Striking remodel in Menlo Park: Cloud Street Residence

Cloud Street Residence is a modern single family home in Menlo Park, California designed by Ana Williamson Architect in collaboration with Mediterraneo Design Build. The home has undergone an extensive remodel, completed in 2010. The property is comprised of 1,400 square feet of living space with plenty of environmentally conscious decisions making this “green” house comfortable, including bamboo flooring, Ecowood cabinets, Caesarstone counters, tankless water heater and super high-efficiency HVAC system. The exterior facade is comprised of a smooth Hardie Plank painted in Benjamin Moore Graphite.

Dasja Dolan Photography

A rural Connecticut getaway: The Depot Home

This rural Connecticut getaway is owned and designed by Lisa Gray and Alan Organschi of Gray Organschi Architecture. The Shepaug River Valley Railroad, which ran along the Bantam River in the late 19th century, stopped at this location, once the site of a tiny local train depot. The architect saved and reinforced the existing 19th century rubble foundation, using it as the base for this new house. Two simple gable structures, oriented perpendicularly to each other, create space for a large open plan between them and refer, through their forms, to neighboring barns and to the region’s agricultural heritage. The house interior is lined with bleached pine; kitchen, dining, living and family rooms overlap each other and create a rich series of spatial experiences that accommodate relaxed weekend living. The living spaces open onto a lap pool which is edged in stone-lined gabion baskets and is surrounded by a cedar deck. The six and a half acres of outdoor spaces provide views across the meadow to the Bantam River.

Consisting of two barnlike volumes set atop a stone foundation, the Depot House offers a locally rooted vision of New England modernism.

The couple made the house feel even more spacious by flooding a series of levels with natural light.

The family relaxes in their home’s dining room, sited atop the old foundation. Organschi designed and fabricated the table of wenge wood; the chairs were inherited from his uncle; and the pendant lights are Bertjan Pot designs for Moooi.

The swimming pool offers an alternative plunge to the nearby Bantam River.

The architects orchestrated all the material handling for the Depot House, from the prepainted wood siding to the fabricated stairs.

Photos: Courtesy of Gray Organschi Architecture / Andrea Chu for Dwell

Unbelievable modern transformation in South Yarra

South Yarra Residence is a modern addition and remodel by architecture studio Nixon Tulloch Fortey in South Yarra, Australia. If you notice in the last picture, the front of the Victorian home has been historically preserved in keeping with the surrounding neighborhood. The interior features modern updates with splashes of bold colors throughout. The back of the house has been completely modernized and looks fabulous with the large expanse of glass that helps blur the boundaries between the outdoors and in. What do you think of this remodel, would you have left the original front facade or would you have updated it to match the rear facade?

Grand View Drive Residence in the Hollywood Hills

Grand View Drive Residence is perched high in the Hollywood Hills, California, designed by Whipple Russell Architects. This was a challenging remodel project, controlled by the long and narrow lot and existing walls of the old house. The residence is contemporary meets modern; a three-story ship with roof deck on top. The client, a successful model, required living space that worked for entertaining as well as providing a quiet retreat for guests. All was accomplished, keeping in mind, shape, usability, light, and of course, the views.

The open-plan house is oriented on the north/south axis, with an angled ‘slice’ taken out of the view-side of the home, drawing your eye towards the ocean and the setting sun. As it sits on the top of the hill and there are no homes immediately surrounding, it really is a unique point of view in the hills. A centrally located “glass box” switchback staircase was designed for egress from the first floor all the way up through the levels of the home, becoming a very functional piece of art.

Sleek Open Box House by Feldman Architecture

Emerging from its humble beginnings, Open Box House was transformed by Feldman Architecture from a run-of-the-mill 1950s vinyl-clad box into a contemporary family home that takes full advantage of its site in San Francisco, California. The original house was detached on three sides and perched on a lot with panoramic views, but its small windows and dark rooms ignored the hillside location and potential for views. The unfinished lower floor made no effort to connect to the large undeveloped yard.

Interior walls were removed to create a large open plan that centers on a sleek new kitchen and floor-to-ceiling windows were installed to offer stunning downtown views. To the previously unfinished lower floor a new entry was added, along with a guest suite and a large family room where glass walls roll away to connect the inside to a newly landscaped deck and yard. The clean modern house is warmed by the generous use of dark stained woods and rich tiles and by its strong connection to lush landscape. Steel and aluminum accents and details contribute to its clean design.

