Located on a five-acre rocky outcrop, The Mountain Retreat trades in Manhattan skyscrapers and the scuttle of yellow cabs for sweeping views of the Catskill Mountains and hawks gliding on the thermals below. The client, who loves mountain biking and rock climbing, camped out on the hilltop during the siting of the house to determine the best spot, angle and orientation for his new escape. The resulting home is a retreat carefully crafted into its unique surroundings. The Mountain Retreat provides a unique and efficient 1,800 sf indoor and outdoor living and entertaining experience. The finished house, sitting partially on concrete stilts, gives way to a striking display. Its angular lines, soaring height, and unique blend of warm cedar siding with cool gray concrete panels and glass are displayed to great advantage in the context of its rough mountaintop setting. The stilts act as supports for the great room above and, below, define the parking spaces for an uncluttered entry and carport. An enclosed staircase runs along the north side of the house. Sheathed inside and out with gray cement board panels, it leads from the ground floor entrance to the main living spaces, which exist in the treetops. Requiring the insertion of pylons, a well, and a septic tank, the rocky terrain of the immediate site had to be blasted. Rather than discarding the remnants, the rocks were scattered around the site. Used for outdoor seating and the entry pathway, the rock cover further emphasizes the relation and integration of the house into the natural backdrop. The home’s butterfly roof channels rainwater to two custom metal scuppers, from which it cascades off onto thoughtfully placed boulders. The butterfly roof gives the great room and master bedroom a tall, sloped ceiling with light from above, while a suite of ground-room floors fit cozily below. An elevated cedar deck wraps around three sides of the great room, offering a full day of sunshine for deck lounging and for the entire room to be opened to the outdoors with ease. Architects: Joseph Tanney, Robert Luntz Project Architect: John Kim Project Team: Jacob Moore Manufacturer: Apex Homes, INC. Engineer: Robert Silman Associates, P.C., Greg Sloditski Contractor: JH Construction, INC. Photographer: © Floto & Warner

Joshua McHugh

This project combines the original bedroom, small bathroom and closets into a single, open and light-filled space. Once stripped to its exterior walls, we inserted back into the center of the space a single freestanding cabinetry piece that organizes movement around the room. This mahogany “box” creates a headboard for the bed, the vanity for the bath, and conceals a walk-in closet and powder room inside. While the detailing is not traditional, we preserved the traditional feel of the home through a warm and rich material palette and the re-conception of the space as a garden room. Photography: Matthew Millman

Again, indoor/outdoor living, achieved with 16’ of glass, half of which opens directly to the back yard. A space the owners could enjoy with family and friends. Outdoor kitchen is tucked conveniently against a wall outside, but out of view. Colors inspired by the outdoors—natural wood paneled wall, a free-standing element that separates dining room from foyer. We view the chandelier as reminiscent of coral and the tones of the dining chairs, rug, and Cielo Quartzite countertop on the built-ins reflecting those of the bay and sea. (The owners love the ocean.) The hand-silvered, antiqued mirror tile at the back of the built-ins, adds just a touch of glam, as does the jewel-like hardware on the cabinets

Photography: Pablo Veiga, Styling: Claire Delmar

Renovation For Next Life

By Thrive Design Group

Graham Gaunt

In this Lake View bathroom, we kept the floorplan and not much else. The main feature is the custom walk-in shower, with beveled white subway tiles, corner bench, and framed niche. There are a luxurious 3 showerheads: standard, rainfall, and handheld. With smooth curves and a modern brushed nickel finish, the shower fixtures are environmentally conscious and ADA compliant. The shower floor is a porcelain 2×2 hexagon mosaic with a marble print. This gives you the look of expensive stone, but without the maintenance and slipping of the real thing. The tile coordinates with the statuary classique quartz used on the vanity counter, which also has a polished marble print to it, and the bracket wall shelves which are real marble (though you can hardly tell the difference by looking). The Bertch vanity is a dark cherry shale finish to give some contrast in the white bathroom, with shaker doors and an undermount sink. The original bathroom was lacking in storage, so we took down the extra-wide mirror. In its place, we have those open shelves and an oval mirrored medicine cabinet, recessed so you can’t even tell it’s hiding all that storage. And speaking of hidden features, the bathroom is behind a pocket door, thus saving some extra floor space. Finally, that flooring. The tile is a Turkish Stratford porcelain tile, 8×8 with matte finish. This adds some small details while giving that pop of color people love. Further, the bronze tones in the tile help tie in the dark vanity.

We love the sparkle from our glitter mosaic tile! Shades of pink, fuchsia, white and silver sparkles make this girly bathroom tons of fun!

Inter Urban Studios

Photo by Michael Fager at Fisheye

© Elk Studios/www.elkstudios.com

In this bathroom, the client wanted the contrast of the white subway tile and the black hexagon tile. We tiled up the walls and ceiling to create a wet room feeling.

This Seattle modern house by chadbourne + doss architects has an open plan that links interior spaces vertically as well as out to the landscape. Large sliding doors allow the Master Bedroom to open to views of the yard. Photo by Benjamin Benschneider