LOS ANGELES, CA / SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL The Bel-Air House sits above Hollywood, along scenic Mulholland Drive, the storied thoroughfare that acts as a winding referee between the compact density of the San Fernando Valley, and the more ex-urban conditions of Los Angeles. In contrast to the client’s weekend beach house, here the client envisioned a home that could share equally in the energy of the city, and the rustic qualities of canyon living. The resulting home is both minimal and refined—its abstract forms read against the wilder aspects of its nominally natural setting. As a patron of music, and the arts, the client’s creative interests suggested the overall design approach: A simple yet sophisticated backdrop for the presentation of recitals, and the display and appreciation of beautiful artifacts. The house avows a museum-like attitude—the rich but restrained material palette draws from the colors and textures of the Santa Monica Mountains, and opposes natural with refined, polished with honed, quietly confirming a reverential aspect to this “temple on the hill”. The focus of the house is a dark and silent pool. Intended as a space of emptiness, the pool is an enigmatic statement—at once a source of origin for the house, as well as its apparent conclusion. The spatial aspects unfold from this moment, with the various rooms revolving around this essential void. The pool and its open rotunda echo the reservoir in the canyon below the house, while the ocean beyond ultimately underscores the house’s strong commitment to water. Simple stone walls, taut rooflines, and disciplined and minimal detailing allow the home to act as an armature for the client’s personal expression of taste and creativity. In complement to the client’s Mussel Shoals House, which suggests a relationship with the vast, and ever-widening horizon, the architectural resolution of the Bel-Air House emerges from the sheltered and enveloping emotion of the canyon.

The Control/Shift House is perched on the high side of the site which takes advantage of the view to the southeast. A gradual descending path navigates the change in terrain from the street to the entry of the house. A series of low retaining walls/planter beds gather and release the earth upon the descent resulting in a fairly flat level for the house to sit on the top one third of the site. The entry axis is aligned with the celebrated stair volume and then re-centers on the actual entry axis once you approach the forecourt of the house. The initial desire was for an “H” scheme house with common entertaining spaces bridging the gap between the more private spaces. After an investigation considering the site, program, and view, a key move was made: unfold the east wing of the “H” scheme to open all rooms to the southeast view resulting in a “T” scheme. The new derivation allows for both a swim pool which is on axis with the entry and main gathering space and a lap pool which occurs on the cross axis extending along the lengthy edge of the master suite, providing direct access for morning exercise and a view of the water throughout the day. The Control/Shift House was derived from a clever way of following the “rules.” Strict HOA guidelines required very specific exterior massing restrictions which limits the lengths of unbroken elevations and promotes varying sizes of masses. The solution most often used in this neighborhood is one of addition - an aggregation of masses and program randomly attached to the inner core of the house which often results in a parasitic plan. The approach taken with the Control/Shift House was to push and pull program/massing to delineate and define the layout of the house. Massing is intentional and reiterated by the careful selection of materiality that tracks through the house. Voids and relief in the plan are a natural result of this method and allow for light and air to circulate throughout every space of the house, even into the most inner core. Photography: Charles Davis Smith

Example of a trendy master multicolored tile and porcelain tile gray floor freestanding bathtub design in Austin with recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, gray walls, an undermount sink and white countertops

Photo: Ten Ten Creative
Wet bar - transitional single-wall dark wood floor and brown floor wet bar idea in Dallas with shaker cabinets, black cabinets, black backsplash, subway tile backsplash and gray countertops

