Qual Hill House

The Sag Harbor-based studio Bates Masi Architects have designed the Qual Hill House. This 3,400 square foot contemporary residence is located in Amagasett, New York, USA and sits on a 2.1 acre lot.

“At the first meeting, the clients introduced both their family and growing art collection. They were particularly excited about a new artist, Vik Muniz, whose works based on photographs of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis provided a delightful discovery upon closer inspection: paintings of the iconic images rendered in peanut butter and jelly. This moment of discovery and playful deception became the design concept of the house”.

As you approach the house by the winding driveways, the gabled form, massive chimney, and shingled siding are all reminiscent of traditional houses on eastern Long Island. When looked at closely, the singles are, in fact, a woven screen of oak surveyors stakes, similar to those that dotted the steeply wooded lot when the clients first saw it. The massive chimney that anchors the house to the site isn't solid at all, but is actually made of thin concrete panels.

Special thanks to HomeDSGN for the above images.

Copenhagen White House

Located in Copenhagen, Denmark, The Fredensborg House is a single-family residence designed by Norm Architects. The residence is built on five small plateaus connected by steps, reflecting the shape of its surrounding terrain.

“The house aesthetic is derived from inspirations brought about by the labyrinthine mountain village architecture, those that you may find familiar in Southern Europe, the architecture of Chinese temples, and in the works of modernist Danish architecture Jorn Utzon”.

The many tile roofs of the Fredensborg House overlap each other, resonating the movements of the slopes in design. The colour palette of the roof consists of four different yellow and brownish tones in a mix, to achieve a natural imperfection. “It gives a seemingly harmonious and charming miniature scene like that of a traditional Southern European mountain village, when the roofs are viewed from the highest point of property”.

A feeling of serenity and calm was one of the main goals for this house. To achieved this goal, the use of different contrasting materials was minimised. In order to suit the elements of the buildings surroundings and stay true to its natural form, a lot of local materials were used. The exterior of the residence consists of yellow tiles, yellow brick and black painted wood. The interior is made up of raw grey walls, brushed natural oak floors and white ceilings. This consistent use of the same materials “throughout the house is what gives this labyrinthine structure a cohesive look and feel as being one continuous space. It is the choice of local materials that provides the same harmony as you find in old villages where everything is constructed from what was accessible around the village. The use of natural materials, that had some imperfection gave the house an authentic aesthetic - like that of an aged and well treasured structure which only becomes more beautiful as it decays”.

Special thanks to HomeDSGN for the above images.

Hi-Macs House

The Hi-Macs House has been designed by the German Studio Karl Dreer, in collaboration with Bembe Dellinger Architects. Located in Upper Bavaria, Germany, in the direct vicinity of the lake Ammersee, this contemporary two story home was completed in 2010. A new generation of natural acryl stone, entitled HI-MACS is used to make the residence look spectacular and help light flood in every room.

This newly constructed house acts as a clear contrast to the Upper Bavarian native construction style of typical dark wooden windows and gabled roofs. Reduced aesthetics of modern construction are used with a flat roof, cube towers and clear basic forms. These ideas represent a desire for minimalism and symmetry.

The stairway to the upper floor is filled with an enormous amount of light as it is trapped. Solid oak flooring is used to provide a cosy feeling against the high white walls, the large glass surfaces and the white interior.

“The upper floor also captivates with its overlapping spaces: Bedroom and bath - two connected rooms which are only separated by a creative room partition element. Invisible closets and an electric sliding door for separation of the rooms are also installed flush here - operated at the push of a button”.

“The fitness and wellness area and the family office are located on the upper floor of the left cube. A shower, wash basin, shelves and small seating options made from HI-MACS are also included here. The neighbouring sauna has also been made completely out of HI-MACS - only the benches are made from aspen wood. Identical in construction to the upper floor of the right cube, a retracted, shortened wall unit separates the wellness area from the office - a flat screen television is located on one side and a picture panel is located on the office side. Extensive glass surfaces, a white interior and oak floors round out the room’s appearance. Wall heating in the shower and floor heating in each room continue to be standard here”.

Special thanks to HomeDSGN for the above images.

Carpinteria Foothills Residence

The Carpinteria based studio Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis has designed this Carpinteria Foothills Residence.

Originally completed in 2010, this 6,655 square foot single story home is located in the small ocean side city of Carpinteria which is in the south eastern parts of Santa Barbara County, California, USA.

The residence is designed to seamlessly open onto the panoramic coastal ridge top site via expansive operable glazed walls. “The glazed transparency is balanced and the home is anchored in place by substantial cut native sandstone walls”. The architectural design evolved from the clients desire for a home that is a tranquil place for living, art and retreat.

