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Library

An 1950s addition to an important Neo Classic San Francisco Residence is renovated for the first time in 50 years. The goal was to create a space that would reproduce the original details of the rest of the house : a stunning neo Classic residence built in 1907 above Nob Hill. Photo by David LIvingston

We love this prayer room and sanctuary featuring a built-in bench, custom millwork, double doors and stone floors.

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.

Maple cabinets stained a nice cherry color to create a beautiful built-in to house the many books of these homeowners. LED strip lighting line the inside of the face frames lighting up the contents of the bookshelves.

Concrete hearth,Fireplace surround,Board Form Concrete

Photography: Landmark Photography | Interior Design: Bruce Kading Interior Design

This cozy family room opted for comfort without sacrificing style. Nestled around an ornate fireplace a colorful ottoman sits on a kilim rug inviting you to kick your shoes off and relax with a book. Graphic draperies fill up one wall tying in the other green accents throughout the space. Summer Thornton Design, Inc.

TOMI, photographer. Library with wonderful old pine paneling in entire room. The back of the bookcases were painted red to bring the color into the rest of the room. Whimsical red, blue and beige curtains were used to bring some humor into this lovely library. Chairs were recovered when the client moved into this house. The blue in this room leads you into the blue and white sunroom beyond.

Stylish open plan living space made of front room and back room joined together by big opening. Featuring wood burning stove and some unique pieces of furniture, as well as home library and loads of natural light making it part of this extensive renovation project. Chris Snook

Michael J Lee

raumatmosphäre - Gerardina Pantanella

Architect: Peter Becker General Contractor: Allen Construction Photographer: Ciro Coelho

Custom built cabinetry in the family room, wraps around the corner to the desk area connecting to the kitchen. Photo: Peter Kubilus