Designing custom homes in the Shenandoah Valley, like Casa Cielo, is a gift. We absolutely love working with our clients to create their dreams in built form. And this project in particular, where the site for the home had deep meaning and purpose even before we began our work, was so much more than just a gift.
Casa Cielo is perched at the top of the property, and the views are magical. This home was carefully placed on the site to blend the inside of the house to the outside and capture nature’s beauty as the seasons pass. Glass walls wrap around the home on three sides from floor to ceiling, creating blended “in-between” spaces. The warm wood tones, high ceilings, and modest forms allowed us to celebrate the site and make the home a refuge. A kitchen on one side of the living space anchors the home to the site; the morning views tell the story of the day, while the functional spaces are all allocated to the rear of the building. Our clients have beautifully complemented the architecture with just the right furniture and fabrics.
This project and these clients are so dear to us. We are grateful each time we are trusted to help develop a dream for a new home. This one evolved with such grace and beauty that it has exceeded our expectations. Stay tuned for the release of the portfolio showing all the images of this beautiful home.
Photography by Asha and Susan Beck with assistance from Eric.
The #hilltophouse is complete, built by Sauder Builders, Inc,. We were able to photograph the inside (outside photos pending the landscape to spring forth with spring weather). #hilltophouse was designed with a goal of allowing family to gather with connection to the outside at all times. The incredible kitchen developed by Lantz Custom Woodworking serves as an anchor in the main living space with the two-story brick wall on the other side of the open living space giving instant character. The exposed steel beams sit on top of the heavy wood timbers that mimic the exterior porch columns supporting the loft above. The open cable rail system allows for the industrial style to take on a modern twist while the wood floors from Weavers Flooring warm the space that will capture many years of memories.
The primary bedroom and bathroom suite is an oasis for relaxation. The brick is carried into this space giving the space instant charm while the large windows and doors open the space to incredible views. The oversized shower and soaking tub will serve as a wonderful place to unwind and relax.
The second floor features a bunk room, third bedroom, and gaming room along with another bathroom. This incredible home will be the homestead of many generations to gather and celebrate milestones and holidays.
The floating stair blends the industrial and modern style while maintaining the open light style of the living space.
More pictures of the exterior to come as soon as the landscaping come in.
The #HilltopHouse is in the final days of construction and our client is counting down until move in time. The builder, Sauder Builders, Inc has delivered his signature high level attention to finish details home. The cabinetry done by Lantz Woodworking and, as you would expect from them, is like artwork. The interior brick walls, wood floors, floating stair, exposed steel beam, heavy timber, industrial windows, and wrap around porch are just as we hoped after hearing our client describe what they wanted.
This home is truly a result of listening to the dream of a client and putting the pieces together. We have known these clients for a very long time and have even worked with them in a variety of roles in the community, so we know each other well. It is even more special to hear that their daughter was able to flex her design skills in several parts of the interior of the house.
We are fortunate to have been able to work on their house with them and to get to work with Larry to see this project through to construction. It is breathtaking.
This home is less than 30 days from the finish line and the details are almost done. In a time when delays and shortages have become the norm and when the unexpected has become the expected, I am so impressed with the quality that Larry and his team has been able to deliver.
It is a beautiful home and I know our clients are going to love the space and all the memories they will be able to create here, for many generations to come. This is why we design. Taking the dream that someone has in their mind and putting it on paper so that a builder can execute it – this is the process that should happen. I wish I had gotten to design every corner and pick out every finish, but that’s not what needed to happen on this project. This project had a team and each member of the team brought their skills and knowledge to deliver the dream home that our clients wanted in the end.
We will hopefully get finished photos very soon so you can see it all clean and dust free!!! Stay tuned.
Kicking off a new dream home project has some very special milestones. The first site visit after developing a concept sketch is hugely important to realize a custom home that’s just right for you, and it’s tremendously exciting. You can stand on an open piece of land and say, here is your front door, here are the views from your recliner, you will get a beautiful sunrise while making your morning coffee from here. It is a needed part of the design process for our clients to start to get a feel for their new home, but also to discover any special elements of the site that can enhance the design. It’s hard for most people to visualize a house that is not there yet, but our architects are able to verbally describe what is coming in a way that help clients to feel their design taking shape.
On this recent visit, a wet day for sure, we were able to get a sense of the slope of the land, talk about driveway location and routing, discuss how to manage the cows on the site, and get a sense of the scale of the home. While we could not see the views due to the cloud cover (we will go back to shoot grades on a slightly dryer day) we could see enough to know that our first sketch worked. We even identified a basement workshop that we didn’t know the slope of the site would allow.
“You can stand on an open piece of land and say, here is your front door, here are the views from your recliner, you will get a beautiful sunrise while making your morning coffee from here.”
Having a trained eye walk the site with you is critical to get the placement of your new home just right. The exact location may move a little throughout the design process or even just before
We get to design a lot of cool spaces for our clients and kitchen design may be one of my favorites. As a former cook at The Virginian restaurant I learned the value of an efficient kitchen with all the right tools. It is so much easier to make delicious food if you have a kitchen that is easy to cook in that does not tire you out walking too much and has the right amount of counter space to prep and serve. We have designed a lot of different kitchens over the years and I went looking for photos this morning of some of my favorites. Some are renovations and some are all new spaces, but all have a special quality to them.
They all are highly functional spaces as well as aesthetically beautiful.
Some are all new spaces.
They all are special to the home design and to us.
So yes, we design kitchens too, as well as additions, renovation, new construction……
Almost at the end of a dead end road overlooking the South Fork River a beautiful historic farmhouse was deteriorating. The structure had seem many renovations over the years for what I could imagine was a growing family that enjoyed the beautiful setting. A storage room was added, a kitchen was “fit” into a space, some outdoor decks to enjoy the views – but there was never a holistic plan to preserve the beauty and make the home efficient and comfortable. As many of these historic farmhouses do over time, it lost its luster and the owners just could not maintain it anymore. Our clients however, fell in love with the beauty and purchased it with a goal of bringing it back to life and restoring the former beauty. I am pleased to say that this historic farmhouse renovation in Luray is well underway.
Our clients have worked hard to balance the costs of renovation while thinking through the building science impacts of an old house. You cannot just “add insulation” for instance without thinking through the impacts of such a decision. Sealing up a house that is used to being able to dry out can be very hazardous to the existing old and very dry structural members. You have to protect the old bones while working to make the home comfortable and durable for many years to come. You also run into those past decisions that are now a challenge to handle, like the wet crawl space caused by a new deck and poor grading or a buried cistern that is now under part of the house that was added without thoughts to how that impacts everything.
We were able to design a functional addition that will blend well with the historic structure, but also consult with the builder, home owners, and insulation contractor on how to deliver the goal of preserving the house on a budget. There is not one right answer that will solve all the issues and not all right answers are right for every home. It takes a team to get it just right and we are thrilled to be part of the team working on this historic farmhouse renovation.
