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.

This modern entrance hall in a Victorian house benefits from ample natural light, streaming in through the glass wall and front door from the adjoining living room. The new storage unit includes a small seating bench and shoe storage, providing both functionality and style to the space.

Rockford, MI Photo by Mallory Chrisman Voted by industry peers as "Best Interior Elements and Best Kitchen Design," Grand Rapids, MI Parade of Homes, Fall 2012

Rustic Maple cabinets with flat panel mission style doors with a coranado bead accent.

Putra Indrawan

Photo by Linda Oyama-Bryan

This grand foyer already had a black door and chandelier. An antique chest of drawers was refinished in black and was complemented with a new mirror and contemporary table lamp. A new bench with black background completes the foyer. Gillian Jackson Photography

Thom Neese

Location: Great falls, VA, US AV Architects + Builders Our clients wanted to expand their home without breaking their budget. Our design consists of a three-car garage that allows for a new in-law suite located right above. Not only that, but we re-designed the kitchen to allow an open flow into the living area and the entry mudroom. The large island acts as the centerpiece in the kitchen and highlights the attention to detail we added with the custom cabinets and storage space. Once our final product was finished, our clients got exactly what they had wanted: an open floor plan that flows effortlessly from one room to another and extra room space so they could entertain guests and family.

This elegant home remodel created a bright, transitional farmhouse charm, replacing the old, cramped setup with a functional, family-friendly design. The main entrance exudes timeless elegance with a neutral palette. A polished wooden staircase takes the spotlight, while an elegant rug, perfectly matching the palette, adds warmth and sophistication to the space. The main entrance exudes timeless elegance with a neutral palette. A polished wooden staircase takes the spotlight, while an elegant rug, perfectly matching the palette, adds warmth and sophistication to the space. ---Project completed by Wendy Langston's Everything Home interior design firm, which serves Carmel, Zionsville, Fishers, Westfield, Noblesville, and Indianapolis. For more about Everything Home, see here: https://everythinghomedesigns.com/

Mud room with custom storage cubbies

This home was built in an infill lot in an older, established, East Memphis neighborhood. We wanted to make sure that the architecture fits nicely into the mature neighborhood context. The clients enjoy the architectural heritage of the English Cotswold and we have created an updated/modern version of this style with all of the associated warmth and charm. As with all of our designs, having a lot of natural light in all the spaces is very important. The main gathering space has a beamed ceiling with windows on multiple sides that allows natural light to filter throughout the space and also contains an English fireplace inglenook. The interior woods and exterior materials including the brick and slate roof were selected to enhance that English cottage architecture. Builder: Eddie Kircher Construction Interior Designer: Rhea Crenshaw Interiors Photographer: Ross Group Creative

adamcarterphoto

Reclaimed brick Pursley Dixon Architecture Craig Bergmann Landscape Design

Photography: Steve Henke

Polyflor Camaro Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) Flooring installed to a hallway in Sale, Manchester. Our client wanted the traditional herringbone parquet look for her hallway but also needed her floor to be practical and easy to care for. The Camaro LVT range has a micro bevelled edge and beautifully replicates a wood floor yet it is fully waterproof - wet wellies allowed!