Serenity in Design

Stain Glass

http://pinterest.com/claudia077/mosaic-stained-glass/

I love stained glass and have one hanging in my kitchen window, I found a couple of these at this link http://cranberrystainedglass.com/catalogue.php

Description by Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects

Located on the peninsula south of San Francisco, this house sits on an internal suburban flag lot. The previous 1950s house, removed due to structural problems, featured mature landscaping and a man-made pond that the clients wanted to preserve. They wanted their new house to be a private retreat that maximizes the drama of the pond and takes advantage of the privacy of the site.

The design solution breaks the program into four buildings – main house, study, pool house and garage – that ring the edge of the site and focus inward on the pond, garden and pool. Large sliding glass doors open directly out to the pond and terrace. The roofs conceal photovoltaic and solar hot water panels. The house is heated with a radiant system in the stone floors, and despite the hot climate it is not air conditioned, but passively cooled with a combination of overhangs, shades, and operable windows.

The house also features many green building materials, including high fly-ash concrete, formaldehyde-free casework and denim insulation. The new house creates a special place for the clients, making a main residence feel like a vacation retreat.

WOOD you do this?

Fairhaven Residence by John Wardle Architects

Description by John Wardle Architects

The Fairhaven Beach House is located on top of the ridgeline above the Great Ocean Road on the Victorian coastline. The site enjoys panoramic views over the southern ocean and surf beach below. The house winds around a protected central courtyard, which creates an outdoor space sheltered from the harsh prevailing winds. The form of the house is coiled and stepped around the courtyard. The living area doors and an oversized sliding kitchen window open up and integrate it with the house proper during fine weather.

The spatial journey through the house from arrival to view is choreographed to increase anticipation before reaching the main living space. As you step beneath a cantilevered study into a dramatic vertical entry space, you become acutely aware of a number of twists and folds along its length that make the transformation into horizontal living space. The main window aperture matches the cinematic proportions of the ocean view.

Materially the house is clad in a green-grey zinc cladding, for both its longevity and natural colouring that merges with the scrub and tea tree landscape. In contrast, the interior of the house is completely lined in timber (floors, walls, cabinetry and ceilings) to form an enclosure for living that its inhabitants become completely immersed within. The eye is then always drawn back to the outlook beyond.

The proportions, orientation and dimensions of windows have been tailored to particular views and to reveal internal spaces. The design process has been one akin to scenography, bringing together sensory and spatial experiences to frame the theatre of inhabitation within.

Description by Georgia Ezra

The Brighton Escape – Expansiveness. Serenity. Terra-texture.

A contemporary design with resounding vibrations to sooth the urban family.

Like a seashell carrying the sound of the ocean, or a mirror reflecting sunlight, this space was specifically fashioned to capture and exude the warmth of the environment which surrounds it.

The space was treated from its genesis, with the same respect for design as a museum. Carving of ceiling, walls and floor not only creates sculptural partitions throughout the residence, but with the spirit of a rock pool, provides channels to flow through and delineates ample space in which to dwell together.

Cleverly thought out to provide a flexible family home each area has been intentionally designed to accommodate and honour their everyday movements, emotions and cycles.

The space also lends opportunity for personalisation to the clients aesthetics and lifestyle through decorative items and furnishings. The result is a harmonious sanctuary that stands as a finished work of art on its own, and is yet constantly evolving with its inhabitants.

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