Huge beach style look-out medium tone wood floor basement photo in New York with beige walls and no fireplace

Photography by Moris Moreno
Example of a trendy light wood floor and beige floor indoor basketball/tennis/multi-game court design in Miami with gray walls

HOBI Award 2013 - Winner - Best Special Purpose Room HOBI Award 2013 - Winner - Custom Home of the Year HOBI Award 2013 - Winner - Project of the Year HOBI Award 2013 - Winner - Best Custom Home 6,000-7,000 SF HOBI Award 2013 - Winner - Best Remodeled Home $2 Million - $3 Million Brick Industry Associates 2013 Brick in Architecture Awards 2013 - Best in Class - Residential- Single Family AIA Connecticut 2014 Alice Washburn Awards 2014 - Honorable Mention - New Construction athome alist Award 2014 - Finalist - Residential Architecture Charles Hilton Architects Woodruff/Brown Architectural Photography

The Spa, spa deck, water feature and greenwall.
Inspiration for a small contemporary full sun backyard landscaping in San Francisco with decking.

Interior design and renderings: Cholakov-Gongalov Architects

mid-modern urban home. Steel Catwalk
Example of a large 1950s black two-story mixed siding gable roof design in Seattle

A new Seattle modern house designed by chadbourne + doss architects houses a couple and their 18 bicycles. 3 floors connect indoors and out and provide panoramic views of Lake Washington. The stair uses reclaimed wood and steel. The stair winds around an interior wall of backlit translucent fiberglass. photo by Benjamin Benschneider

Inspiration for a large contemporary drought-tolerant and partial sun backyard gravel retaining wall landscape in Austin.

John Kane / Silver Sun Studio
Indoor basketball/tennis/multi-game court - huge transitional light wood floor indoor basketball/tennis/multi-game court idea in Bridgeport with white walls

Glass Tile Inground Swimming Pool and Spa Designs Bergen County NJ
Trendy lap pool photo in New York

Round custom made steel planter with Angelina sedum surrounded with acanthus and acorus. photo: grant wilds
Design ideas for a modern landscaping in Seattle.

Large tuscan travertine floor and beige floor hallway photo in Phoenix with beige walls

Cabinetry: Old World Kitchens (oldworldkitchens.com) Photography: Bob Young (bobyoungphoto.com)
Seated home bar - rustic light wood floor seated home bar idea in Vancouver with dark wood cabinets

Photo: Jason Snyder © 2014 Houzz Design: Luca Construction and Design

photographer Turykina Maria
Walk-in shower - small industrial 3/4 white tile, subway tile and brown tile walk-in shower idea in Moscow with a vessel sink

The planning phase of this modern retreat was an intense collaboration that took place over the course of more than two years. While the initial design concept exceeded the clients' expectations, it also exceeded their budget beyond the point of comfort. The next several months were spent modifying the design, in attempts to lower the budget. Ultimately, the decision was made that they would hold off on the project until they could budget for the original design, rather than compromising the vision. About a year later, we repeated that same process, which resulted in the same outcome. After another year-long hiatus, we met once again. We revisited design thoughts, each of us bringing to the table new ideas and options. Each thought simply solidified the fact that the initial vision was absolutely what we all wanted to see come to fruition, and the decision was finally made to move forward. The main challenge of the site was elevation. The Southeast corner of the lot stands 5'6" above the threshold of the rear door, while the Northeast corner dropped a full 2' below the threshold of the door. The backyard was also long and narrow, sloping side-to-side and toward the house. The key to the design concept was to deftly place the project into the slope and utilize the elevation changes, without allowing them to dominate the yard, or overwhelm the senses. The unseen challenge on this project came in the form of hitting every underground issue possible. We had to relocate the sewer main, the gas line, and the electrical service; and since rock was sitting about 6" below the surface, all of these had to be chiseled through many feet of dense rock, adding to our projected timeline and budget. As you enter the space, your first stop is an outdoor living area. Smooth finished concrete, colored to match the 'Leuder' limestone coping, has a subtle saw-cut pattern aligned with the edges of the recessed fire pit. In small spaces, it is important to consider a multi-purpose approach. So, the recessed fire pit has been fitted with an aluminum cover that allows our client to set up tables and chairs for entertaining, right over the top of the fire pit. From here, it;s two steps up to the pool elevation, and the floating 'Leuder' limestone stepper pads that lead across the pool and hide the dam wall of the flush spa. The main retaining wall to the Southeast is a poured concrete wall with an integrated sheer descent waterfall into the spa. To bring in some depth and texture, a 'Brownstone' ledgestone was used to face both the dropped beam on the pool, and the raised beam of the water feature wall. The main water feature is comprised of five custom made stainless steel scuppers, supplied by a dedicated booster pump. Colored concrete stepper pads lead to the 'Ipe' wood deck at the far end of the pool. The placement of this wood deck allowed us to minimize our use of retaining walls on the Northeast end of the yard, since it drops off over three feet below the elevation of the pool beam. One of the most unique features on this project has to be the structure over the dining area. With a unique combination of steel and wood, the clean modern aesthetic of this structure creates a visual stamp in the space that standard structure could not accomplish. 4" steel posts, painted charcoal grey, are set on an angle, 4' into the bedrock, to anchor the structure. Steel I-beams painted in green-yellow color--aptly called "frolic"--act as the base to the hefty cedar rafters of the roof structure, which has a slight pitch toward the rear. A hidden gutter on the back of the roof sends water down a copper rain chain, and into the drainage system. The backdrop for both this dining area , as well as the living area, is the horizontal screen panel, created with alternating sizes of cedar planks, stained to a calm hue of dove grey.

Doug Burke Photography
Huge arts and crafts light wood floor home climbing wall photo in Salt Lake City with beige walls

Framing a contemporary fountain with a boxwood parterre.
Photo of a large traditional full sun front yard gravel formal garden in DC Metro.

Menu Home Work On the Boards Culture Press Connect Milwaukee Bay Residence Milwaukee, Wisconsin PreviousNext About the Project Located in an historic district along the Milwaukee lakefront, this custom residence is designed to reflect the massing and scale of the neighborhood while exhibiting the clean lines and advanced materials of a new home. Open floor plans and an abundance of natural light provide the flexibility and comfort to address the needs of today’s lifestyle. A large underground garage offers multi-car parking and storage below an expansive rear yard and terrace. Photography: Reagen Taylor