Before the renovation:

Photos: Paul Dyer

Victorian townhouse remodel in San Francisco

This Pacific Heights Townhouse, in San Francisco, California involved Feldman Architecture updating and reconfiguring a 1906 stucco clad Victorian. The owners not only wished to maintain the traditional feel of the building, but also to infuse some modern elements, so the house would be both more livable and reflective of their personalities.  They also hoped for a light-filled house that would incorporate sustainable elements. Furthermore, the original house took up nearly the entire length of its lot and the clients wanted a garden that would be accessible from the main living spaces.

To achieve these goals, the architects placed the living areas on the top floor, where the light would be best and where, by removing a large portion of the rear space, a roof garden was created. Most of the walls were removed from this floor to create spaces that are visually connected but functionally separate.

The building is set off the south property line, which allowed the addition of numerous large windows along the length of the house. New skylights on the north side flood the interior of the top floor and the long hallway on the second floor with natural light. Open-riser stairs, a light well, and interior windows also allow light to filter down to the second floor hall.

Photos: Paul Dyer

David’s Country Shanghai by Hecker Guthrie

Hecker Guthrie’s design for the new ‘David’s’ restaurant draws on the heritage of Old Shanghai whilst breathing new life into the historic Melbourne, Australia warehouse building. Serving the cuisine of Shanghai, the restaurant is loved for its authentic yum cha, but until now its interiors – in traditional Chinese red – had been better suited to evening dining than to daytime use. The new design plays on honesty, simplicity and homeliness and references traditional Chinese elements in a contemporary manner.

A pared-back space in white – combined with pastels, weathered timber and semi-industrial objects – the redesigned David’s is casual, chic and coolly contemporary. Hecker Guthrie stripped away the plaster walls and ceilings of the existing eatery to reveal the architecture beneath, including exposed beams and Georgian wired-glass windows. The rest was achieved through careful selection of off-the-shelf furniture, lighting and accessories, arranged against a pure white backdrop.

Elements like shelving, cabinets, waiter’s station and wine store were created out of loose elements rather than the use of joinery. According to the designers, they placed ‘precariously stacked furniture all the way along one elevation, bridging the gap between decorative and practical.’ Although traditional Chinese red was abandoned, a subtle nod to old Shanghai can be seen in the Arik Levy pendant lamps, which reference Chinese paper lanterns.

 Photos: Shannon McGrath

Gorgeous Boerum Hill Nest renovation

This beautiful four story row house is situated in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, New York. Designed by CWB Architects, the project entailed a gut renovation of the garden level and first floor of the 2,600 square foot residence. The program included a family room, guest room, play room, bar, mechanical space, new stairs and a new rear garden design. Exterior facade work included a new large opening in the southern facade facing the garden and an integrated sunscreen to shield the interior spaces.

Photos: Francis Dzikowski/Esto

California home gets an inviting modern update

This stunning residence in Millbrae, California has had a complete modern overhaul to the kitchen and both the living room and dining room have been remodeled into a beautiful open plan interior by Burton Architecture. The home features clean lines, oak cabinetry, custom wood work, open spaces, plenty of natural light and wood ceiling, walls and interiors. Lawrence Construction brought this incredible transformation into fruition, creating a warm and cozy family home that has a welcoming ambiance that is perfect for entertaining friends and family.

Photos: Cesar Rubio Photography

Magnificent loft renovation incorporating Feng Shui

Magnificent loft renovation features an eclectic redesign by Reiko Feng Shui Interior Design in a former warehouse in Brooklyn, New York. This loft had suffered the same fate as so many others, which is often what happens in Brooklyn. A beautiful old warehouse had been poorly chopped up into a bunch of “spec” lofts. The developer had covered old brick walls and gorgeous beamed ceilings with sheet rock, removing all of the character and history. The designer’s client was longing to have an authentic loft lifestyle, and wanted to incorporate good Feng Shui energy into the renovation of her home. It was an exciting challenge and the end result was a livable and functional space with great design aesthetics!

Before the renovation:

Photos: Courtesy of Reiko Feng Shui Interior Design