interior design ideas: Architecture

Showing posts with label Architecture. Show all posts

Popular Home Features in 2015

The NAHB’s Economics and Housing Policy surveyed over 3,000 builders, designers, architects, manufacturers, and housing marketing specialists to forecast the characteristics of the average single-family detached home in 2015.

Can you guess the results? Take this quiz and see how well you do (answers posted at the bottom).

1. Size: The average new single-family home will be:

a. Larger, between 2800 and 3000 square feet

b. Stay the same (2496 square feet)

c. Smaller between 2000 and 2,400 square feet

2. will be a top priority in a home built in 2015.

a. Landscaping

b. Technology

c. Appliances

3. New home will have more green features, low-E windows, engineered wood products, and:

a. Use water efficiently

b. Solar energy

c. Radiant heat

4. True or False: Two-car garages remain high on homeowners’ priority lists.

5. True or False: The formal living room will be either combined with another room or completely disappear.

6. True or False: First-floor master bedrooms with walk-in closets will be a priority.

How did you do? BoninArchitects has various architectural services to help you design, build, or remodel a home that fits your priorities – now, in 2011 or in the future. Call or stop by to set up a free consultation!

Answers: 1.c; 2.b; 3.a.; 4.True; 5.True; 6.True.

Design Your Home Before You Find Property?

Once you decide to build a home, it’s hard not to think about it. There are many design elements to consider, and your architect will guide you through the decision-making process. Some of these you can decide on before you find the perfect piece of property; however, there are some decisions that will be influenced by the characteristics of your land.

Design elements to think about before you find property:

Specialty rooms for hobbies or activities;
The number of bedrooms and bathrooms you will need;
Storage space requirements;
Design details such as a gas fireplace vs. wood;
The theme of your interior design (colors, light, textures)

Wait until you find your land to determine these design fundamentals:

The home’s size and number of stories: site or local restrictions may limit the size, height, or even the placement of the home on your property;
Type of foundation: the type of foundation system you choose may be dependent upon local or state codes, the lot size, slope, and soil type;
Walkout basement: a sloping lot can allow for a walk-out basement, providing more usable square footage for recreation areas or additional guest bedrooms.

If you’re excited to get started on planning your home design, we suggest you create a binder of clippings and samples you are collecting. Include design elements and details you do not like: sometimes these are more valuable to your architect than features that you do like.

Ready to get started? Call or stop by to schedule a free site visit!

Three Reasons to Use an Architect

Thinking of building or remodeling? Consider using an architect. Why?

Reason #1: Architects save money.

An architect's services are a wise investment because a well-conceived and designed project can be built more efficiently and economically. As ideas evolve, changes can be made on a computer screen or paper much less expensively than when construction is under way. Other ways architect-designed projects save money include:

Designs that take full advantage of solar heat and natural lighting to save on energy needs.

Flexible design solutions that accommodate future growth and usage needs.

Accurate construction costs based on detailed drawings and specifications that result in quality materials and workmanship at a fair market price.

Materials, finishes, and design solutions that reduce maintenance and replacement costs.

Homes that sell faster and increase in value at resale.

Reason #2: Architects solve problems.

The architect is the one professional who has the education, training, experience, and vision to guide the design and construction process. This broad knowledge helps architects focus individual home owners' needs to maximize their investment in livable square footage on time and within budget.
Architects stay abreast of advances in roofing, brickwork, floor tile, paint finishes, and other building materials to ensure a smooth and cost-effective building process.

Reason #3: Architects see the big picture.

Few people realize how complicated it is to build until they find themselves lost in a maze of design options, building codes, zoning laws, and contractors. Architects don't just design four walls and a roof; they create total environments, interiors and exteriors that satisfy specific needs and functions. If a project requires engineering or other construction services, an architect can coordinate the team of experts.

An architect sorts out complex building codes and zoning laws and can locate qualified contractors, visiting the construction site to ensure that the project is built according to plans and specifications.

Source: www.aia.org

Death of the McMansion: Could it be true?

(Photos via Cote de Texas, read her hilarious post!)

Wine rooms, media rooms, swimming pools, water fountains, tennis courts, children living two floors away from their parents, and adults constantly giving themselves away in body, mind and spirit to maintain the facade. All the while "family" turns into a thing of the past.

(More info here)

If the death of the McMansion allows children to know their parents and parents to enjoy their children and if it allows people to nourish their souls again.... then this demise can't happen soon enough for me.

This is just my

opinion of course:)

Carolina

Judge A Book By Its Cover

I love receiving my weekly Houzz updates, because they are a little treat waiting for me in my email. This weekend I especially loved the photos of a little house with a modern soul. If I were walking down the street and came across this place, I would wish that I could run inside. Funny enough, I have seen the inside because it is the home of Morgan of The Brick House. (Some time ago I mentioned this blog here).

