Architecture
Renovations
Additions
Upfits
House for Art and Kids | Chapel Hill, NC
This major addition was designed for a busy couple with great careers, great kids, and a great lot...but a that house fell short of its potential. The new shed-roofs open up to the sky and create large expanses of glass. These windows bring in natural light and offer panoramic views of the valley below.
We shoehorned a lot of functionality into the new closets, pantries, laundry rooms and utility closets of this home. Guests don't see any of these spaces as they are tucked away, but the storage areas are an important part of keeping the house open, airy and uncluttered.
This renovation was built by Fox General Contractors.
| The couple desired a carport structure that would become more than a place to park. We created an open version of the interior of the home. The space formed an ideal, shaded escape for small kids to ride bike, teenagers to stage rock shows, and adults to drink wine.
| The rear courtyard opens to the kitchen and dining room in a way that offers easy circulation for parties. It becomes a seamless part of the entertaining space and was part of the plans from the start.
| The interior of the home was kept clean, crisp, and white to highlight the surrounding landscape and the owner's growing art collection.
| The owners wanted a living room and kitchen that flowed together.
| Large windows and spaces that easily flow into one another make the inside of the home feel open and inviting.
| The bedrooms are clean and simple but the wide expanses of glass make them stunning places to sit and view the landscape We used pairings of windows to maximize our window budget and capture the light and vistas that the home owners were after.
House for Peace and Tranquility | Raleigh, NC
This house was constructed for an owner that travels often and wanted his home to capture the feel of his favorite places in Asia and South America.
There is a total of 1,000 of covered exterior space that opens to the conditioned areas of the home. The stucco walls and wood of the home's exterior fold inside the home and blur the lines of inside and outside.
The house enjoys many green features including in-slab radiant flooring and has a Silver NGBC rating. This home was built by BuildSense, Inc and designed by the team at BuildsSense Architecture, PC with Matthew managing both design and build.
| The home is located on a pond and the owner wanted the home to resemble something from a fishing village so that it would feel like the spaces may have been added together over time. We used a series of roof forms and a variety of materials to come up with the end look.
| The wood siding was salvaged from the old farmhouse that one stood on the site.
| When the upper doors are open, the interior balconies connect guest on the rooftop terrace to those in the living area. They also offer a perfect place to set the hanging plants that finish the look of this elevated surf-shack.
| The kitchen tiles are hand painted from Mexico. The cabinets are a sustainable bamboo laminate. The countertops are a concrete finish. The ceiling joists and duct work were left exposed. All the elements blend to create the electric blend and Cali-Bali surf vibe that we were after.
| The house was built with 10 inch thick precast concrete walls that simulate the look of masonry construction he'd come to love. The stucco, stained wood and reused elements are all local versions of elements pulled from photographs of his favorite trips.
House for Music and Literature | Durham, NC
This house needed to be a comfortable place to live, think, work, and create. The home consists of a series of spaces that differ in size, lighting, and privacy but are interlinked in various ways. This creates and almost endless variety of combinations that suit any kind of gathering in any season.
The exterior sunshades reflect the front porches of the nearby homes and give a human scale to the exterior while mitigating the direct sunlight that slips inside the house. There are a variety of comfortable places inside that allow the home owners to select the type of mood and light they want at any given time of day.
This home was built by BuildSense, Inc and designed by the team at BuildsSense Architecture, PC with Matthew managing both design and build.
| The large central living area opens directly onto an urban courtyard. Also adjacent to the living room are the kitchen and dining areas. These spaces slide under lower ceilings and create cozy annexes for quieter conversations. Large windows open the house up to the surrounding neighborhood but art walls and built in storage strategically filter views out of and into the space.
House for a Family, Courtyard for a Cat | Chapel Hill, NC
This house was a major renovation of an existing home. A new primary bedroom suite was created over an existing garage. The layout of the home was adjusted to work for the needs of a busy family. All the existing fixtures and paneled walls were removed and the insulation was completely upgraded. The updated design is light and airy. A structural redesign allowed the rooms to flow into one another. What was once a dark and dated house has become light, bright and strikingly updated.
This renovation was completed by Pope Builders with interior design and selections by DesignSpec, Inc.
| The exterior of this home was once a dull brown with large overhangs that kept the small windows in shadow. We updated the color scheme and enlarged the window openings to take full advantage of the deep overhangs. Dated elements were updated to become more timeless and we were able to leave most of the structure in place. The home had amazing potential it just needed some smart realignments to come back to life.
| The double-height spaces were left in place and light colored cable rail was introduced to eliminate the need for bulky rails and guards that limited the light and views to the second level.
| A large, two-part screen porch creates extended outdoor living options and allows the doors of the home to be left open to fall and spring breezes.
| The front courtyard started as an escape for the cat but became an outdoor refuge for the whole family and serves as a privacy screen around the floor to ceiling glass of the breakfast area.
House for Pianist | Chapel Hill, NC
The owner of this home wanted a house that worked for him, his substantial art collection, and his concert-hall sized piano. The clean, simple lines of this home fit into the wooded setting of this home. Large expanses of glass connect both to the courtyards and the large trees on this lot.
The home has hosted countless world-class pianists. The space works well as a salon for large audiences and as a retreat for its busy owner.
| This two story home was laid out in an "H" shape to create two exterior courtyards that link to the large central spaces of the home. The upper courtyard opens to floor to ceiling glass in the office, living room and kitchen. The lower courtyard is covered by a trellis designed to provide privacy from those overlooking from the living area.
| The kitchen is simple and open. Light fixtures sparkle when on, but leave the high ceiling open. The waterfall edges of the marble countertop are book ended to match wrap seamlessly over the edge.
| The large, central living space forms the hub of the home. It allows one to live well with this amazing instrument. Tall ceilings to accommodate the volume of the sound and nearby bookshelves absorb the reverb behind the pianist.
| The floor to ceiling glass in the breakfast area connects the eating space and the kitchen to the surrounding forest and the exterior dining area.
| The detailing of the house was kept simple and consistent. Minimal solutions can be beautiful in themselves but also let the feature elements in a space shine.
Cup of Joe | Woodbridge Durham, NC
This existing storefront had a jagged footprint but we were able to organize the circulation for customers and the staff in a way that works naturally. The seating areas are pulled toward the windows. There is a blend of bright colors that mix well with carefully chosen materials. The serving counters reflect the polished concrete floors, the raised wood counters for customers were made from a fallen tree, the glossy white, sloped ceiling over the prep area reflects light back into the space. Most importantly this is a space that makes it a pleasure to get great coffee and baked goods again and again.
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