Klopf Architecture and Outer space Landscape Architects designed a new warm, modern, open, indoor-outdoor home in Los Altos, California. Inspired by mid-century modern homes but looking for something completely new and custom, the owners, a couple with two children, bought an older ranch style home with the intention of replacing it. Created on a grid, the house is designed to be at rest with differentiated spaces for activities; living, playing, cooking, dining and a piano space. The low-sloping gable roof over the great room brings a grand feeling to the space. The clerestory windows at the high sloping roof make the grand space light and airy. Upon entering the house, an open atrium entry in the middle of the house provides light and nature to the great room. The Heath tile wall at the back of the atrium blocks direct view of the rear yard from the entry door for privacy. The bedrooms, bathrooms, play room and the sitting room are under flat wing-like roofs that balance on either side of the low sloping gable roof of the main space. Large sliding glass panels and pocketing glass doors foster openness to the front and back yards. In the front there is a fenced-in play space connected to the play room, creating an indoor-outdoor play space that could change in use over the years. The play room can also be closed off from the great room with a large pocketing door. In the rear, everything opens up to a deck overlooking a pool where the family can come together outdoors. Wood siding travels from exterior to interior, accentuating the indoor-outdoor nature of the house. Where the exterior siding doesn’t come inside, a palette of white oak floors, white walls, walnut cabinetry, and dark window frames ties all the spaces together to create a uniform feeling and flow throughout the house. The custom cabinetry matches the minimal joinery of the rest of the house, a trim-less, minimal appearance. Wood siding was mitered in the corners, including where siding meets the interior drywall. Wall materials were held up off the floor with a minimal reveal. This tight detailing gives a sense of cleanliness to the house. The garage door of the house is completely flush and of the same material as the garage wall, de-emphasizing the garage door and making the street presentation of the house kinder to the neighborhood. The house is akin to a custom, modern-day Eichler home in many ways. Inspired by mid-century modern homes with today’s materials, approaches, standards, and technologies. The goals were to create an indoor-outdoor home that was energy-efficient, light and flexible for young children to grow. This 3,000 square foot, 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom new house is located in Los Altos in the heart of the Silicon Valley. Klopf Architecture Project Team: John Klopf, AIA, and Chuang-Ming Liu 
Landscape Architect: Outer space Landscape Architects 
Structural Engineer: ZFA Structural Engineers 
Staging: Da Lusso Design 
Photography ©2018 Mariko Reed 
Location: Los Altos, CA
 Year completed: 2017

Childrens jack and jill style bathroom. White subway tile walls with glass accent tiles. Flooring in a plank style tile (wood looking). To save space, used lots of pocket doors. Glass block half wall for water closet. Custom made pine bench, linen tower and wall mirror. Kohler pedestal vanities and plumbing fittings. Rain shower head. Photo: James Reynolds Photography.

Photography by Teri Fotheringham

Lepere Studio

Large open floor plan in basement with full built-in bar, fireplace, game room and seating for all sorts of activities. Cabinetry at the bar provided by Brookhaven Cabinetry manufactured by Wood-Mode Cabinetry. Cabinetry is constructed from maple wood and finished in an opaque finish. Glass front cabinetry includes reeded glass for privacy. Bar is over 14 feet long and wrapped in wainscot panels. Although not shown, the interior of the bar includes several undercounter appliances: refrigerator, dishwasher drawer, microwave drawer and refrigerator drawers; all, except the microwave, have decorative wood panels.

NICK SARGENT OF SARGENT PHOTOGRAPHY WWW.SARGENTPHOTO.COM

This Mid Century inspired kitchen was manufactured for a couple who definitely didn't want a traditional 'new' fitted kitchen as part of their extension to a 1930's house in a desirable Manchester suburb. The key themes that were important to the clients for this project were: Nostalgia- fond memories how a grandmother's kitchen used to feel and furniture and soft furnishings the couple had owned or liked over the years, even Culshaw's own Hivehaus kitchenette that the couple had fallen for on a visit to our showroom a few years ago. Mix and match - creating something that had a very mixed media approach with the warm and harmonius use of solid wood, painted surfaces in varied colours, metal, glass, stone, ceramic and formica. Flow - The couple thought very carefully about the building project as a whole but particularly the kitchen. They wanted an adaptable space that suited how they wanted to live, a social space close to kitchen and garden, a place to watch movies, partitions which could close off spaces if necessary. Practicality: A place for everything in the kitchen, a sense of order compared to the chaos that was their old kitchen (which lived where the utility now proudly stands). Being a bespoke kitchen manufacturer we listened, drew, modelled, visualised, handcrafted and fitted a beautiful kitchen that is truly a reflection of the couple's tastes and aspirations of how they wanted to live - now that is design! Photo: Ian Hampson

Ken lauben

The design of this remodel of a small two-level residence in Noe Valley reflects the owner's passion for Japanese architecture. Having decided to completely gut the interior partitions, we devised a better-arranged floor plan with traditional Japanese features, including a sunken floor pit for dining and a vocabulary of natural wood trim and casework. Vertical grain Douglas Fir takes the place of Hinoki wood traditionally used in Japan. Natural wood flooring, soft green granite and green glass backsplashes in the kitchen further develop the desired Zen aesthetic. A wall to wall window above the sunken bath/shower creates a connection to the outdoors. Privacy is provided through the use of switchable glass, which goes from opaque to clear with a flick of a switch. We used in-floor heating to eliminate the noise associated with forced-air systems.

Detailed Hallway in Silverleaf located in Scottsdale, AZ. Check out our Facebook Fan Page at www.Facebook.com/FratantoniLuxuryEstates

photo credit: Celia Pearson kitchen design: Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath

Taking its cues from both persona and place, this residence seeks to reconcile a difficult, walnut-wooded site with the late client’s desire to live in a log home in the woods. The residence was conceived as a 24 ft x 150 ft linear bar rising into the trees from northwest to southeast. Positioned according to subdivision covenants, the structure bridges 40 ft across an existing intermittent creek, thereby preserving the natural drainage patterns and habitat. The residence’s long and narrow massing allowed many of the trees to remain, enabling the client to live in a wooded environment. A requested pool “grotto” and porte cochere complete the site interventions. The structure’s section rises successively up a cascading stair to culminate in a glass-enclosed meditative space (known lovingly as the “bird feeder”), providing access to the grass roof via an exterior stair. The walnut trees, cleared from the site during construction, were locally milled and returned to the residence as hardwood flooring. Photo Credit: Eric Williams (Sophisticated Living magazine)

Huge Contemporary Kitchen Designer: Teri Turan

© Steve Keating Photography

Tom Bonner Photography

The Sunset Magazine San Francisco Idea House The first Sunset Magazine Idea House to be located in San Francisco, La Casa Verde is also the greenest home developed by Sunset, at the time of construction the greenest home in the country per LEED standards. Livingston was honored to be selected as the sole designer for the built-in cabinetry throughout this three-level project. To achieve the aesthetic of an exotic wood veneer within the confines of the eco standards, Steve developed a unique method of digitally photographing a single board of Pau Ferro, duplicating the image, and layering the film between two 1/4" sheets of glass. The end result is of a high gloss wood veneer throughout but without the need for the endangered species. Design Detail: The island houses a functioning planter as a subtle divider between the working side and the public side of the countertop. Grow your own wheatgrass at home!

Wood and Glass staircase in Minneapolis, MN

Meticulously crafted cabinets, thick slabs of marble and wood, and reflective glass and stainless-steel surfaces create a workspace that functions well for serious cooks—or “cocktails only.” Smart storage—like the floor-to-ceiling wine rack—keeps it clutter-free.