The Brick House is all about modern design on a budget, which is an idea that is close to my heart. It frustrates me that we tend to associate modern with large expense! Don't get me wrong I love reading Dwell or Architectural Digest as much as the next person, but that isn't really practical for most of us, right? Fortunately, Morgan doesn't let a small budget hold her back and I LOVE this amazing detail on the front of the house. I have to confess that I'm including this photo in hopes that it might inspire all you modern lovers who think your house could never express your ideas. Just think a little out of the box...ha, ha!

Wow! Check out the before pic.

The backyard is fantastic!

Finally, I couldn't resist this photo because the simplicity of it is so wonderful. I envy Morgan's ability to live with very few items. I try to do this myself but often fail:( Having so many blank spaces allow your mind to wander and reflect. (Said the hard-core introvert!).

Feeling Tipsy

Hello, all! I had to share this video of an unbelievable house that is now on the market. It is space-age fabulous!!! Designed by Richard T. Foster in 1968, the Rotating House is ingenious. Once inside, you can rotate the house to face any view of the beautiful property it sits on. Love it!

P.S. Monday's post didn't appear here because of problems with Blogger. I did post a link on my Twitter and Facebook sites. Be sure and check out another amazing home there. As for the explanation of where I've been...still to come, I promise.

Designed by the Santambrogiomilao Group

The glass house

House H

Modern House Architectural by Belmont Freeman

Design modern communicable Kowalewski Residence amid in Atlantic Beach New York, aggressive with the attenuated face alone hardly added than the above abode on the lot against the street, with the acceptable ancillary driveway and rear garage. Siting the bunched brand at the arctic bend preserves a advanced ancillary garden with complete trees. In anatomy and abstracts the abode recalls the village’s Art Deco heritage.

Modern House Architectural by Belmont Freeman

In interior, the arch apartment all accessible assimilate the garden. The arena attic has an accessible plan for accidental active and best affiliation to the outdoors. The additional attic a alley with connected skylight leads to four bedrooms and three baths. A sun allowance on the third attic opens assimilate a ample roof terrace with across-the-board angle of the island and the ocean.by Belmont Freeman Modern Design Architscture

Spiral Staircase Slide

calendar by AXE

On The Quirky Side

Hello everyone! For those of you who may wonder where I've been, I apologize for the long silence. Life's been kind of crazy lately and my blogging has been paying the price. Well, I did want to post this unique and quirky loft in New York. Designed by Bohl Architects, it uses plenty of fun and off-beat details.

Ha, ha! This detail really cracks me up. I mean, if you want a random blue eye staring at you; why not have one, right?
(I have a feeling this photo may cause some controversy amongst readers)

As a designer, I've always found it frustrating that so many people will only live with things that others approve of! I can't say how many times I've heard the words, "I need to know if my sister likes it" or "My mother", "My neighbors"...etc. Why?! If its your home and your place to live and rest, why can't it just mean something to you? I look as a home as a sanctuary and as a place that feeds your inner self. So shouldn't it be a true representation of yourself? Ahhh, this has been my soapbox for many years. I hope at least a few people will stop and consider my words and take true ownership of their environment.
Don't know why I seem so bossy today.

Herzog & de Meuron, VitraHaus

Designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, VitraHaus is a multi-layered structure that recently opened at the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany.

Designed to display the furniture brand’s Home Collection, the five-story building consists of stacked volumes with pitched roofs covered in charcoal stucco. Each end is glazed and shoots outwards up to 16 feet (5 meters), creating the impression of a pile of houses.
Herzog & de Meuron, VitraHaus

2009 Trends Report: Residential Design & Build

Residential Design & Build magazine’s 2009 Trends Report has the latest data on home design and building trends (reporting on 2008).

One of the charts in the article lists items, features, and materials where clients cut back when their budget is tight. Not surprisingly, our history in dealing with architectural design clients indicates these are the same areas where our clients make adjustments when going through budgeting and cost comparisons.

The biggest adjustment we see clients make to meet budget requirements is reducing the overall square footage of the home and only designing as much house as they need.

Homeowners are willing to cut down on the actual living space to cut costs. Small homes generally cost less, which means less money financed; require less energy for heating and cooling, which means lower energy costs; have smaller, more efficient systems (furnace, AC, plumbing, etc.), can earn points toward energy program certification for small size, and will require less maintenance.

We have several small home designs that meet our clients lifestyle needs as well as goals toward energy efficiency.

Torafu

Casa en Kohoku / Torafu

Richmond Olympic Oval

The Richmond Olympic Oval by Cannon Design

Bunzo Ogawa’s Absolute Arrows

Melbourne's Future Wheel

"Melbourne's Future Wheel" by Büro North

M112 pods

Paris Renfroe Design

Johnston Marklee Architects

The Hill House is designed under conditions generated by modern problems of building on the hillside. The site, an irregular shaped lot situated on an uneven downhill slope, offers panoramic views of Santa Monica Canyon. The design of the house utilizes the restriction of hillside and zoning ordinance to create a spatial and structural opportunity – adopting the zoning envelope as a building form. The dynamic form minimizes distinction between roof and wall planes while maximizing the distinction between interior and exterior.
The Hill House by Johnston Marklee Architects