Stacking doors roll entirely away, blending the open floor plan with outdoor living areas // Image : John Granen Photography, Inc.

Natural light exposes the beautiful details of this great room. Coffered ceiling encompasses a majestic old world feeling of this stone and shiplap fireplace. Comfort and beauty combo.

Gorgeous renovation of existing fireplace with new mantle, new built-in custom cabinetry and painted brick.

Design and construction of large entertainment unit with electric fireplace, storage cabinets and floating shelves. This remodel also included new tile floor and entire home paint

Mid-Century Modern Bathroom

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.

Velvets, leather, and fur just made sense with this sexy sectional and set of swivel chairs.

Beautiful open plan living space, ideal for family, entertaining and just lazing about. The colors evoke a sense of calm and the open space is warm and inviting.

This new house is located in a quiet residential neighborhood developed in the 1920’s, that is in transition, with new larger homes replacing the original modest-sized homes. The house is designed to be harmonious with its traditional neighbors, with divided lite windows, and hip roofs. The roofline of the shingled house steps down with the sloping property, keeping the house in scale with the neighborhood. The interior of the great room is oriented around a massive double-sided chimney, and opens to the south to an outdoor stone terrace and garden. Photo by: Nat Rea Photography

The family room / TV room is cozy with full wall built-in with storage. The back of the shelving has wallcovering to create depth, texture and interest.

This custom built-in entertainment center features white shaker cabinetry accented by white oak shelves with integrated lighting and brass hardware. The electronics are contained in the lower door cabinets with select items like the wifi router out on the countertop on the left side and a Sonos sound bar in the center under the TV. The TV is mounted on the back panel and wires are in a chase down to the lower cabinet. The side fillers go down to the floor to give the wall baseboards a clean surface to end against.

Martin Knowles

located just off the kitchen and front entry, the new den is the ideal space for watching television and gathering, with contemporary furniture and modern decor that updates the existing traditional white wood paneling