Kaplan Architects, AIA Location: Redwood City , CA, USA Stair up to great room from the family room at the lower level. The treads are fabricated from glue laminated beams that match the structural beams in the ceiling. The railing is a custom design cable railing system. The stair is paired with a window wall that lets in abundant natural light into the family room which buried partially underground.

Jonathan Pearlman Elevation Architects
Inspiration for a traditional privacy side yard landscaping in San Francisco.

Example of a mid-sized island style enclosed living room library design in Miami with no fireplace, no tv and white walls

The home is roughly 80 years old and had a strong character to start our design from. The home had been added onto and updated several times previously so we stripped back most of these areas in order to get back to the original house before proceeding. The addition started around the Kitchen, updating and re-organizing this space making a beautiful, simply elegant space that makes a strong statement with its barrel vault ceiling. We opened up the rest of the family living area to the kitchen and pool patio areas, making this space flow considerably better than the original house. The remainder of the house, including attic areas, was updated to be in similar character and style of the new kitchen and living areas. Additional baths were added as well as rooms for future finishing. We added a new attached garage with a covered drive that leads to rear facing garage doors. The addition spaces (including the new garage) also include a full basement underneath for future finishing – this basement connects underground to the original homes basement providing one continuous space. New balconies extend the home’s interior to the quiet, well groomed exterior. The homes additions make this project’s end result look as if it all could have been built in the 1930’s.

Tiny master bath has curbless shower with floor-to-ceiling Heath tile. IKEA floating vanity with marble vessel sink, and wall matte black faucet. Vintage mirror from Salvare Goods in LA. Wall niche with marble hex tile. Hanging sconce Kohler matte black shower set. Ceiling fixture from Rejuvenation

Example of a large transitional underground dark wood floor and brown floor basement design in Other with multicolored walls, a tile fireplace and a ribbon fireplace

Example of a large classic light wood floor and brown floor basement design in Salt Lake City with no fireplace

Interior Design by Twila Wilson
This is an example of a tropical porch design in Miami.

This home is in a rural area. The client was wanting a home reminiscent of those built by the auto barons of Detroit decades before. The home focuses on a nature area enhanced and expanded as part of this property development. The water feature, with its surrounding woodland and wetland areas, supports wild life species and was a significant part of the focus for our design. We orientated all primary living areas to allow for sight lines to the water feature. This included developing an underground pool room where its only windows looked over the water while the room itself was depressed below grade, ensuring that it would not block the views from other areas of the home. The underground room for the pool was constructed of cast-in-place architectural grade concrete arches intended to become the decorative finish inside the room. An elevated exterior patio sits as an entertaining area above this room while the rear yard lawn conceals the remainder of its imposing size. A skylight through the grass is the only hint at what lies below. Great care was taken to locate the home on a small open space on the property overlooking the natural area and anticipated water feature. We nestled the home into the clearing between existing trees and along the edge of a natural slope which enhanced the design potential and functional options needed for the home. The style of the home not only fits the requirements of an owner with a desire for a very traditional mid-western estate house, but also its location amongst other rural estate lots. The development is in an area dotted with large homes amongst small orchards, small farms, and rolling woodlands. Materials for this home are a mixture of clay brick and limestone for the exterior walls. Both materials are readily available and sourced from the local area. We used locally sourced northern oak wood for the interior trim. The black cherry trees that were removed were utilized as hardwood flooring for the home we designed next door. Mechanical systems were carefully designed to obtain a high level of efficiency. The pool room has a separate, and rather unique, heating system. The heat recovered as part of the dehumidification and cooling process is re-directed to maintain the water temperature in the pool. This process allows what would have been wasted heat energy to be re-captured and utilized. We carefully designed this system as a negative pressure room to control both humidity and ensure that odors from the pool would not be detectable in the house. The underground character of the pool room also allowed it to be highly insulated and sealed for high energy efficiency. The disadvantage was a sacrifice on natural day lighting around the entire room. A commercial skylight, with reflective coatings, was added through the lawn-covered roof. The skylight added a lot of natural daylight and was a natural chase to recover warm humid air and supply new cooled and dehumidified air back into the enclosed space below. Landscaping was restored with primarily native plant and tree materials, which required little long term maintenance. The dedicated nature area is thriving with more wildlife than originally on site when the property was undeveloped. It is rare to be on site and to not see numerous wild turkey, white tail deer, waterfowl and small animals native to the area. This home provides a good example of how the needs of a luxury estate style home can nestle comfortably into an existing environment and ensure that the natural setting is not only maintained but protected for future generations.

