Design

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While at my regular job - Larson Brenner - I received a phone call a few days ago. It was from someone who had been designing their own cabin. Subsequently the design was given to a builder who's draftsman tried to complete the design and drawings. Well it turns out that he did not like the design. He was still enamored with the floor plans, but not the exterior appearance. The image below is of the original design. I was asked to see if I could take a shot at improving the appearance of the home without significantly altering the floor plans. He also wanted to maintain the basic chalet style roof line that he had started with. I agreed to work on an hourly rate basis to provide the services. I modeled the plan quickly in Sketchup and did several minor alternatives. In the end we landed on the final solution as shown below. Hopefully this is illustrative of a little bit of value an Architect can bring to a project. They can turn an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. G...

Simply Elegant is now offering a new unique ranch house plan.  The " Somerset Ranch " offers a modern open floor plan, a main floor master suite and a generous front entry porch.  This modern Ranch with it's clean lines and careful attention to detail is definitely not your parents Rambler.  Check it out! View of Entry Court.  Dormers filter natural light down into the vaulted living room and master bedroom spaces. Nicely organized floor plan - a hallmark of Simply Elegant Home Designs.  Three additional bedrooms are located on the walkout basement floor.  This layout is ideally suited to "empty nesters" or families with tweens. Front Elevation - Careful attention to proportions.  Clean and simple lines.  Also notice the transparency through the windows.   Left Side Elevation.  Designed for a walkout lot.  The stone base wraps the entire footprint. Rear Elevation - Abundant glass to take advantage of rear yard views.  The scree...

modern coffee tables Coffee tables is where designers are at their best. modern coffee tables

modern coffee tables Coffee tables is where designers are at their best. modern coffee tables

If you want something that your neighbor doesn't have, check out Jo Wynant's kitchen designs. Kitchen below is perfect for those who search for a modern look for their spacious lofts. There are lots of storage space and working areas and as you can see, the design is awesome. See more at www.jowynant.be

Contemporary architecture What are the characteristics of the classic luxury estate? A fancy location – preferably near water, gorgeous views over the water, exquisite design and hi-tech home features? Luxury interior design This Brisbane home has it all! Positioned on a headland in the Redcliffe Peninsula, just 30km away from downtown Brisbane, the 860 sq.m mansion offers 3-level front row views of the ocean, contemporary home design and modern home technology. Living room interior design home by the sea Another great feature of the house is the private deep water jet, so if you’re a boating enthusiast looking for a new home – consider this one, it’s currently for sale. stairs in modern home , contemporary architecture modern interior design white kitchen interior design modern decoration modern kitchen interior design modern home architecture living room interior design with sea view Private Cinema in modern house Modern Home interior ...

Modern Remodel - Murdock Young Architects , originally uploaded by plastolux . Modern Remodel - Murdock Young Architects plastolux

Modern Interiors - Studio Pepe , originally uploaded by plastolux . Black bedroom from London.

Almost every day I ask myself why more people are not taking advantage of this crazy building market.  By crazy I mean this is a ridiculous buyers market.  The answer seems to be fear.  We can't seem to get away from all the bad news.  Just turn on your tv or your computer and you get nailed with it.  I cannot say if the fear is justified or not.  Each persons situation is unique, and so it is up to them to determine for themselves.  But I can tell you that right now there are some really good opportunities for those that choose to pursue them .   If you have been thinking of building a new home or remodeling your existing one I suggest seriously pursuing it.  If not, you may just be missing the opportunity of a lifetime.  I have been in this industry for more than a few years now, and I cannot remember any time that the market has been more favorable for the buyer / client.  Here are a few of the big reasons: Interest rates are ridiculously low. Contractors and subcontractors ar...

Simply Elegant Home Designs is now using Google Sketchup to better describe the interior design elements of their house plans.   Ron Brenner of Simply Elegant had this to say.  "Better visualization of the product results in more thorough understanding of design intent and better translation by the builders.  We have been using 3d visualization for some time to illustrate building exteriors, and have discovered how valuable that visualization is.  It seems a logical next step to illustrate the interior design elements of a home with 3d.  Nowadays Architects have so many good tools to work with, and so why not use them?  The idea is to use the tools available to us to create a better product and a better service.  I think that some day we may not be issuing 2d plans, sections and elevations, but we will be issuing 3d virtual models.  And some day builders may have a television monitor at the job site in lieu of a plan desk." The animation below illustrates the interior cabine...

The mudroom has become an increasingly important space in home design. This space has transitioned over the years from nothing more than a small hallway with a coat closet into a zone that serves multiple needs. I now spend much time thinking about the function of the mudroom zone in our home designs. Here are a few of the potentially important features of the mudroom zone: A Bench - Where you can sit down and put on your boots. Lockers - A place where you can quickly drop off your coat and hat. Dump Desk - A storage space for dropping off the mail or briefcase. Powder Room - The mudroom zone is a great place for the powder room because it is a more "discreet" location and convenient on your way in or out of the house. Laundry Area - The mudroom zone is a great place for the laundry. This space is convenient to the activity areas of the house, but since it is "around the corner" it is a bit more acoustically separated. Hanging storage for the laundry can s...

I just wanted to pass on an FYI that I have now posted links for various green resources along the sidebar of the Simply Elegant Home Designs Blog.  Over the next weeks I will be refining the listings.  Since there are so many green resources available to us I want to try to edit the list down to provide useful "common sense green" information, and to eliminate as much redundancy as possible.  I will also be adding a links page to my Simply Elegant Home Designs website. Again, you can see the links along the right sidebar of the Simply Elegant Home Designs blog.  And by the way, I welcome your suggestions.

Simply Elegant Home Designs is offering a new service to help potential plan purchasers visualize their house plan within the context of their own site.  For a nominal fee they can provide images of the desired house plan at their site address.  The images below provide an example of how this can work.  They depict various google earth views which increasingly zoom in on a specific site address in which a 3d house plan model has been inserted. This service can be particularly helpful for a potential plan purchaser because it allows them to get an idea of how the house plan might fit into their own unique site location prior to purchasing the full plan set.  Also, because google earth provides 3d terrain, it can also help to understand grading issues or identify special foundation conditions that might be required.   Simply Elegant Home Designs offers pre -designed home plans that are creative, simple, elegant, unique and green to individuals, builders and developers.   Their goal is ...