Photo by Jamie Anholt

Joshua Lawrence

Painted stairs with banded carpet. Rebuild LLC

William Quarles

You can read more about these Iron Spiral Stairs with LED Lighting or start at the Great Lakes Metal Fabrication Steel Stairs page.

Roger Oates Flaxman Stone stair runner carpet fitted to white painted staircase to period period property in Woking Surrey

This was a fun build and a delightful family to work and design with. The ladder is aesthetically pleasing and functional for their space, and also much safer than the previous loft access. The custom welded steel frame and alternating step support system combined with light colored, solid alder wood treads provide an open feel for the tight space.

Ipe deck on existing concrete deck.

Ivan Dolin Interior Design

Architect: Annie Carruthers Builder: Sean Tanner ARC Residential Photographer: Ginger photography

Composite second story deck with under deck ceiling underneath to keep everyone dry in the rainy months. The railing is made of composite posts with composite balusters and composite top cap that matches the deck. Under deck ceiling installed by Undercover Systems.

A compact yet comfortable contemporary space designed to create an intimate setting for family and friends.

The Balmoral House is located within the lower north-shore suburb of Balmoral. The site presents many difficulties being wedged shaped, on the low side of the street, hemmed in by two substantial existing houses and with just half the land area of its neighbours. Where previously the site would have enjoyed the benefits of a sunny rear yard beyond the rear building alignment, this is no longer the case with the yard having been sold-off to the neighbours. Our design process has been about finding amenity where on first appearance there appears to be little. The design stems from the first key observation, that the view to Middle Harbour is better from the lower ground level due to the height of the canopy of a nearby angophora that impedes views from the first floor level. Placing the living areas on the lower ground level allowed us to exploit setback controls to build closer to the rear boundary where oblique views to the key local features of Balmoral Beach and Rocky Point Island are best. This strategy also provided the opportunity to extend these spaces into gardens and terraces to the limits of the site, maximising the sense of space of the 'living domain'. Every part of the site is utilised to create an array of connected interior and exterior spaces The planning then became about ordering these living volumes and garden spaces to maximise access to view and sunlight and to structure these to accommodate an array of social situations for our Client’s young family. At first floor level, the garage and bedrooms are composed in a linear block perpendicular to the street along the south-western to enable glimpses of district views from the street as a gesture to the public realm. Critical to the success of the house is the journey from the street down to the living areas and vice versa. A series of stairways break up the journey while the main glazed central stair is the centrepiece to the house as a light-filled piece of sculpture that hangs above a reflecting pond with pool beyond. The architecture works as a series of stacked interconnected volumes that carefully manoeuvre down the site, wrapping around to establish a secluded light-filled courtyard and terrace area on the north-eastern side. The expression is 'minimalist modern' to avoid visually complicating an already dense set of circumstances. Warm natural materials including off-form concrete, neutral bricks and blackbutt timber imbue the house with a calm quality whilst floor to ceiling glazing and large pivot and stacking doors create light-filled interiors, bringing the garden inside. In the end the design reverses the obvious strategy of an elevated living space with balcony facing the view. Rather, the outcome is a grounded compact family home sculpted around daylight, views to Balmoral and intertwined living and garden spaces that satisfy the social needs of a growing young family. Photo Credit: Clinton Weaver