Basement - large transitional underground dark wood floor and brown floor basement idea in Other with multicolored walls, a tile fireplace and a ribbon fireplace

This home is in a rural area. The client was wanting a home reminiscent of those built by the auto barons of Detroit decades before. The home focuses on a nature area enhanced and expanded as part of this property development. The water feature, with its surrounding woodland and wetland areas, supports wild life species and was a significant part of the focus for our design. We orientated all primary living areas to allow for sight lines to the water feature. This included developing an underground pool room where its only windows looked over the water while the room itself was depressed below grade, ensuring that it would not block the views from other areas of the home. The underground room for the pool was constructed of cast-in-place architectural grade concrete arches intended to become the decorative finish inside the room. An elevated exterior patio sits as an entertaining area above this room while the rear yard lawn conceals the remainder of its imposing size. A skylight through the grass is the only hint at what lies below. Great care was taken to locate the home on a small open space on the property overlooking the natural area and anticipated water feature. We nestled the home into the clearing between existing trees and along the edge of a natural slope which enhanced the design potential and functional options needed for the home. The style of the home not only fits the requirements of an owner with a desire for a very traditional mid-western estate house, but also its location amongst other rural estate lots. The development is in an area dotted with large homes amongst small orchards, small farms, and rolling woodlands. Materials for this home are a mixture of clay brick and limestone for the exterior walls. Both materials are readily available and sourced from the local area. We used locally sourced northern oak wood for the interior trim. The black cherry trees that were removed were utilized as hardwood flooring for the home we designed next door. Mechanical systems were carefully designed to obtain a high level of efficiency. The pool room has a separate, and rather unique, heating system. The heat recovered as part of the dehumidification and cooling process is re-directed to maintain the water temperature in the pool. This process allows what would have been wasted heat energy to be re-captured and utilized. We carefully designed this system as a negative pressure room to control both humidity and ensure that odors from the pool would not be detectable in the house. The underground character of the pool room also allowed it to be highly insulated and sealed for high energy efficiency. The disadvantage was a sacrifice on natural day lighting around the entire room. A commercial skylight, with reflective coatings, was added through the lawn-covered roof. The skylight added a lot of natural daylight and was a natural chase to recover warm humid air and supply new cooled and dehumidified air back into the enclosed space below. Landscaping was restored with primarily native plant and tree materials, which required little long term maintenance. The dedicated nature area is thriving with more wildlife than originally on site when the property was undeveloped. It is rare to be on site and to not see numerous wild turkey, white tail deer, waterfowl and small animals native to the area. This home provides a good example of how the needs of a luxury estate style home can nestle comfortably into an existing environment and ensure that the natural setting is not only maintained but protected for future generations.

This home is in a rural area. The client was wanting a home reminiscent of those built by the auto barons of Detroit decades before. The home focuses on a nature area enhanced and expanded as part of this property development. The water feature, with its surrounding woodland and wetland areas, supports wild life species and was a significant part of the focus for our design. We orientated all primary living areas to allow for sight lines to the water feature. This included developing an underground pool room where its only windows looked over the water while the room itself was depressed below grade, ensuring that it would not block the views from other areas of the home. The underground room for the pool was constructed of cast-in-place architectural grade concrete arches intended to become the decorative finish inside the room. An elevated exterior patio sits as an entertaining area above this room while the rear yard lawn conceals the remainder of its imposing size. A skylight through the grass is the only hint at what lies below. Great care was taken to locate the home on a small open space on the property overlooking the natural area and anticipated water feature. We nestled the home into the clearing between existing trees and along the edge of a natural slope which enhanced the design potential and functional options needed for the home. The style of the home not only fits the requirements of an owner with a desire for a very traditional mid-western estate house, but also its location amongst other rural estate lots. The development is in an area dotted with large homes amongst small orchards, small farms, and rolling woodlands. Materials for this home are a mixture of clay brick and limestone for the exterior walls. Both materials are readily available and sourced from the local area. We used locally sourced northern oak wood for the interior trim. The black cherry trees that were removed were utilized as hardwood flooring for the home we designed next door. Mechanical systems were carefully designed to obtain a high level of efficiency. The pool room has a separate, and rather unique, heating system. The heat recovered as part of the dehumidification and cooling process is re-directed to maintain the water temperature in the pool. This process allows what would have been wasted heat energy to be re-captured and utilized. We carefully designed this system as a negative pressure room to control both humidity and ensure that odors from the pool would not be detectable in the house. The underground character of the pool room also allowed it to be highly insulated and sealed for high energy efficiency. The disadvantage was a sacrifice on natural day lighting around the entire room. A commercial skylight, with reflective coatings, was added through the lawn-covered roof. The skylight added a lot of natural daylight and was a natural chase to recover warm humid air and supply new cooled and dehumidified air back into the enclosed space below. Landscaping was restored with primarily native plant and tree materials, which required little long term maintenance. The dedicated nature area is thriving with more wildlife than originally on site when the property was undeveloped. It is rare to be on site and to not see numerous wild turkey, white tail deer, waterfowl and small animals native to the area. This home provides a good example of how the needs of a luxury estate style home can nestle comfortably into an existing environment and ensure that the natural setting is not only maintained but protected for future generations.