Situated in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, we worked closely with a strong owner to transform a fatigued and inefficient 3-level townhouse, constructed in the 1980’s, into America’s first LEED Platinum (pending) townhome. Outdated systems, poor insulation, unbalanced & unclean air, worn finishes, and outdated kitchen and bathrooms required attention. Yet a replacement project did not address other high concerns. Though the home at 2,400SF offered the right amount and quantity of rooms, the home lacked a sense of openness and more was needed than high-efficiency systems, great insulation, and selection of no VOC finishes to create a warm, inviting and comfortable place to live and enjoy their art and photography collection. An oddly-located, creaky, carpet-covered stairway enclosed in drywall walls was on the list of items needing repairs. The stair seemed to disorient a person and disconnect the levels of the home. Our design focused on opening the core of the home to provide long diagonal views that visually connect adjacent rooms and levels of the home and beyond. An architectural skylight floods the void with light and opens to bring fresh air. A steel, glass and wood stairway suspends into the core- it’s every detail and every angle thoughtfully considered to create a feeling of connection, orientation and lightness. It seeks to solve the functional while daring to be more. It dares to be beautiful. It dares to bring delight to those who use it or simply look upon it. We long to create experiencially rich places where functional needs are solved with creativity and beauty. We search for meaning and believe that places can be both enjoyed and connect us to truth beyond ourselves. As we look upon the stairway in this home, we are drawn to consider beautifully designed objects in the natural world- a tree is one such example. To sustain life it needs to gather sunlight and keep the ground beneath cool and moist. As a result, we see wooden branches of great weight extend effortlessly from a trunk to hold leaves. This functional need is solved, so perfect, so mysterious, so beautiful. As we gaze upon, it has the capacity to move us to something more beautiful.

This large beautiful wine cellar was hand dug below grade. Each 5 gallon bucket of dirt carried out was tracked by notches on the piece of wood hanging on the wall (see additional pictures). In total, over 800 buckets of dirt were excavated to build this room to storing over 1200 bottles of wine. The custom wood door welcomes visitors into the wine cellar. The wine racking was made of All-Heart Redwood. A variety of racking elements were used to showcase and accommodate various size bottles such as a lit high reveal display, rope lighting, quarter rounds, Cooperage table top, stemware holder, custom cabinets and drawers, half-round display, curved corner, adjustable bins, box diamond bins, case storage, and picture boxes set into the racking. The print on wall was taken by professional photographer Richard Duval - www.vinelines.com. This photo taken by Inviniti Cellar Design - Kathy

This large beautiful wine cellar was hand dug below grade. Each 5 gallon bucket of dirt carried out was tracked by notches on the piece of wood hanging on the wall (see additional pictures). In total, over 800 buckets of dirt were excavated to build this room to storing over 1200 bottles of wine. The custom wood door welcomes visitors into the wine cellar. The wine racking was made of All-Heart Redwood. A variety of racking elements were used to showcase and accommodate various size bottles such as a lit high reveal display, rope lighting, quarter rounds, Cooperage table top, stemware holder, custom cabinets and drawers, half-round display, curved corner, adjustable bins, box diamond bins, case storage, and picture boxes set into the racking. The print on wall was taken by professional photographer Richard Duval - www.vinelines.com. This photo taken by Inviniti Cellar Design - Kathy

This large beautiful wine cellar was hand dug below grade. Each 5 gallon bucket of dirt carried out was tracked by notches on the piece of wood hanging on the wall (see additional pictures). In total, over 800 buckets of dirt were excavated to build this room to storing over 1200 bottles of wine. The custom wood door welcomes visitors into the wine cellar. The wine racking was made of All-Heart Redwood. A variety of racking elements were used to showcase and accommodate various size bottles such as a lit high reveal display, rope lighting, quarter rounds, Cooperage table top, stemware holder, custom cabinets and drawers, half-round display, curved corner, adjustable bins, box diamond bins, case storage, and picture boxes set into the racking. The print on wall was taken by professional photographer Richard Duval - www.vinelines.com. This photo taken by Inviniti Cellar Design - Kathy

