Situated on a 3.5 acre, oak-studded ridge atop Santa Barbara's Riviera, the Greene Compound is a 6,500 square foot custom residence with guest house and pool capturing spectacular views of the City, Coastal Islands to the south, and La Cumbre peak to the north. Carefully sited to kiss the tips of many existing large oaks, the home is rustic Mediterranean in style which blends integral color plaster walls with Santa Barbara sandstone and cedar board and batt. Landscape Architect Lane Goodkind restored the native grass meadow and added a stream bio-swale which complements the rural setting. 20' mahogany, pocketing sliding doors maximize the indoor / outdoor Santa Barbara lifestyle by opening the living spaces to the pool and island view beyond. A monumental exterior fireplace and camp-style margarita bar add to this romantic living. Discreetly buried in the mission tile roof, solar panels help to offset the home's overall energy consumption. Truly an amazing and unique property, the Greene Residence blends in beautifully with the pastoral setting of the ridge while complementing and enhancing this Riviera neighborhood.

Photos by Hulya Kolabas & Catherine Tighe; This project entailed the complete renovation of a two-family row house in Carroll Gardens. The renovation required re-connecting the ground floor to the upper floors and developing a new landscape design for the garden in the rear. As natives of Brooklyn who loathed the darkness of traditional row houses, we were driven to infuse this space with abundant natural light and air by maintaining an open staircase. Only the front wall of the original building was retained because the existing structure would not have been able to support the additional floor that was planned. In addition to the third floor, we added 10 feet to the back of the building and renovated the garden floor to include a rental unit that would offset a costly New York mortgage. Abundant doors and windows in the rear of the structure permit light to illuminate the home and afford views into the garden, which is located on the south side of the site and benefits from copious quantities of sunlight.

Teak floored shower

Numerous amenities are allowed for around this cabin thanks to a carefully orchestrated landscape design. A screened room for eating and sleeping, gardens, a fire pit, hot tub, and seating are all allowed for as a foreground to the breath-taking view. Scott Wunderle

Designed by Monica Lewis, CMKBD, MCR, UDCP of J.S. Brown and Co. Photography by Michael Houghton StudiOhio Total size approximately 7'4" x 6'6" Products: Kohler plumbing fixtures and faucets Hudson Valley H653PC light fixture Carerra marble vanity top and bench seat Shiloh Vanity cabinet Mosaic - Anatolia glass / stone blend in "Iceland" Walls - Pratt and Larson; 3x6 in R145, 1/2 x 6 stripe in C10, 1x6 Plaza Liner in RC1, Plaza base in RC1 Floor - Seneca Gregoriana 6x18 porcelain tile in "Cloud" honed finish, and Anatolia 6x6 Bianco Venatino polished marble 6x6. Paint Color: Sherwin Williams Spaulding Gray

The master bathroom cabinets are built of kirei board, an engineered-panel product made from the stalks of sorghum, a food plant grown in many parts of the world.

This custom media wall is accented with natural stone, real wood cabinetry and box beams, and an electric fireplace

Located within a gated golf course community on the shoreline of Buzzards Bay this residence is a graceful and refined Gambrel style home. The traditional lines blend quietly into the surroundings. Photo Credit: Eric Roth

Photo Credit - David Bader

On the wall leading up to the third floor library we installed high-gloss white wall tiles for a graphic pop. The right side wall has white board paint where the husband works on mathematical formulas. Photo: Eric Roth

Lovely photos taken by David. This is part of our Havana Range, these sophisticated stock tiles are suitable for my wall or floor. Often used by Edwardian and Victorian society they are a timeless edition to any bathroom or hallway.

Helen Degenhardt, JSW/D Architects. This newly constructed contemporary home in the Berkeley Hills has clean lines coupled with a peaceful assembly of light, color, and space. The many sustainable elements in this Green Point Rated structure include fly ash in concrete, super insulation, radiant heat, solar PV, solar hot water, grey water, rain water catchment for in-home use, FSC lumber, and a central vacuum. This ecologically sound home was published in the Fine Homebuilding, Houses Issue, 2011.

This project received the award for the 2010 CT Homebuilder's Association Best Bathroom Renovation. It features a 5500 pound solid boulder bathtub, radius glass block shower with two walls covered in book matched full slabs of marble, and reclaimed wide board rustic white oak floors installed over hydronic radiant heat in the concrete floor slab. This bathroom also incorporates a great deal of salvage and reclaimed materials including the 1800's piano legs which were used to create the vanity, an antique cherry corner cabinet was built into the wainscot paneling, chestnut barn timbers were added for effect and also serve as a channel to deliver water supply to the shower via a rain shower head and to the tub via a Kohler laminar flow tub filler. The entire addition was built with 2x8 wall framing and has been filled with full cavity open cell spray foam. The frost walls and floor slab were insulated with 2" R-10 EPS to provide a complete thermal break from the exterior climate. Radiant heat was poured into the floor slab and wraps the lower 3rd of the tub which is below the floor in order to keep the thermal mass hot. Marvin Ultimate double hung windows were used throughout. Another unusual detail is the Corten ceiling panels that were applied to the vaulted ceiling. Each Corten corrugated steel panel was propped up in a field and sprayed with a 50/50 solution of vinegar and hydrogen peroxide for approx. 4 weeks to accelerate the rust process until the desired effect was achieved. Then panels were then cleaned and coated with 4 coats of matte finish polyurethane to seal the finished product. The results are stunning and look incredible next to a hand made metal and blown glass chandelier.

This is an elegant, finely-appointed room with aged, hand-hewn beams, dormered clerestory windows, and radiant-heated limestone floors. But the real power of the space derives less from these handsome details and more from the wide opening centered on the pool.