This home is in a rural area. The client was wanting a home reminiscent of those built by the auto barons of Detroit decades before. The home focuses on a nature area enhanced and expanded as part of this property development. The water feature, with its surrounding woodland and wetland areas, supports wild life species and was a significant part of the focus for our design. We orientated all primary living areas to allow for sight lines to the water feature. This included developing an underground pool room where its only windows looked over the water while the room itself was depressed below grade, ensuring that it would not block the views from other areas of the home. The underground room for the pool was constructed of cast-in-place architectural grade concrete arches intended to become the decorative finish inside the room. An elevated exterior patio sits as an entertaining area above this room while the rear yard lawn conceals the remainder of its imposing size. A skylight through the grass is the only hint at what lies below. Great care was taken to locate the home on a small open space on the property overlooking the natural area and anticipated water feature. We nestled the home into the clearing between existing trees and along the edge of a natural slope which enhanced the design potential and functional options needed for the home. The style of the home not only fits the requirements of an owner with a desire for a very traditional mid-western estate house, but also its location amongst other rural estate lots. The development is in an area dotted with large homes amongst small orchards, small farms, and rolling woodlands. Materials for this home are a mixture of clay brick and limestone for the exterior walls. Both materials are readily available and sourced from the local area. We used locally sourced northern oak wood for the interior trim. The black cherry trees that were removed were utilized as hardwood flooring for the home we designed next door. Mechanical systems were carefully designed to obtain a high level of efficiency. The pool room has a separate, and rather unique, heating system. The heat recovered as part of the dehumidification and cooling process is re-directed to maintain the water temperature in the pool. This process allows what would have been wasted heat energy to be re-captured and utilized. We carefully designed this system as a negative pressure room to control both humidity and ensure that odors from the pool would not be detectable in the house. The underground character of the pool room also allowed it to be highly insulated and sealed for high energy efficiency. The disadvantage was a sacrifice on natural day lighting around the entire room. A commercial skylight, with reflective coatings, was added through the lawn-covered roof. The skylight added a lot of natural daylight and was a natural chase to recover warm humid air and supply new cooled and dehumidified air back into the enclosed space below. Landscaping was restored with primarily native plant and tree materials, which required little long term maintenance. The dedicated nature area is thriving with more wildlife than originally on site when the property was undeveloped. It is rare to be on site and to not see numerous wild turkey, white tail deer, waterfowl and small animals native to the area. This home provides a good example of how the needs of a luxury estate style home can nestle comfortably into an existing environment and ensure that the natural setting is not only maintained but protected for future generations.