This large beautiful wine cellar was hand dug below grade. Each 5 gallon bucket of dirt carried out was tracked by notches on the piece of wood hanging on the wall (see additional pictures). In total, over 800 buckets of dirt were excavated to build this room to storing over 1200 bottles of wine. The custom wood door welcomes visitors into the wine cellar. The wine racking was made of All-Heart Redwood. A variety of racking elements were used to showcase and accommodate various size bottles such as a lit high reveal display, rope lighting, quarter rounds, Cooperage table top, stemware holder, custom cabinets and drawers, half-round display, curved corner, adjustable bins, box diamond bins, case storage, and picture boxes set into the racking. The print on wall was taken by professional photographer Richard Duval - www.vinelines.com. This photo taken by Inviniti Cellar Design - Kathy

The Control/Shift House is perched on the high side of the site which takes advantage of the view to the southeast. A gradual descending path navigates the change in terrain from the street to the entry of the house. A series of low retaining walls/planter beds gather and release the earth upon the descent resulting in a fairly flat level for the house to sit on the top one third of the site. The entry axis is aligned with the celebrated stair volume and then re-centers on the actual entry axis once you approach the forecourt of the house. The initial desire was for an “H” scheme house with common entertaining spaces bridging the gap between the more private spaces. After an investigation considering the site, program, and view, a key move was made: unfold the east wing of the “H” scheme to open all rooms to the southeast view resulting in a “T” scheme. The new derivation allows for both a swim pool which is on axis with the entry and main gathering space and a lap pool which occurs on the cross axis extending along the lengthy edge of the master suite, providing direct access for morning exercise and a view of the water throughout the day. The Control/Shift House was derived from a clever way of following the “rules.” Strict HOA guidelines required very specific exterior massing restrictions which limits the lengths of unbroken elevations and promotes varying sizes of masses. The solution most often used in this neighborhood is one of addition - an aggregation of masses and program randomly attached to the inner core of the house which often results in a parasitic plan. The approach taken with the Control/Shift House was to push and pull program/massing to delineate and define the layout of the house. Massing is intentional and reiterated by the careful selection of materiality that tracks through the house. Voids and relief in the plan are a natural result of this method and allow for light and air to circulate throughout every space of the house, even into the most inner core. Photography: Charles Davis Smith

This large beautiful wine cellar was hand dug below grade. Each 5 gallon bucket of dirt carried out was tracked by notches on the piece of wood hanging on the wall (see additional pictures). In total, over 800 buckets of dirt were excavated to build this room to storing over 1200 bottles of wine. The custom wood door welcomes visitors into the wine cellar. The wine racking was made of All-Heart Redwood. A variety of racking elements were used to showcase and accommodate various size bottles such as a lit high reveal display, rope lighting, quarter rounds, Cooperage table top, stemware holder, custom cabinets and drawers, half-round display, curved corner, adjustable bins, box diamond bins, case storage, and picture boxes set into the racking. The print on wall was taken by professional photographer Richard Duval - www.vinelines.com. This photo taken by Inviniti Cellar Design - Kathy

This large beautiful wine cellar was hand dug below grade. Each 5 gallon bucket of dirt carried out was tracked by notches on the piece of wood hanging on the wall (see additional pictures). In total, over 800 buckets of dirt were excavated to build this room to storing over 1200 bottles of wine. The custom wood door welcomes visitors into the wine cellar. The wine racking was made of All-Heart Redwood. A variety of racking elements were used to showcase and accommodate various size bottles such as a lit high reveal display, rope lighting, quarter rounds, Cooperage table top, stemware holder, custom cabinets and drawers, half-round display, curved corner, adjustable bins, box diamond bins, case storage, and picture boxes set into the racking. The print on wall was taken by professional photographer Richard Duval - www.vinelines.com. This photo taken by Inviniti Cellar Design - Kathy

This large beautiful wine cellar was hand dug below grade. Each 5 gallon bucket of dirt carried out was tracked by notches on the piece of wood hanging on the wall (see additional pictures). In total, over 800 buckets of dirt were excavated to build this room to storing over 1200 bottles of wine. The custom wood door welcomes visitors into the wine cellar. The wine racking was made of All-Heart Redwood. A variety of racking elements were used to showcase and accommodate various size bottles such as a lit high reveal display, rope lighting, quarter rounds, Cooperage table top, stemware holder, custom cabinets and drawers, half-round display, curved corner, adjustable bins, box diamond bins, case storage, and picture boxes set into the racking. The print on wall was taken by professional photographer Richard Duval - www.vinelines.com. This photo taken by Inviniti Cellar Design - Kathy