Included in the home is a master suite, one guest room, a study for two, a more contained den and a informal open living space. The strategy for the site was to separate the guest house, pool and pool house from the main house, by locating them amongst oaks on a lower terrace. The smaller structures were much easier to place around the mature oak trees without disturbing their root systems.

The main living space and study were placed further away from the edge to ensure that they were quieter areas away from the distant free way noise. The courtyard was created to give an “inward oriented counterpoint to the distant vistas. A flat roof modernist scheme complemented the couples taste for modern art and furniture”.

The design itself was limited to a simple palette of materials and forms.”A European window and sliding door system was used to minimize the frames and optimize the glass. These glass alls were framed between large stonewalls constructed of the local Santa Barbars Sandstone, and volumes contained in plaster walls with an integral colour (pantry, guest room, master bath and closet, storage area). The flat roofs were supported by steel columns separated from the curtain walls”.

“The landscape design became a hobby of the owner who studied local native plantings that were both fire resistant and drought tolerant. Some large oak trees were brought in to augment the existing oak grove, further nestle the house into the site, and create a foreground to help frame the spectacular views”.

Special thanks to HomeDSGN for the above images.

Blanca Sanchez Modern Bathroom Interiors

Designer Blanca Sanchez of Halo Design Interiors have designed a series of interesting bathroom projects. These bathrooms were designed for two large residential mansions in one of the most exclusive residential housing areas of the United Kingdom. The exteriors for both of the houses are classical neo-Georgian, with imposing front elevations. Both houses were “built high on a hill, with extensive views over the surrounding estate, with views as far reaching as 25 miles away”. The similarity between the two houses however ends here. The younger clients of the first house wanted a more clear, contemporary edge to the interior, which of course included the bathroom.

Timeless materials and highly skilled craftsmen were used to create bathrooms which “were not only reminiscent of the most exclusive hotels in the world, but were also comfortable and welcoming for this young family. The main cloakroom was a feature room, with a wall completely clad in a horizontal bevelled mirror, reflecting a bespoke linear design composite stone basin, overlooked by a cluster of sparkling Swarovski downlights. By contrast, the other project was driven more by the client’s desire to reflect its classical roots, but again with an up to date edge. The master bathrooms hark back to the art deco era, with the finest veneers and shadow-gap detailing, complimented by solid stone detailing. The rest of the bathrooms flowed from this, bringing in warm wood veneers such as walnut and oak and feature porcelain, with small pebbles encased in resin in one room and metallic mock crocodile skin effect in another”.

Special thanks to Freshome for the above images.

Openhouse Project

The Californian based studio XTEN Architecture has designed the Openhouse project. This 4,500 square foot two story home was completed in 2009 and is located in Hollywood Hills. This area is “an affluent and exclusive neighbourhood of Los Angeles, California, USA".

“The Openhouse is embedded into a narrow and sharply sloping property in the Hollywood Hills, a challenging site that led to the creation of a house that is both integrated into the landscape and open to the city below. Retaining walls are configured to extend the first floor living level into the hillside and to create gardens on two levels. The front, side and rear elevations of the house slide open to erase all boundaries between indoors and out, connecting the spaces to gardens on both levels.”

Glass is used as the primary wall enclosure material for the Openhouse project. There are forty four sliding glass panels which are seven feet wide by ten feet high. These are “configured to disappear into hidden pockets and allow for uninterrupted views and access to exterior terraces and gardens. There are also fixed glass walls, mirror glass walls and light gray specular glass panels which lend lightness to the interior spaces”.

The glass walls are “visually counterweighted by sculptural, solid elements in the house rendered in stone, dark stained oak, tinted concrete and plaster”. Cut pebble flooring is used throughout the house, decks and terraces as a way of continuing the “indoor-outdoor materiality, which is amplified when the glass walls slide away.”

“The building finishes are few in number but applied in a multiplicity of ways throughout the project, furthering the experience of continuous open spaces from interior to exterior”.

Special thanks to HomeDSGN for the above images.

Fraser Residence

Designed by Christopher Simmonds Architects, this Fraser Residence exhibits a range of modern design lines and contemporary furniture. The perfect floor plan and materials were all chosen when designing the Fraser Residence.

Located in Ottawa, Ontario, the house was awarded Best Custom Urban Infill - 2011 Greater Ottawa Home Builders association (GOHBA) Design Awards.

The interesting features of the house are designed to help the inhabitants live a comfortable, modern life. “Juxtaposed volumes define the exterior appearance of this modern home while interweaving special volumes define the expansive interior. The house takes advantage of its sloping site by inserting the garage into the lower level. This allows the elongated porch and glazed projections of the living spaces to define the home’s character in the streetscape. Subtle earth-toned brick, stained cedar siding and dark bronze aluminium glazing systems form the neutral exterior palette. Dark oak floors and cabinetry contrast the white surfaces of the gallery-like interior”.

Special thanks to Freshome for the above images.