This home is in a rural area. The client was wanting a home reminiscent of those built by the auto barons of Detroit decades before. The home focuses on a nature area enhanced and expanded as part of this property development. The water feature, with its surrounding woodland and wetland areas, supports wild life species and was a significant part of the focus for our design. We orientated all primary living areas to allow for sight lines to the water feature. This included developing an underground pool room where its only windows looked over the water while the room itself was depressed below grade, ensuring that it would not block the views from other areas of the home. The underground room for the pool was constructed of cast-in-place architectural grade concrete arches intended to become the decorative finish inside the room. An elevated exterior patio sits as an entertaining area above this room while the rear yard lawn conceals the remainder of its imposing size. A skylight through the grass is the only hint at what lies below. Great care was taken to locate the home on a small open space on the property overlooking the natural area and anticipated water feature. We nestled the home into the clearing between existing trees and along the edge of a natural slope which enhanced the design potential and functional options needed for the home. The style of the home not only fits the requirements of an owner with a desire for a very traditional mid-western estate house, but also its location amongst other rural estate lots. The development is in an area dotted with large homes amongst small orchards, small farms, and rolling woodlands. Materials for this home are a mixture of clay brick and limestone for the exterior walls. Both materials are readily available and sourced from the local area. We used locally sourced northern oak wood for the interior trim. The black cherry trees that were removed were utilized as hardwood flooring for the home we designed next door. Mechanical systems were carefully designed to obtain a high level of efficiency. The pool room has a separate, and rather unique, heating system. The heat recovered as part of the dehumidification and cooling process is re-directed to maintain the water temperature in the pool. This process allows what would have been wasted heat energy to be re-captured and utilized. We carefully designed this system as a negative pressure room to control both humidity and ensure that odors from the pool would not be detectable in the house. The underground character of the pool room also allowed it to be highly insulated and sealed for high energy efficiency. The disadvantage was a sacrifice on natural day lighting around the entire room. A commercial skylight, with reflective coatings, was added through the lawn-covered roof. The skylight added a lot of natural daylight and was a natural chase to recover warm humid air and supply new cooled and dehumidified air back into the enclosed space below. Landscaping was restored with primarily native plant and tree materials, which required little long term maintenance. The dedicated nature area is thriving with more wildlife than originally on site when the property was undeveloped. It is rare to be on site and to not see numerous wild turkey, white tail deer, waterfowl and small animals native to the area. This home provides a good example of how the needs of a luxury estate style home can nestle comfortably into an existing environment and ensure that the natural setting is not only maintained but protected for future generations.

Large transitional underground dark wood floor and brown floor basement photo in Other with multicolored walls, a tile fireplace and a ribbon fireplace

Basement - traditional look-out ceramic tile basement idea in DC Metro with white walls and no fireplace

Kitchen Hide-away door to Pantry
Example of a classic kitchen design in Other with stainless steel appliances and subway tile backsplash

This home is in a rural area. The client was wanting a home reminiscent of those built by the auto barons of Detroit decades before. The home focuses on a nature area enhanced and expanded as part of this property development. The water feature, with its surrounding woodland and wetland areas, supports wild life species and was a significant part of the focus for our design. We orientated all primary living areas to allow for sight lines to the water feature. This included developing an underground pool room where its only windows looked over the water while the room itself was depressed below grade, ensuring that it would not block the views from other areas of the home. The underground room for the pool was constructed of cast-in-place architectural grade concrete arches intended to become the decorative finish inside the room. An elevated exterior patio sits as an entertaining area above this room while the rear yard lawn conceals the remainder of its imposing size. A skylight through the grass is the only hint at what lies below. Great care was taken to locate the home on a small open space on the property overlooking the natural area and anticipated water feature. We nestled the home into the clearing between existing trees and along the edge of a natural slope which enhanced the design potential and functional options needed for the home. The style of the home not only fits the requirements of an owner with a desire for a very traditional mid-western estate house, but also its location amongst other rural estate lots. The development is in an area dotted with large homes amongst small orchards, small farms, and rolling woodlands. Materials for this home are a mixture of clay brick and limestone for the exterior walls. Both materials are readily available and sourced from the local area. We used locally sourced northern oak wood for the interior trim. The black cherry trees that were removed were utilized as hardwood flooring for the home we designed next door. Mechanical systems were carefully designed to obtain a high level of efficiency. The pool room has a separate, and rather unique, heating system. The heat recovered as part of the dehumidification and cooling process is re-directed to maintain the water temperature in the pool. This process allows what would have been wasted heat energy to be re-captured and utilized. We carefully designed this system as a negative pressure room to control both humidity and ensure that odors from the pool would not be detectable in the house. The underground character of the pool room also allowed it to be highly insulated and sealed for high energy efficiency. The disadvantage was a sacrifice on natural day lighting around the entire room. A commercial skylight, with reflective coatings, was added through the lawn-covered roof. The skylight added a lot of natural daylight and was a natural chase to recover warm humid air and supply new cooled and dehumidified air back into the enclosed space below. Landscaping was restored with primarily native plant and tree materials, which required little long term maintenance. The dedicated nature area is thriving with more wildlife than originally on site when the property was undeveloped. It is rare to be on site and to not see numerous wild turkey, white tail deer, waterfowl and small animals native to the area. This home provides a good example of how the needs of a luxury estate style home can nestle comfortably into an existing environment and ensure that the natural setting is not only maintained but protected for future generations.

Basement - large transitional underground dark wood floor and brown floor basement idea in Other with multicolored walls, a tile fireplace and a ribbon fireplace