This large beautiful wine cellar was hand dug below grade. Each 5 gallon bucket of dirt carried out was tracked by notches on the piece of wood hanging on the wall (see additional pictures). In total, over 800 buckets of dirt were excavated to build this room to storing over 1200 bottles of wine. The custom wood door welcomes visitors into the wine cellar. The wine racking was made of All-Heart Redwood. A variety of racking elements were used to showcase and accommodate various size bottles such as a lit high reveal display, rope lighting, quarter rounds, Cooperage table top, stemware holder, custom cabinets and drawers, half-round display, curved corner, adjustable bins, box diamond bins, case storage, and picture boxes set into the racking. The print on wall was taken by professional photographer Richard Duval - www.vinelines.com. This photo taken by Inviniti Cellar Design - Kathy

This large beautiful wine cellar was hand dug below grade. Each 5 gallon bucket of dirt carried out was tracked by notches on the piece of wood hanging on the wall (see additional pictures). In total, over 800 buckets of dirt were excavated to build this room to storing over 1200 bottles of wine. The custom wood door welcomes visitors into the wine cellar. The wine racking was made of All-Heart Redwood. A variety of racking elements were used to showcase and accommodate various size bottles such as a lit high reveal display, rope lighting, quarter rounds, Cooperage table top, stemware holder, custom cabinets and drawers, half-round display, curved corner, adjustable bins, box diamond bins, case storage, and picture boxes set into the racking. The print on wall was taken by professional photographer Richard Duval - www.vinelines.com. This photo taken by Inviniti Cellar Design - Kathy

The Control/Shift House is perched on the high side of the site which takes advantage of the view to the southeast. A gradual descending path navigates the change in terrain from the street to the entry of the house. A series of low retaining walls/planter beds gather and release the earth upon the descent resulting in a fairly flat level for the house to sit on the top one third of the site. The entry axis is aligned with the celebrated stair volume and then re-centers on the actual entry axis once you approach the forecourt of the house. The initial desire was for an “H” scheme house with common entertaining spaces bridging the gap between the more private spaces. After an investigation considering the site, program, and view, a key move was made: unfold the east wing of the “H” scheme to open all rooms to the southeast view resulting in a “T” scheme. The new derivation allows for both a swim pool which is on axis with the entry and main gathering space and a lap pool which occurs on the cross axis extending along the lengthy edge of the master suite, providing direct access for morning exercise and a view of the water throughout the day. The Control/Shift House was derived from a clever way of following the “rules.” Strict HOA guidelines required very specific exterior massing restrictions which limits the lengths of unbroken elevations and promotes varying sizes of masses. The solution most often used in this neighborhood is one of addition - an aggregation of masses and program randomly attached to the inner core of the house which often results in a parasitic plan. The approach taken with the Control/Shift House was to push and pull program/massing to delineate and define the layout of the house. Massing is intentional and reiterated by the careful selection of materiality that tracks through the house. Voids and relief in the plan are a natural result of this method and allow for light and air to circulate throughout every space of the house, even into the most inner core. Photography: Charles Davis Smith

