Southwestern artifacts create an excellent motif which complements the home’s aggregate style.

Photographer: Tom Crane

The Atherton House is a family compound for a professional couple in the tech industry, and their two teenage children. After living in Singapore, then Hong Kong, and building homes there, they looked forward to continuing their search for a new place to start a life and set down roots. The site is located on Atherton Avenue on a flat, 1 acre lot. The neighboring lots are of a similar size, and are filled with mature planting and gardens. The brief on this site was to create a house that would comfortably accommodate the busy lives of each of the family members, as well as provide opportunities for wonder and awe. Views on the site are internal. Our goal was to create an indoor- outdoor home that embraced the benign California climate. The building was conceived as a classic “H” plan with two wings attached by a double height entertaining space. The “H” shape allows for alcoves of the yard to be embraced by the mass of the building, creating different types of exterior space. The two wings of the home provide some sense of enclosure and privacy along the side property lines. The south wing contains three bedroom suites at the second level, as well as laundry. At the first level there is a guest suite facing east, powder room and a Library facing west. The north wing is entirely given over to the Primary suite at the top level, including the main bedroom, dressing and bathroom. The bedroom opens out to a roof terrace to the west, overlooking a pool and courtyard below. At the ground floor, the north wing contains the family room, kitchen and dining room. The family room and dining room each have pocketing sliding glass doors that dissolve the boundary between inside and outside. Connecting the wings is a double high living space meant to be comfortable, delightful and awe-inspiring. A custom fabricated two story circular stair of steel and glass connects the upper level to the main level, and down to the basement “lounge” below. An acrylic and steel bridge begins near one end of the stair landing and flies 40 feet to the children’s bedroom wing. People going about their day moving through the stair and bridge become both observed and observer. The front (EAST) wall is the all important receiving place for guests and family alike. There the interplay between yin and yang, weathering steel and the mature olive tree, empower the entrance. Most other materials are white and pure. The mechanical systems are efficiently combined hydronic heating and cooling, with no forced air required.

Great Room, Windgate Ranch, Jonathan Friedland, Joffe Group

Guendalina Gallo - Simon Clementi

Kristen McGaughey Photography

Ed Russell Photography ( http://edrussellphotography.smugmug.com)

This is my clients new improved Family Room after we have decorated her family room. My clients wanted a space that is light, bright and inviting and she also wanted a space that feels bigger. Before this space was very dark and uninviting and it felt much smaller. We have changed her window treatments, we added a custom build-in around the existing TV unit and we accessorized the new build in with unique accessories. We also added a beautiful colorful area rug and painted the feature wall in orange to brighten up the space.

The Pool Box sites a small secondary residence and pool alongside an existing residence, set in a rolling Hill Country community. The project includes design for the structure, pool, and landscape - combined into a sequence of spaces of soft native planting, painted Texas daylight, and timeless materials. A careful entry carries one from a quiet landscape, stepping down into an entertainment room. Large glass doors open into a sculptural pool.

Adam Letch

This sweet little room is located just off the kitchen, in an open plan. We carried through the kitchen's gray and white palette to keep the spaces integrated, but warmed it up to make it into a comfortable space to relax. This is a favorite spot for the young family: a perfect place to gather at meal prep time and always. Photo by Suzanna Scott.

Dorian Photography

The alcove and walls without stone are faux finished with four successively lighter layers of plaster, allowing each of the shades to bleed through to create weathered walls and a texture in harmony with the stone. The tiles on the alcove wall are enhanced with embossed leaves, adding a subtle, natural texture and a horizontal rhythm to this focal point. A custom daybed is upholstered in a wide striped tone-on-tone ecru linen, adding a subtle vertical effect. Colorful pillows add a touch of whimsy and surprise. Photography Memories TTL

Soapstone Masonry Heater with heated bench. This unit has two fire view doors and an integrated bake oven.