The owner, an avid water skier, painter, father and busy international sales executive purchased a steep lake lot considered to be unbuildable. He wanted a very modern design that would give easier lake access and be totally oriented to the landscape above the lake. With a steep slope and solid rock just 6’ under the existing grade, this was a real challenge.

 We presented 4-5 designs before landing on a 2800 sq. ft. plan that carves the home into the hill allowing access below grade by creating a “canyon” for garage and entry. Walking into the house you view the treetops through a band of 10’ windows facing the lake. A 16’ set of sliding doors open up to a deck which literally brings the outside into the great room. A cantilevered sitting area floats out over the trees (the dog’s favorite spot to watch for the owner coming back from the lake).

 This plan includes two bedrooms with decks, a master suite with a roof deck, game room and media room doubling as a guest bedroom. The home includes a lot of nice touches including custom stairs harvested from oak on site, white marble master bath, and planned lighting to showcase the owner’s beautiful artwork.

Planning a “forever” home is an exciting challenge especially when it becomes the focal point of a new chapter in your life. We wanted to leave the city behind and look for a lower stress alternative which we found just south of the Blue Ridge mountains in North Georgia. As an architectural designer, I have always been inspired by American vernacular and authenticity in design. This new home was a great opportunity to combine a rural style into my work. Thus, we began.

It took three years to find the perfect lot, secluded but accessible, and heavily wooded adjacent to a large horse farm. This new house actually has its own story. We envisioned an older set of separate farm buildings with modern insets and connections that create flow and contrast. We chose a stone façade style that referenced building styles in my wife’s hometown of Ellicott City, Maryland. The gray exterior cement siding is matched to the surrounding tree bark. The black aluminum windows, roof, and metalwork all help the house to blend in with the woods rather than stand out.

The siting of the home sits on a ridge above a creek and is oriented to a large front yard where most of our outdoor family activities take place. Here, there is no need to “put on a show” for the street. The home reveals slowly as you approach on the 900 ft. gravel drive and walk to the entrances.

The exterior gives a hint of the more modern interior including a central kitchen, dining and great room “barn” with 22’ ceilings. There are planned focal points in every room that frame the views outside with large windows. This is a home with many places to be, from cozy and meditative to entertaining for large groups.

 This home is approximately 4800 sq. ft and through carefully chosen construction methods and materials was built for less than $190 per sq.ft. We are able to accommodate three children, two businesses, a 100-pound Labrador, and plenty of overnight guests in a home nearly 3000 sq. ft. less than our previous home—all due to strong intentional design.

Cain Creek Overlook

This hilltop project for a couple in Ball Ground GA overlooks the Etowah River in a 200 year old hardwood forest. The plan includes 4 bedrooms and a range of entertainment spaces including a 50’ lap pool, decks and underground parking. The design focuses on the dramatic view with 14’ window walls and planned views throughout.

The owners were devoted Frank Lloyd Wright fans and had been planning to convert their 2200 sq. ft.  ranch home into a much bolder architectural statement. They spent time visiting Wright projects in Illinois and Wisconsin and brought a lot of their own ideas to the table to produce their a Prairie-style home, southern style. We were able to integrate a long wish list including specific artwork collections, a large game room with a bar, five porches, a state-of-the-art media room, offices, and four bedrooms into a cohesive design.

 The new plan expands the home to 6000 sq. ft including a second story. It continues the original inlaid stone corners and adds granite ledges , brick corbels and over 40 windows with a cantilevered roof line.

This home for my family started with an 1800 sq. ft ranch. Its only redeeming characteristics were the corner windows and the site. We knew we needed a lot of space to accommodate our varied interests, a growing family, businesses, and two dogs. We worked with the existing house siting and pushed the floorplan back and then up to a full second story. The design goal was to keep a balance in scale with the neighborhood and to reference it’s mix of styles including tudor, craftsman and ranch—all part of the original vision for this 1920s neighborhood—one of the first planned communities in the U.S.

There are a lot of places to “be” in the final design of this home but still keeping an open floorplan. In typical Frank Lloyd Wright style, the fireplace is the center of the home and, for us, the kitchen was also. The kids’ bedrooms are oversized to include multiple uses including play, study, and sleepovers. The master suite has a generous set of closets, reading area and deck. The detached two-story studio addition includes an office, music room, and shop.

This home and studio create a 7500 sq. ft unit that is perfect for business, entertaining, and family activities—all wrapped in a prairie modern design that references the historical neighborhood.

This home was a generic 1800 sq. ft ranch, on a great wooded lot. The design we implemented created a large open floorplan which doubled the size of the first floor. A dining pavilion with 14’ ceilings, oak casings and floor-to-ceiling windows was joined to a new chef’s kitchen and great room. A second story, including four bedrooms and a study, was added bringing the total sq. ft. to 5000.

The owners love the master bath with a fireplace, huge back patio, koi pond ,and custom touches throughout.

A corner lot in an intown Atlanta neighborhood was cleared to plant the seeds of a small-scale dream home for a couple. Both were GA Tech grads and wanted to combine state-of-the-art construction with a clean modern design that would fit into their bungalow neighborhood. The owners chose to use Polysteel which is a system of insulated forms filled with poured concrete. The system is rated to withstand 180 mph winds and has a very high R value.

The 2600 sq. ft. home is sited back from the street and is modern but retains a roofline that fits into the neighborhood. The owners love to cook and entertain so the kitchen is the center of the home. The smaller scale is opened up with a large entry skylight, glazed stair tower, second story office with a skyline view and rooftop garden deck.

As part of a larger branding project for a software startup I designed a new 8000 sq. ft office space located at Avalon in Alpharetta GA. The project included space planning, furniture design, all finishes, lighting and graphics.

We enjoy nothing more than developing a number of concepts for each project with the idea that there is more than one solution to each set of challenges. This was an alternate concept for Noble Lake that planned parking under the cantilevered first story and the entrance as a bold focal point.

This modern mountain retreat features two pavilions connected by a glass bridge overlooking a generous outdoor entertaining space and pool. This 5000 sq. ft. home features 18 ft. window walls, five bedrooms, game and media rooms.