The Control/Shift House is perched on the high side of the site which takes advantage of the view to the southeast. A gradual descending path navigates the change in terrain from the street to the entry of the house. A series of low retaining walls/planter beds gather and release the earth upon the descent resulting in a fairly flat level for the house to sit on the top one third of the site. The entry axis is aligned with the celebrated stair volume and then re-centers on the actual entry axis once you approach the forecourt of the house. The initial desire was for an “H” scheme house with common entertaining spaces bridging the gap between the more private spaces. After an investigation considering the site, program, and view, a key move was made: unfold the east wing of the “H” scheme to open all rooms to the southeast view resulting in a “T” scheme. The new derivation allows for both a swim pool which is on axis with the entry and main gathering space and a lap pool which occurs on the cross axis extending along the lengthy edge of the master suite, providing direct access for morning exercise and a view of the water throughout the day. The Control/Shift House was derived from a clever way of following the “rules.” Strict HOA guidelines required very specific exterior massing restrictions which limits the lengths of unbroken elevations and promotes varying sizes of masses. The solution most often used in this neighborhood is one of addition - an aggregation of masses and program randomly attached to the inner core of the house which often results in a parasitic plan. The approach taken with the Control/Shift House was to push and pull program/massing to delineate and define the layout of the house. Massing is intentional and reiterated by the careful selection of materiality that tracks through the house. Voids and relief in the plan are a natural result of this method and allow for light and air to circulate throughout every space of the house, even into the most inner core. Photography: Charles Davis Smith

The Control/Shift House is perched on the high side of the site which takes advantage of the view to the southeast. A gradual descending path navigates the change in terrain from the street to the entry of the house. A series of low retaining walls/planter beds gather and release the earth upon the descent resulting in a fairly flat level for the house to sit on the top one third of the site. The entry axis is aligned with the celebrated stair volume and then re-centers on the actual entry axis once you approach the forecourt of the house. The initial desire was for an “H” scheme house with common entertaining spaces bridging the gap between the more private spaces. After an investigation considering the site, program, and view, a key move was made: unfold the east wing of the “H” scheme to open all rooms to the southeast view resulting in a “T” scheme. The new derivation allows for both a swim pool which is on axis with the entry and main gathering space and a lap pool which occurs on the cross axis extending along the lengthy edge of the master suite, providing direct access for morning exercise and a view of the water throughout the day. The Control/Shift House was derived from a clever way of following the “rules.” Strict HOA guidelines required very specific exterior massing restrictions which limits the lengths of unbroken elevations and promotes varying sizes of masses. The solution most often used in this neighborhood is one of addition - an aggregation of masses and program randomly attached to the inner core of the house which often results in a parasitic plan. The approach taken with the Control/Shift House was to push and pull program/massing to delineate and define the layout of the house. Massing is intentional and reiterated by the careful selection of materiality that tracks through the house. Voids and relief in the plan are a natural result of this method and allow for light and air to circulate throughout every space of the house, even into the most inner core. Photography: Charles Davis Smith

The Control/Shift House is perched on the high side of the site which takes advantage of the view to the southeast. A gradual descending path navigates the change in terrain from the street to the entry of the house. A series of low retaining walls/planter beds gather and release the earth upon the descent resulting in a fairly flat level for the house to sit on the top one third of the site. The entry axis is aligned with the celebrated stair volume and then re-centers on the actual entry axis once you approach the forecourt of the house. The initial desire was for an “H” scheme house with common entertaining spaces bridging the gap between the more private spaces. After an investigation considering the site, program, and view, a key move was made: unfold the east wing of the “H” scheme to open all rooms to the southeast view resulting in a “T” scheme. The new derivation allows for both a swim pool which is on axis with the entry and main gathering space and a lap pool which occurs on the cross axis extending along the lengthy edge of the master suite, providing direct access for morning exercise and a view of the water throughout the day. The Control/Shift House was derived from a clever way of following the “rules.” Strict HOA guidelines required very specific exterior massing restrictions which limits the lengths of unbroken elevations and promotes varying sizes of masses. The solution most often used in this neighborhood is one of addition - an aggregation of masses and program randomly attached to the inner core of the house which often results in a parasitic plan. The approach taken with the Control/Shift House was to push and pull program/massing to delineate and define the layout of the house. Massing is intentional and reiterated by the careful selection of materiality that tracks through the house. Voids and relief in the plan are a natural result of this method and allow for light and air to circulate throughout every space of the house, even into the most inner core. Photography: Charles Davis Smith