very content with their remodeled cottage and Richard’s 2000 addition – unsure how to add to a home which they feel is quite perfect as it is … wanting whatever changes are to be made to be sympathetic to it. They are also concerned about potential additions blocking-out their views of the eucalyptus arroyo. The owners approached Richard with trepidation – we love our perfect house but we need it to be a bit bigger and we don’t want to block-out the arroyo views or create a hemmed-in feeling – how can we add but still see the arroyo. In response Richard created a private yet connected 2-story master suite, which by its positioning, dynamic geometries and extensive glazing create the fourth side of the former rear patio, making it into exterior courtyard with views around and through the new addition into the arroyo. A dynamic angularity in the new master addition (inspired by the 2000 addition) simultaneously reduces the apparent size/presence of the master suite addition on the edge of the eucalyptus arroyo while creating framed views into the arroyo from the newly formed courtyard. The new master suite - a master bathroom, master closet and a master sleeping loft each having exterior decks and/or patios, is connected back to the 2000 addition via a glazed hallway which provides a sense of connectedness and privacy. A modern rustic aesthetic of exposed board-formed concrete, natural finished Corten steel exterior cladding, frameless metal windows, and clear finished Douglas Fir planks serve to “extend” the soul of the original cottage into the master suite. The project is a highly sustainable design as well. Energy use is reduced by employing a high efficiency heat pump heating and cooling system, dual paned/gasketed metal window/door systems, natural lighting through a Kalwall skylight and generous exterior glazing with extensive eaves for shading, rigid roof insulation, and earthen backing – the lower floor is up-against the hillside which tends to even-out the day/night temperature differential. Credits: Architecture & Interior Design: Richard Best Architect Inc. Structural Engineering: Dan Echeto & David Choi Associates Interior Decor: Noelle Schoop Landscape: Connie Heitzman Photos: Carmel McFayden and Adriano Sarmento / James Porschen

Large mountain style brown split-level wood gable roof photo

This stunning multi-level deck in Grove City, OH, was built using Timbertech decking in Silver Maple with a complimentary picture frame border, parting boards and fascia trim in Brown Oak. Photos courtesy Archadeck of Columbus.

A waterfall streams into the cold plunge spa, integrating quartzite, mixed Sierra boulders. Low maintenance plantings providing color spill around the pool edge; Catherine L Kauer

Limited space and steep terrain made this back yard virtually unusable. This design includes WOLF PVC in Amberwood field and Rosewood accent. The deck not only provides an outdoor living space but also bridges the gap from the back door to the patio with fire feature that was excavated into the side of the hill. Massive trees and granite ledge rock made this project not only a challenging design but also a challenging build. Due to topographic restraints helical stairs were fabricated on site with custom glue lam stringers. Access requirements for the client were to have access to both side yards, driveway and newly constructed patio. The faux bluestone steps lead up from the driveway and CST Pavers and Block wall were used to create built-in seating surrounding the fire pit and multiple areas to dine, entertain and relax. The faux bluestone steps lead up from the driveway to the patio featuring curved wall and built-in seating in CST Pavers and block wall surround patio and built in fire feature. Picture frame PVC skirting provides the finished look to this great space.

Brick Pier
Elegant exterior home photo in Boston

The Columbia River Gorge offers a dramatic backdrop to this hill-side retreat for a young family. Careful positioning of the plan and windows provide views to Mount Adams and Mount Hood. The home is a linear composition of a two-level volume linked to a single-level guest suite and garage. Each volume was studied and articulated to successfully balance views & privacy. The first-floor living level spills out to the rugged landscape through glass doors that open to stepped patios of natural basalt. Vast expanses of windows assure a vivid display of seasonal changes from every room. Elements include standing seam metal roofs, dark horizontal cedar siding, and a full height board-formed concrete wall designed to retain the steeply sloped natural terrain. Inside an open floor plan employing high ceilings and materials such as exposed Doug Fir framing, radiant concrete floors and bleached wood ceilings guarantees a modern, timeless look. Incorporating the owner's stock of salvaged wood screens and vintage European light fixtures makes this home truly unique and full of personality. Photographer: Nakamoto Forestry

Photo of a mid-sized rustic partial sun backyard stone pond in Minneapolis for summer.

Perched upon a small plateau in a rugged terrain, the house is surrounded by a powerful landscape. The building’s linear organization and expanse of glass has a dynamic relationship with its surroundings. Its siting, layout and structure combine to achieve a flexible, open living environment with generous access to the light, spectacular views and the outdoors. The house is modularly planned, with a corridor to the east linking a series of semi-enclosed spaces facing the west. Broad sliding glass panels open to blur indoor/outdoor spatial boundaries and multiple bands of clerestory glass wash the interior with light and provide for natural ventilation. A perimeter structural frame paired with internal shear walls support the building. The steel and wood trusses provide a rhythm to the interior open spaces while connecting interior and exterior structural systems. The robust exterior column structure allows a structure-free glass envelope. A.I.A. Western Mountain Region Design Award of Merit 2003 A.I.A. Wyoming Chapter Design Award of Honor 2004 A.I.A. Wyoming Chapter Design Award of Merit 2001 Project Year: Pre-2005

Ce jardin urbain a été conçu pour dynamiser un terrain de forme carré et offrir une palette florale généreuse, grâce à une composition habile de massifs abondamment plantés. Des courbes énergisantes entourent une sélection de plantes aimant le soleil : agrumes, lantana, pistachier lentisque, pittosporum nain, sauge de Russie, lavande, lys d'un jour, agapanthe, menthe des chats et fines herbes. Des fleurs à couleurs complémentaires envoient une invitation au "carpe diem", en tant qu'expressions éphémères d'une beauté intemporelle. Outre son effet apaisant, la pièce d'eau sert d'écran acoustique par rapport au contexte urbain environnant. L'attention portée aux détails et les contours inattendus font de ce jardin à la fois une peinture à contempler et un espace pour des fêtes intimes.